ORI is a non-profit research institute devoted to open source R&D for amateur radio. You can find out more about ORI here.
https://www.openresearch.institute/
ARDC is Amateur Radio Digital Communications. They sold off 25% of the 44 IP block, an amateur radio community asset, and converted it to a private fund. This was intended to benefit open source amateur radio projects.
Rosy and Chelsea are employees of ARDC. They are non-ham licensees, similar to many of the employees at ARRL.
Attempts by the full ORI board of directors to find out what Rosy Wolfe (now Schecter) was talking about in the email threat in terms of "misunderstandings" and "tensions", and to clarify this out-of-nowhere threat to funding, have been completely unsuccessful.
ARDC has simply never revealed any reasons for the insults, threats, or blacklisting. Additional smears of individuals, threats about "interrogation under klieg lights", removing grants from projects that requested us as a sponsor before their own review committee sees them, missing all project reporting meetings for ORI funded work since September 2021, demanding that ORI grants be rewritten and then rejecting their own writing, bribing one of ORI's sponsored project with more cash if it only would dump ORI, and other bizarre experiences - and they are bizarre! - followed this exchange.
ARDC just doesn't act normally.
For context, since this was about a lab tour, our Remote Labs documentation can be found here:
https://github.com/phase4ground/documents/tree/master/Remote_Labs
At the time we received this email, we were so happy that ARDC was showing interest in the lab. We were (and are) very proud of it, continually improve the experience, have supported a lot of good work through it, have expanded it from one site to three, and were genuinely appreciative of the funding. ARDC was constantly cited and promoted. The way this email exchange became hostile was a shock.
Because of the nature of our work, we can't do "pull aside" meetings. Meetings, especially with funding sources, can't be secret or informal. We weren't showing off a personal TV set here. The set of equipment to pull off the functions of Remote Labs is a corporate asset. We assumed that a lab tour was the point of the visit and organized it to the best of our ability.
We have never turned down a meeting invitation from ARDC. We have complied with all their requests. We have delivered very high ROI on granted funds.
We hope for much better communications from ARDC in the future.
1) From "Site Visit?" Thread
Rosy Wolfe
Tue, Sep 21, 12:29 PM
to me, Chelsea, k, giving@ampr.org, Merideth
Hi Michelle,
Like we talked about yesterday, we would love for kc (and maybe me
and/or Chelsea?) to come visit the lab to see the status of the P4XT
IRL. kc is generally available on Friday afternoons and Saturday
mornings. Please let us know what would work for you and if a Saturday
morning visit would be a possibility.
Looking forward,
Rosy
--
Rosy Wolfe - KJ7RYV
Executive Director
Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC)
ampr.org
Michelle Thompson <mountain.michelle@gmail.com>
Tue, Sep 21, 2:40 PM
to Paul, Rosy, Chelsea, k, giving, Merideth
Sure thing. Saturday is available. Friday may work as well.
I've cc'd Paul Williamson for scheduling.
Remote Labs can give a view into the physical plant and remote access for FPGA design, openRTX support, openCPI integration, and some payload work, like Cell Matching.
There's a Ham Expo March 2021 presentation about it on Vimeo as part of the Ham Expo Showcase, but Paul can give a customized explanation in person.
-mdt
Paul Williamson
Tue, Sep 21, 4:33 PM
to me, Rosy, Chelsea, k, giving, Merideth
The Ham Expo presentation Michelle mentioned is here: https://vimeo.com/524210400 . It shows the San Diego remote lab substantially as it is today, and explains some of the rationale for its existence.
There are detailed documents about how to access the lab remotely as part of the project's GitHub repo here: https://github.com/phase4ground/documents/tree/master/Remote_Labs
If these resources aren't enough, then you're welcome to visit the lab in person. Saturday mornings are generally available, with sufficient notice. Right now, it looks like any of the next few Saturday mornings should be ok. October 2 and October 16 are better for me than September 25 or October 9.
Every person visiting must be fully vaccinated and masked while inside the building. Please note that the lab is in an upstairs room, not accessible by people who are unable to climb stairs. Also note that the lab room is not very large, so more than three visitors simultaneously would be difficult. The lab is in a private residence with no pets. There is plenty of parking on the street in this suburban neighborhood. The lab address is 5371 Carmel Knolls Drive, San Diego CA 92130.
