Gigabyte Grove SignalSpan

Looking to donate? Click here and we’ll take you to the donation form.

What is SignalSpan?
SignalSpan is a Gigabyte Grove initiative focused on building and maintaining real-world weather, radio, and networking systems that share data publicly. It’s designed to bridge the gap between homestead-scale technology and open community access — using weather, radio, and network telemetry to create transparent, real-time information sources anyone can use.

Everything deployed under SignalSpan contributes to:

  • Public data access for local weather and environmental readings.

  • NOAA reporting and data sharing through properly configured weather and telemetry stations.

  • Public SDR audio streams (aviation, weather, emergency services, and amateur radio bands).

  • Wireless and point-to-point infrastructure that links rural systems and proves the viability of community-scale communications networks.

  • Open-source documentation and YouTube content showing exactly how each system is designed, built, and maintained — no hidden steps, all open for learning and replication.

Accepted Donations and Their Uses

Networking & Connectivity

  • Ubiquiti NanoBeam / NanoStation / PowerBeam / Rocket / airFiber — used for PTP and PTMP rural network links.

  • MikroTik / Cambium / Mimosa radios — long-range network connectivity for station backhaul.

  • Directional antennas (parabolic, dish, grid, Yagi) — used for long-range links and RF path testing.

  • PoE injectors, shielded Cat6, and outdoor-rated switches — power and interconnectivity for field systems.

  • Mast hardware, tower mounts, guy kits, and poles — mounting infrastructure for links and sensors.

SDR & Radio Systems

  • RTL-SDR / Airspy / SDRplay / HackRF / LimeSDR / USRP — used to monitor and stream public RF data feeds (aviation, weather, marine, etc.).

  • Antennas for VHF/UHF/HF (QFH, discone, dipole, Yagi) — capture wideband radio signals for streaming and spectrum analysis.

  • LNA / filters / bandpass modules — improve signal quality for SDR feeds.

  • Computers or SBCs (Raspberry Pi, Intel NUC, mini PCs) — run SDR software, decoders, and public streams.

  • GPSDOs / reference clocks — ensure accurate frequency synchronization for long-term data reliability.

Environmental & Telemetry Hardware

  • Temperature, humidity, and barometric sensors — local environmental reporting and site status data.

  • Wind, rain, and radiation sensors — integrated into remote telemetry for open reporting (used in NOAA-compatible formats).

  • Solar radiation / pyranometers / soil moisture sensors — provide environmental and agricultural metrics for public datasets.

  • Raspberry Pis, ESP32s, Arduinos, and data loggers — handle real-time telemetry uploads.

Power & Enclosures

  • Solar panels, charge controllers, and LiFePO4 batteries — used for off-grid station power.

  • Weatherproof enclosures (IP65+) and cable glands — protect field systems.

  • DC distribution blocks, breakers, and fuses — maintain safe and serviceable power setups.

Computing & Storage

  • Servers / NAS units / mini PCs — used for local caching of telemetry, backups, and stream handling.

  • SSD/HDDs (in good condition) — storage for public data logs and SDR archives.

  • Network UPS units — maintain uptime during power loss.

What We Cannot Accept

  • Non-functional, incomplete, or water-damaged equipment.

  • Batteries showing swelling or leakage.

  • Equipment requiring paid licensing or locked to an account/vendor.

  • Items that cannot be shipped safely or legally (pressurized gas, fuel, etc.).

How to Donate

1. Equipment Donations
Use the form we’ve linked above and give us a heads up to let us know you are shipping something to us, and make sure to include an itemized list of what you’re sending so we can be on the look out.

2. Monetary Donations
Use our donation links on PayPal, or from CashApp. Make sure in the notes, to give us a heads up on what specifically you’d like us to use that money for so we can budget our projects properly according to what people want to see it used for.

Funds go toward specific hardware builds and off-grid site expansion. We maintain a transparent record of what’s donated and how it’s used. Periodic updates via YouTube videos and live streams will show the hardware being put into service.

How Donations Are Used
All donations directly fund or supply the buildout of public-access SignalSpan systems and data-sharing nodes. Your contributions help us:

  • Deploy and maintain long-term weather, network, and SDR nodes.

  • Expand point-to-point and rural backhaul connectivity between Gigabyte Grove and offsite test locations.

  • Build solar-powered and off-grid sensor systems to increase uptime and independence.

  • Cover replacement parts, power systems, enclosures, and maintenance for remote stations.

  • Support production of technical documentation and public video content that explains and shares every project.