FOSDEM 2021

= FOSDEM '21 -- Call for Participation = FOSDEM 2021 (the free and open-source developer's meeting usually in Brussels, Europe but **this time virtually**) will again feature a track on Software Defined Radio and any other radio-related topics in the Free Software Radio devroom. Therefore, we invite developers and users from the free software radio community to join us for this track and present your talks or demos.

Given the current circumstances and the virtual nature of this event in 2021, we are asking the presenters to pre-record the talks, which will then be gathered by us and streamed during the event. Presenters are also asked to be present online during their timeslot for live Q&A.

Software Radio has become an important tool to allow anyone to access the EM spectrum. Using free software radio libraries and applications and cheap hardware, anyone can now start hacking on wireless communications, remote sensing, radar, fun hacks of all sorts, or other applications. At FOSDEM, we hope to network all these projects and improve collaboration, bring new ideas forward, and get more people involved.

'''We are looking for volunteers to help with reviewing the submitted talks and help the presenters throughout the submission process. Prior experience helps, but is not required. If you're interested, please contact us.'''

The track's website resides at the link below. The final schedule will be available through Pentabarf and the official FOSDEM website. Notice that the reference time will be Brussels local time (CET).

https://fosdem.org/2021/schedule/track/free_software_radio/

Submit your presentations
To suggest a talk, go to https://penta.fosdem.org/submission/FOSDEM21 and follow the instructions (you need an account, but can use your account from last year if you have one. Please do NOT create a new account if you already have one). You need to create an 'Event'; make sure it's in the Free Software Radio track! Your submission should have the following information:


 * Your contact Email
 * A descriptive title and subtitle of your talk
 * A short abstract
 * Links related to the project
 * [Optional] A longer description of the content of your talk.

Lengths aren't fixed, but give a realistic estimate and please don't exceed 30 minutes unless you have something special planned (in that case, contact one of us). Also, don't forget to include time for Q&A. We will typically go for 30-minute slots -- shorter talks, unless they're really short, usually tend to screw up the schedule too much.

You aren't limited to slide presentations, of course. Be creative. However, FOSDEM is an open-source conference, therefore we ask you to stay clear of marketing presentations and present something relevant to free/open software. We like nitty-gritty technical stuff.

Topics discussed in this devroom include:


 * SDR Frameworks + Tools
 * Cellular/telecoms software
 * Free/Open SDR hardware
 * Wireless security
 * Random fun wireless hacks
 * SDR in education
 * Satellite/spacecraft communication
 * Ham radio related topics

Important Dates

 * Submission deadline: 26 December 2020
 * Announcement of selected talks: 31 December 2020
 * Conference dates 6 & 7 February 2021 online
 * Free software radio devroom date: Sunday 7 February 2021 online

In the last years we were always full to the brim with presentations, so if you want to present, please make sure to submit your abstracts soon!

Following steps for accepted talks
When your talk is accepted, you will be contacted by a deputy who will help you with the pre-recording of your talk. Together you will make sure that the content has the required quality and is stream-ready. When complete, the recording will be located into the streaming system, and Bob's your uncle.

Don't forget that you must be available during the allocated timeslot of your talk for live Q&A.

Steering Committee
The track committee consists of:


 * Phil Balister - "Crofton"
 * Derek Kozel - "dkozel"
 * Nicolas Cuervo - "primercuervo"
 * Martin Braun - "mbr0wn"