Please let me know if and when you would like to visit the remote lab.
-Paul Williamson KB5MU
Rosy Wolfe
Tue, Sep 21, 4:48 PM
to Paul, me, Chelsea, k, giving, Merideth
Hi Paul,
Thanks so much for this info!
> The Ham Expo presentation Michelle mentioned is here:
> https://vimeo.com/524210400 <https://vimeo.com/524210400> . It shows the
> San Diego remote lab substantially as it is today, and explains some of
> the rationale for its existence.
>
Cool, thank you. We will take a look!
> There are detailed documents about how to access the lab remotely as
> part of the project's GitHub repo here:
> https://github.com/phase4ground/documents/tree/master/Remote_Labs
> <https://github.com/phase4ground/documents/tree/master/Remote_Labs>
>
> If these resources aren't enough, then you're welcome to visit the lab
> in person. Saturday mornings are generally available, with sufficient
> notice. Right now, it looks like any of the next few Saturday mornings
> should be ok. October 2 and October 16 are better for me than September
> 25 or October 9.
>
ORI always has excellent documentation :) I think having a site visit
would allow us (esp. kc) to nerd out on what you're doing, ask
questions, all that jazz.
Thanks also for the notes on dates. As Chelsea and I would be flying
out, I imagine we'd go for Oct. 2 or 16. Will keep you posted.
> Every person visiting must be fully vaccinated and masked while inside
> the building. Please note that the lab is in an upstairs room, not
> accessible by people who are unable to climb stairs. Also note that the
> lab room is not very large, so more than three visitors simultaneously
> would be difficult. The lab is in a private residence with no pets.
> There is plenty of parking on the street in this suburban neighborhood.
> The lab address is 5371 Carmel Knolls Drive, San Diego CA 92130.
>
Not a problem. Our whole team is vaxxed and willing to mask.
> Please let me know if and when you would like to visit the remote lab.
>
Will do!
Many thanks,
Rosy
Rosy - KJ7RYV
Thu, Sep 23, 9:41 AM
to Paul, me, Chelsea, k, giving, Merideth
Hi Paul and Michelle,
We'd love to take y'all up on the invitation for the site visit on Sat.
Oct. 2. Please let me know if that day still works and we'll get it booked.
Paul Williamson
Thu, Sep 23, 9:53 AM
to Rosy, me, Chelsea, k, giving, Merideth
Saturday Oct 2 is still good.
-Paul
> On Sep 23, 2021, at 9:41 AM, Rosy - KJ7RYV <rosy@ardc.net> wrote:
>
> Hi Paul and Michelle,
Rosy - KJ7RYV
Thu, Sep 23, 9:55 AM
to Paul, me, Chelsea, k, giving, Merideth
Ok right on. Please let us know what the best time for a visit it. Maybe
10 or 11 am? I both want us all to be able to get good sleep while also
respecting that it's the weekend!
Paul Williamson
Thu, Sep 23, 10:28 AM
to Rosy, me, Chelsea, k, giving, Merideth
Any time is fine. 10am seems like a reasonable time to start.
How long do you anticipate the visit taking? I'm not sure exactly what your goals are, but there really isn't a whole lot to see in the lab.
-Paul
Michelle Thompson <mountain.michelle@gmail.com>
Thu, Sep 23, 1:00 PM
to Paul, Rosy, Chelsea, k, giving, Merideth
I'm biased, but I think there's plenty to see.
The real value is in the Unraid VMs, technical support, and the democratization of FPGA design achieved so far.
It is true that the boards and instruments by themselves don't reveal much, without explanation.
Anything we can answer or prepare for specifically, please let Paul know.
-mdt
Rosy - KJ7RYV
Thu, Sep 23, 2:25 PM
to me, Paul, Chelsea, k, giving, Merideth
Hi Paul and Michelle,
Re: time, could we say 10:30 am? If not, we’ll keep 10:00. It turns out
my flight doesn’t get in until 10:30 the night before, and I’ll take all
the extra sleeping time I can get!
