Build something
that talks
over the air.

Propagation is a Hack Club program that funds teenagers to build real radio frequency projects. No license needed. Just build.

Reserve my spot →

What is Propagation

RF projects. Real funding.

Propagation funds teenagers to build radio frequency hardware and software. Ship something real - SDR setups, LoRa nodes, Meshtastic meshes, satellite decoders, antennas - and we fund you to build it.

This isn't about getting licensed. It's about building something that transmits, receives, or processes radio and shipping it to the world. Open to anyone under 18, anywhere on Earth.

What you can build

Anything that touches radio.

01 SDR receiver or software Signal analysis tools, spectrum monitors, custom demodulators.

02 LoRa or Meshtastic device Long-range nodes, mesh networks, off-grid messaging hardware.

03 Antenna design Yagis, dipoles, loops, phased arrays — built and characterized.

04 Transceiver or RC system Custom radios, RC controllers, telemetry links from scratch.

05 Satellite decoder Meteor M2 weather images, ADS-B aircraft tracking, GPS receivers.

06 Anything RF If it transmits, receives, or processes radio. It counts.

Rewards

Ship it. We'll send something back.

Hardware funding

We cover the parts. SDR dongles, LoRa modules, dev boards, coax, if it's in the build, it's on us.

Propagation sticker pack

Propagation sticker plus the full Hack Club pack. Shippers only.

Shippers only

Propagation in person

An invite to a in person RF themed hardware event in your country, a gathering of builders who ship.

The Hz Progression

Four tiers. One goal: ship.

Every project moves through a signal ladder. Reach GHz and you shipped, that's when we pay out.

Hz Baseline

You're in. Idea formed, project started, building underway.

kHz Transmit

Hardware in hand. First signals. Something is happening.

MHz Receive

It works. Signal received, code written, project alive.

GHz Shipped ✓

Documented, shared, done. You shipped, now we ship to you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Got questions?

Nope! You can work within ISM bands (like 2.4GHz Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, 915MHz LoRa) which don't require any special operating license, or construct passive listening devices like SDR setups for satellite decoding.

Yes, absolutely. Radio isn’t just copper and antennas—it's digital signal processing (DSP). You can build custom microcode/firmware for SDR dongles, write custom decoders for processing signals, program ESP32 mesh routines, or craft desktop interfaces to parse raw IQ data streams. If it interfaces directly with radio signals or RF chips, it qualifies.

Propagation is entirely for teenagers. Anyone under the age of 18, anywhere in the world, is welcome to apply and build.

Once the grant window officially opens, you'll supply a breakdown description of what you plan to create alongside a list of component parts. If it checks out, Hack Club will provide the direct backing to buy the parts needed to clear your baseline.

Reaching the GHz tier means your project is completely assembled, working, and fully open-sourced with a public repository (GitHub) or write-up showing documentation of your build demonstrating signals.