Hamshack Hotline Public Announcement – A Fond Farewell

To our valued Hamshack Hotline community,

It is with a heavy heart that we announce the sunset of the Hamshack Hotline project, effective August 29th, 2025.What began in 2018 as a simple idea in the humble closet of K1WIZ quickly grew into something none of us could have imagined—an expansive, global communications network built by and for amateur radio operators. From those early beginnings, Hamshack Hotline evolved into a robust VoIP system supported by multiple servers around the world, with over 7,000 interconnections at its peak.

This incredible journey was made possible by the generosity of donors worldwide and the tireless commitment of the Hamshack Hotline Team, who volunteered their time and expertise to support and grow the network. Your trust and participation helped shape Hamshack Hotline into a valuable and widely respected resource for the ham radio community.However, with success came scale—and with scale, came increasing demands. As the network grew, so did the workload on our small team. Balancing this effort with our responsibilities to family, careers, and life outside the shack has become increasingly challenging.

We’ve always taken great pride in the reliability and service standards of Hamshack Hotline, and we recognize that we can no longer maintain those standards at the level our users deserve.After much thoughtful discussion and reflection, the Board of Directors has unanimously voted to sunset the project, giving our community ample time to transition to other services by the end date.  This was not an easy decision. We know how much this network means to many of you—and it means just as much to us. Hamshack Hotline was built with love, run with dedication, and supported by an incredible community that made it all worthwhile.In the spirit of giving back, the remaining cash reserves of Hamshack Hotline, after settling final operating expenses, will be donated to a charity that supports veterans. We’ll announce the recipient of this donation soon.

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank each and every one of you for being a part of Hamshack Hotline. Whether you joined us on day one or just discovered the network, your involvement helped shape something truly special in the amateur radio world.

73,
The Hamshack Hotline Team
“Where Hams Connect” – 2018–2025