Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2505 for Friday, October 31st, 2025

Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2505 with a release date of Friday, October 31st, 2025 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. Researchers find compromised satellite security. An amateur radio tribute to Orson Welles - and responders keep a watchful eye on Hurricane Melissa. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2505 comes your way right now.

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BILLBOARD CART

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HURRICANE MELISSA SPURS HAM ACTIVATIONS

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: As Newsline went to production, Hurricane Melissa was still a developing story in the Caribbean. The Category 5 storm had already done catastrophic damage to parts of Jamaica as it continued its rampage through the region. The Hurricane Watch Net was active on 14.325 MHz and 7.268 MHz and advising all other traffic to avoid those frequencies The VOIPWX.net was monitoring calls for help and Skywarn weather reports from impacted areas. Many reports came from the Caribbean Digital Amateur Radio Service and other amateur radio stations who relayed information from Jamaican News Radio as well as local ham stations. Newsline will be following amateur response to the storm and its aftermath.

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REPORT: LITTLE OR NO SECURITY FOR SATELLITES' SENSITIVE TRANSMISSIONS

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Meanwhile, teams at two major US universities have released a report revealing dangerous security issues with some sensitive satellite transmissions. We have details from Kent Peterson KC╪DGY.

KENT: Using a commercially available satellite dish, a team of researchers at two US universities confirmed the lack of security protecting the at-times sensitive content being broadcast from satellites. The teams at the University of Maryland and UC San Diego said that they easily tapped into geostationary satellite transponders sending private consumer data, internal corporate communications, voice and SMS transmissions from mobile phones and - perhaps most disturbing - military transmissions that were particularly sensitive.

The research teams released their findings on the 13th of October and the contents were carried by the website Wired. They said that the satellites extreme vulnerability was discovered with the use of nothing more than off-the-shelf radio equipment that is widely available on the market.

The teams concluded that at least half of the geostationary satellites carrying such data do not have effective encryption in place, leaving the contents of the transmissions accessible to hackers and others with the ability to monitor them.

According to the report, the researchers alerted many of the satellite operators after the discoveries were made. They wrote, in their report: [quote] In several cases, the responsible party told us that they had deployed a remedy. [Endquote] They included WalMart, T-Mobile and KPU. They note that remediation was still going on for other affected parties and, as such, the team did not identify them in the report. In the meantime, they said, end users are able to encrypt their network traffic via a Virtual Private Network and, on mobile devices, the use of end-to-end encrypted apps.

This is Kent Peterson KC╪DGY.

(FUTURISM.COM, AMSAT NEWS SERVICE, WIRED)

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LATVIAN HAMS CELEBRATE 100 YEARS OF BROADCAST RADIO

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: The broadcast and the amateur radio worlds have often overlapped, especially sharing many of the same people behind the microphone or behind the scenes. In Latvia, hams are taking part in a celebration that marks 100 years of that nation's first radio station. Jeremy Boot G4NJH has those details.

JEREMY: The hams who are calling CQ as YL100LR until the 2nd of November are sharing the story of Rigas Radiofons, which went on the air in 1925 with a 2 kW transmitter, two 45-meter-high antenna towers and equipment purchased from France. From its studio inside a post office building in Riga city, the state-owned station began its life on the air with a two-hour broadcast that included the Puccini opera, "Madame Butterfly" and a speech by Minister of Transport J. Pauluks.

The evolution of radio broadcasting in Latvia is closely tied to that of amateur radio there: When the Latvian Radio Society helped create the Radio Subscribers Law, they created a category for radio experimenters who eventually became the nation's hams. From the start, hams were big supporters of the newly created broadcast station. In fact, by 1926, a spare transmitter at the station was being used for ham radio communications. The relationship remains strong to this day and many amateur radio operators in Latvia are also broadcast radio professionals.

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(QRZ.COM, 425 DX BULLETIN)

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HAM TO CHAIR COLLEGE'S NEW ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Recognizing industry growth and student demand, a university in northern Washington State has developed a full Electrical and Computer Engineering Department on its campus - and it's being chaired by an amateur radio operator. We have those details from George Zafiropoulos, KJ6VU.

GEORGE: Starting in the fall of 2026, students at Western Washington University will be able to enroll in programs in the new Electrical and Computer Engineering Department and to pursue studies in the school's first engineering graduate program. The courses were previously housed within the school's Department of Engineering and Design.

The Zero Retries Newsletter, which reports the development in its latest edition, said that Janelle Leger, dean of the College of Science and Engineering, credited student and industry demand as the primary reasons for creation of a new department. She said the move is being made with support from the state to create the degree programs. Majors will select from four programs, which include wireless networking and signal processing focus, as well as AI, electronics and energy.

The professor chairing the new department is Andy Klein. On the university website, the professor writes that having a standalone department will pave the way to creating partnerships and internships with companies and generate more internships for students. Andy Klein is an amateur radio operator who received the callsign KG7WFT in July.

This is George Zafiropoulos, KJ6VU.

