Hams Decode SSMIS Satellite Data Removed by DoD, NOAA

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SatDump now features software which will decode data transmitted by the Special Sensor Microwave Imager Sounder (SSMIS) onboard defense meteorological satellites. The release from SatDump comes after the US Department of Defense announced that data from the satellites would no longer be made available to the public.

Lead developer and ham radio operator Alan Antoine said the US authorities were turning off the online distribution of real time data while the satellite passes over the US stations at Wallops Island, Virginia, and Fairbanks, Alaska.

Access to the latest versions of SatDump are available on GitHub - https://github.com/SatDump/SatDump

MMDVM Project Drops Support for M17 Mode

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MMDVM, a popular software and hardware project that powers many amateur radio hotspots, has announced the intention to drop the M17 digital voice and data protocol as a supported mode. First communicated to the OpenDV Groups.io list on 12 July 2025, the project's maintainer cited a number of grievances and rumours behind the decision.

Inclusion of M17 among the supported modes of the MMDVM project has been a major benefit to the current rate of adoption of M17. The first commercial radios supporting M17 shipped in the second half of 2024.

The M17 Project is an open source digital voice and data protocol that is positioned as an alternative to digital modes that require use of proprietary encoders.

MMDVM is an open source project that enables amateur radio hotspots to support multiple digital voice modes including D-STAR, DMR, YSF, P25, NXDN, and POCSAG.