In terms of the goals for the visit, there are a few. Aside from being
curious about seeing the workspace (I personally *love* visiting
fabrication studios, maker spaces, workshops, etc.), we are interested
in getting a better sense of how ORI works so that we can do the best
job we can in supporting the organization. This is important to us as we
think through the next round of proposals. Plus, it’s about
relationship-building for us: there’s only so much that can happen
through Zoom calls. FWIW, Chelsea, kc, and I are all vaccinated and we
are happy to wear masks indoors.
Also, aside from the MIT Radome, the P4XT project is the largest
project-based (non-scholarship) grant that we’ve made, so we are keenly
interested in its success. It would be wonderful to get a peek
first-hand at the work that has been happening on P4XT, as well as work
on other projects at ORI that you think would be interesting. Sounds
like there are a lot :)
If you’ve got any additional questions, please say the word.
All the best,
Rosy
Rosy Wolfe - KJ7RYV
Executive Director
Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC)
ampr.org
2) From "Remote Labs South" Thread
Chelsea Parraga
Wed, Sep 29, 12:31 PM (11 days ago)
to me, giving
I can appreciate that, Michelle! Thanks for adding the information. I took "emergency" out of the title and added your changes. I've re-uploaded this information to your application page and will have our Committee Chair look at it to provide feedback.
Do you happen to have a link to a conference presentation/talk anyone has given on the recent work being done on the P4XT project? Or perhaps is there a blog post or something we should look at for P4XT specifically? I think you may have mentioned that this type of thing is available and we're hoping to get prepared for our visit. I want to make sure we're looking at all the information you already have available so that we can respect your time, ask smart questions, and maximize our in-person time together. :)
Really looking forward to meeting you in person! I've been doing some homework to learn as much as I can about FPGA's and the more technical side of your work, and it's incredibly interesting and impressive.
Michelle Thompson <mountain.michelle@gmail.com>
Wed, Sep 29, 2:01 PM (11 days ago)
to Chelsea, giving
Good deal.
https://www.youtube.com/c/OpenResearchInstituteInc has video presentations and reports.
Written project status reports are here: https://github.com/phase4ground/documents/tree/master/Management/Weekly_Engineering_Reports
The website has a news feed that we try and keep up to date here: https://www.openresearch.institute/
Anything tagged specifically with ground station work is here: https://www.openresearch.institute/phase-4-ground-station-project/
Ham Expo talks are hosted at Ham Expo Vimeo.
Debris Mitigation regulatory work presentation (complying with these new rules is required for P4DX deployment) https://vimeo.com/610998209
Repeater Builder talk (how to be a developer for P4DX uplink work) is here https://vimeo.com/594054003
Remote Labs for P4DX Engineering is here: https://vimeo.com/524210400
We have a quarterly architecture review that starts (online) at 10am on Saturday, but I should be able to get away at some point. I didn't assume I'd be part of the lab tour, but am very happy to talk about it.
-Michelle W5NYV
Chelsea Parraga
Wed, Sep 29, 8:25 PM (11 days ago)
to Rosy, me, giving
Shoot! KC, Rosy, and I were primarily hoping to meet with you to get to know you and your work better. Our goal for the trip is to better understand the lab and how things are going, but also to build a great collaboration with you. I assumed you would be a part of the lab tour.
When would be a better time for you? Could we move the tour to 11 or another time to make sure we can see you?
--
Chelsea Párraga, KF0FVJ
Grants Manager
C: 520-471-6903
Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC)
ampr.org
Chelsea Parraga
Fri, Oct 1, 10:47 AM (9 days ago)
to me, giving, Rosy
Hi Michelle,
When you get a chance, please let me know what time we can meet that would work for you! We're hoping to have you join KC, Rosy, and me for the lab tour.
Thanks,
Chelsea
Michelle Thompson <mountain.michelle@gmail.com>
Fri, Oct 1, 12:08 PM (9 days ago)
to Chelsea, giving, Rosy
I'm not available for the lab tour on Saturday. I'm presenting at the quarterly architecture review for Phase 4 from mid-morning until I run out of time for a meeting starting at 1pm with lawyers for an M&A for Traceroad Incorporated. This work has to be completed by Monday, the lawyers don't work on Sundays, and I'm one of the signatories.
