It's been a while since we've posted, but yes, we are still giving away free stuff! Even though we can't respond to each and every email, we do read and carefully consider all of them, and we choose at least one awesome group, project, or individual each month to send some free hardware to. Here are the free stuff recipients for the first half of 2016.

ADS-B Out Open Source Project

We gave a HackRF One to developer and pilot Christopher Young, whose latest development project is an in-flight ADS-B Out transponder. ADS-B Out allows pilots to broadcast position, ground speed, and altitude to air traffic controllers and aircraft that are equipped with ADS-B In. This project benefits general aviation pilots because NextGen, the FAA's new plan to increase aviation safety, mandates that all aircraft be equipped with ADS-B Out by the year 2020. Christopher's open source design is intended give pilots a more affordable means of complying with the new requirement (ADS-B out is a piece of avionics equipment that normally costs thousands of dollars). Chris is also the creator of the stratux project, an affordable open source aviation weather and traffic receiver solution based on low-cost SDRs, so we are excited to put a HackRF into his capable hands.

Visible Light Communication Research

We gave a HackRF One to Alexis Duque, a Phd candidate at INSA in Lyon, France. He is researching the possibilities of visible light communication, and wants to use SDR hardware and GNURadio for some tests. He plans to donate his HackRF to CorteXlab at INSA after the research is complete.

Fablab Hackerspace

We received a free stuff request for a YARD Stick One from Pedro, a high school student at a technical school in southern Brazil who has started a hackerspace called Fablab with a group of his friends. Their school has given them space to work in, but due to equipment costs and crippling taxes imposed on electronics equipment there, they have been unable to find the funds to stock their lab and are relying on donations from the community. We sent them a YARD Stick One so that their group can experiment with communications with a drone they received from a local university.

Argentinian Meetup Group

Speaking of South America, we gave a HackRF to Martin Gallo, coordinator of TandilSec, a meetup group in Tandil, Argentina who discuss infosec topics and learn about current trends. They have recently been experimenting with is SDR, and HackRF One was their hardware of choice.

Qspectrum Analyzer

We gave a HackRF One to the Qspectrumanalyzer open source project because it currently only supports rtl-sdr, and the developer of that program wanted to change that. He tells us that a popular request from users is that they would like to see support for HackRF One.

Amateur Radio Equipment Repair

Pavel is a ham radio operator, self-described tinkerer, and software developer. He is involved with a local amateur radio club, but lives in an area where good radio equipment is difficult to obtain, and the equipment they are able to get their hands on is usually in need of repair. Pavel asked us for a HackRF One to diagnose and test problems, which will help him repair the radio equipment of other amateur radio operators in his community.

Stay tuned; more free stuff updates are on the way! Visit our free stuff page to learn how to submit a request.