The scope of this visit was lab inspection. Paul is in charge of the lab and is very capable. He will walk through the audit of the physical assets and explain the access methodology for the lab.
If you want to schedule time for another meeting at a later date, let's open a discussion about what the agenda would be for that meeting.
-Michelle W5NYV
Rosy Schechter - KJ7RYV
Fri, Oct 1, 12:22 PM (9 days ago)
to me, Chelsea, giving
Michelle,
I'm curious why Oct. 2 was presented as a date when you were not
available on that day?
You are our primary point of contact, and it is surprising that we will
not be able to meet in person tomorrow.
Rosy
Rosy Schechter - KJ7RYV
Executive Director
Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC)
ampr.org
>> ampr.org <http://ampr.org>
>
> --
> Chelsea Párraga, KF0FVJ
> Grants Manager
> C: 520-471-6903
> Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC)
> ampr.org <http://ampr.org>
>
Michelle Thompson <mountain.michelle@gmail.com>
Fri, Oct 1, 2:05 PM (9 days ago)
to Rosy, Chelsea, giving
Paul proposed the 2nd of October after I handed over scheduling to him on September 21st. From that email, I said "Paul can give a customized explanation in person". Since the purpose of the meeting was a Site Visit, my goal was to ensure the best possible presentation.
Paul is the lab lead and point of contact for lab inspections and visits. 2 October worked for him. He's by far the best person to present the work going on in the lab. Delegating the tour to Paul is not intended to minimize its importance in any way. There is not much I can add to a discussion or presentation about Remote Labs, given the amount of time and effort that Paul and his volunteers have put into it.
I think that if you wanted a meeting with me, you should have asked for that instead. If there is a second agenda, which "build collaboration" and the frustration that I can't be there tomorrow hints at, then let's talk about what specifically you are interested in doing.
If this is a personal collaboration with me, or some sort of offer of work, then I have to decline at least until after the ORI technical conference on 30 October. I'm also in the running for FCC Technical Advisory Committee as a representative from ORI, and the vetting process is going on right now, is time consuming, and I do not know when it will conclude or what the outcome will be. Think positive thoughts, because having open source work represented at the FCC has been a big uphill battle.
If there is a proposal for collaborative work with ORI (maybe you have a project or org in mind that can take advantage of what we can offer?) then we have a page for this:
https://www.openresearch.institute/your-project-is-welcome/
If there's some other concern that you (or someone else visiting) intended to pull me aside about during a site visit, then please do not feel like you have to do that. I'm happy to talk about almost anything on the phone.
-Michelle W5NYV
Rosy Schechter - KJ7RYV
Fri, Oct 1, 6:41 PM (9 days ago)
to me, Chelsea, giving
Hi Michelle,
Thank you so much for this extra information. However, given that you
are the one who invited us to the lab, I still would have expected a
more explicit indication that you would not be there than "Paul can give
a customized tour in person." There is nowhere in that phrase that
states, "And he will do it because I will not be present." Imagine if I
invited you to my house, said that my roommate would show you the
garden, and then when you got there I wasn't there, just the roommate.
It would feel weird, right? That's how this feels, honestly.
Following this news of your absence, I will also not be coming to San
Diego - I am both dealing with a health issue and moving on Sunday. My
aim at coming this weekend, in addition to learning about the lab, was
to have conversations to help move your existing and future proposals
forward sooner rather than later. We will have to have that conversation
another time. However, Chelsea and kc are both looking forward to seeing
the lab, and I believe Phil may join as well. Also, we may be in San
Diego for a board meeting later this year, so my opportunity to visit is
not lost.
>
> If there's some other concern that you (or someone else visiting)
> intended to pull me aside about during a site visit, then please do not
> feel like you have to do that. I'm happy to talk about almost anything
> on the phone.
We do need to have a conversation, one that I had hoped to have in
person. As I said in a previous email, I would like to have a better
understanding of your vision for ORI so that we at ARDC can do a better
job of supporting it (e.g. Can we put multiple proposals in one? Where
do you want to be in a year? What kind of operational support does ORI
need?). At the same time, the frequent miscommunications (such as the
one around your presence on this trip) is causing tension between our
organizations, and it is simply not sustainable for the kind of
long-lasting relationship that everyone at ARDC would like to have with
ORI. I would like to find a way for our organizations to communicate
better so that we can have fewer misunderstandings and more success
stories.
Please let me know when you might be available for such a conversation,
and note that I am not available until the week of Oct 11.
It sounds like this is a big weekend for you, and I wish you the best of
luck with your meetings and other work. I also saw your Tweet re: Dr.
Moberly and know how hard it is to lose a friend. May you find time to
nourish yourself amid all the work.
73,
Rosy
--
Michelle Thompson <mountain.michelle@gmail.com>
Sat, Oct 2, 8:51 AM (8 days ago)
to board, Rosy, Chelsea, giving
I was asked if ORI could host a lab inspection during the semi-annual report to Chelsea last week. I said yes, of course.
I didn't initiate this particular trip with an invitation. I responded to an appropriate and welcome request at the end of the hour-long interview. When there was follow-up from ARDC, I set it up to the best of my ability. The lab has always been open for visits from any participants that happen to be able to travel. With Covid, that's been pretty hard. We do have a volunteer that runs the cell matching on-site during the week.
Lab visits requested by officials from funding agencies would not be handled the same way that an invitation to someone's house would be. I don't understand the comparison you are making to personal property like a greenhouse, and a corporate asset that is open for inspection.
What frequent misunderstandings are you talking about?
We have been highly successful in both regulatory and technical areas and frequently promote ARDC. ORI saw no issues with ARDC and was quite happy. ORI has no operational issues or needs at this time.
I report to the board of ORI and take direction from them, so I've included them so they can read and eventually respond to the important things that you've shared here. I will defer to them to continue the conversation with you, and standby for any re-direction or correction.
-Michelle W5NYV
Steve Conklin
Sun, Oct 3, 9:15 AM (7 days ago)
to Rosy, board, me, Chelsea, giving
Rosy, Chelsea, and everyone else on distribution,
I think Michelle's take on this is accurate, and I also think it's important to bring up any topics of importance to ORI in a manner such that we can respond as an organization. We have an active board which communicates almost daily to manage ORI. While Michelle is the founder and can speak with authority on any of our ongoing work, having conversations about how ARDC can better support ORI, or how we can better structure our projects is something that should be done on an organization-to-organization basis, and not as a side meeting during a meeting that was scheduled for a different purpose.
ARDC and ORI both have a responsibility to conduct business in clear and unambiguous ways, and to be good stewards of the money entrusted to us. We must be worthy of the trust of our partner organizations. Our board members must participate on behalf of our organizations in a way that upholds that responsibility, and we must do it in a way that will withstand scrutiny from outside the organization, whether that's donors or government agencies. In order to do that, when we speak to important topics, we need to have an opportunity to do it as an organization, and not simply as individuals. Business should be conducted with the organization and not individuals, using a medium which helps make the communication clear and referrable.
A visit to the lab does not rise to the level of ORI "doing business", but a conversation about the details of how we might structure or receive grants does. We are extremely grateful for the funding we've received from ARDC, but that funding and the potential for further grants from ARDC means that we should conduct related business in a more formal manner with good record keeping. This is critical in order to avoid any appearance of special treatment, or quid pro quo outside of our grant agreements. This doesn't mean that all interactions have to be 'contractual', just that they need to be recorded. This could be an email trail, recorded zoom meetings, or even phone calls with notes/minutes distributed after.
Perhaps we should set up a periodic zoom meeting with board members from both sides present?
Thanks, and I really hope that we can adjust our approaches and move on to do some really great things together.
Steve Conklin,
CFO, Open Research Institute
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Board@lists.openresearch.institute
http://lists.openresearch.institute/listinfo.cgi/board-openresearch.institute
Rosy Schechter - KJ7RYV
Oct 7, 2021, 3:13 PM (3 days ago)
to Steve, me, board, Chelsea, giving
Hi Steve,
Thank you so much for your email and your patience in our reply. As this
has been elevated to a board-level discussion, we are discussing your
mail internally and will reach out with more information when we have it.
Rosy
Rosy Schechter - KJ7RYV
Executive Director
Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC)
ampr.org
> ampr.org <http://ampr.org>
>
> _______________________________________________
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