(STEVE STROH, N8GNJ, ZERO RETRIES NEWSLETTER; WESTERN WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY)

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RSGB TEAM HONORED BY BRITISH INTERPLANETARY SOCIETY

STEPHEN/ANCHOR; Newsline congratulates the team at the Radio Society of Great Britain's National Radio Centre. They were selected for the 2025 Sir Arthur Clarke Education and Outreach Team Award for their work advancing knowledge into amateur radio satellite communications. The British Interplanetary Society conferred the award which was accepted by RSGB General Manager Steve Thomas, M1ACB; NRC Coordinator Martyn Baker, G0GMB; and NRC Volunteer Brian Hardy, G4BIP.

(RSGB)

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'WAR OF THE WORLDS' SPECIAL EVENT REMEMBERS MARTIAN 'INVASION'

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Radio was precious to Orson Welles, the American writer, actor, magician, and filmmaker who is most prominently celebrated at this time of the year for "War of the Worlds," his 1938 science fiction broadcast depicting a Martian invasion - a drama so realistic that it incited panic in listeners. War of the Worlds was back on radio recently - but this time it was amateur radio, as Travis Lisk, N3ILS, tells us.

TRAVIS: The fictional Martians may not have have their antennas tuned but members of the Delaware Valley Radio Association did as 16 operators called CQ for several hours in a public park in Grover's Mill, New Jersey, the site where the original broadcast radio drama played out in 1938. This was the club's fourth year hosting the event as station W╪W [W ZERO W], and it was timed to coincide with the original late October airing.

There is a monument in the park honoring that broadcast, which put Grover's Mill on the map - but the hams' activation in the park may have left a lasting impression too:

Unlike the invading Martians, the visitors here came in peace. Cyclists participating in the township's "Martian Bike Ride" and other members of the public stopped by to get a close-up look at what amateur radio is all about. One young person even got on the air and logged one of the 159 QSOs that were made, according to Martin Crabtree W3PR.

Anyone saying "take me to your leader" would have been introduced, of course, to club president Martin - that's Martin, not Martian - who was outfitted appropriately in foil-covered fedora. Other hams wore antennae - but in this case, none of them were tuned for any transmissions except, perhaps, those from Mars.

This is Travis Lisk N3ILS.

(MARTIN CRABTREE, W3PR, QRZ.COM)

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BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the K7MMA repeater in Spokane, Washington on Fridays at 5 p.m. local time.

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EVENT MARKS 50 YEARS SINCE LAKE SUPERIOR SHIP TRAGEDY

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Amateurs in Minnesota are preparing to mark a somber 50th anniversary - a maritime tragedy that has even touched the lives of some club members. Andy Morrison K9AWM has the details.

ANDY: Fifty Novembers ago, a storm stirred over Lake Superior and the USS Edmund Fitzgerald, a ship with 29 men aboard, was swallowed up by the raging water. That tragedy in the American Midwest claimed the lives of the entire crew; they share their final resting place with the doomed iron-ore carrier.

These men are not buried and forgotten, however; their friends, relatives and former neighbors are among those who participate every year in an on-air tribute organized by the Stillwater Amateur Radio Association. Hams will be calling QRZ as W╪JH from the 7th of November through to the anniversary date of the ship's sinking, November 10th.

Special events chair and past president Dave Glas, W╪OXB, told Newsline that connections to this ship have emerged almost every year for the two decades of this event. A distant cousin of club member Curtis Letch, KF╪PSC, was among the fatalities: Blaine H. Wilhelm, was 52 and the ship's oiler. Dave told Newsline: [quote] "Over two decades of operating our special event, weve made contact with 1,000 hams average per year worldwide. Mostly throughout North America. Theres often someone who tells us of a connection theyve had with one of the lost crewmen." [endquote]

The hams will operate from Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. The ship had passed that lighthouse on the day it made its final trip.

For details about modes, frequencies and times - or instructions on how to get a certificate - see QRZ.com.

This is Andy Morrison K9AWM.

(DAVE GLAS W╪OXB, QRZ.COM)

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ASTRONOMY TRADE FAIR TO DEBUT AT HAM RADIO FRIEDRICHSHAFEN

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: If your plans next year include attending Ham Radio Friedrichshafen in Germany, you may want to set aside a day to consider some sky-gazing that has long been a companion to amateur radio. Astro, an astronomy trade fair is making its premiere next year. The exhibition center that will be home to the large ham radio trade fair from June 26th through to the 28th will also be welcoming amateur astronomers and technology hobbyists on June 27th. Space is being set aside in Hall B1 for the trade fair focusing on astronomy, astrophotography and related activities, giving hams and others many more worlds to explore.

(MESSE FRIEDRICHSHAFEN)

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WORLD OF DX

In the world of DX, Rudi, DK7PE is making his third Pacific DXpedition and is on the air through to the 19th of November. His plans include activating Guam with the callsign KG6/AH╪G, Micronesia, using V6CW, the Marshall Islands, using V73RK and possibly Western Kiribati using T3╪RK. He will operate CW only with 100 watts and wire antennas.QSL via his home callsign.

The Mediterraneo DX Club is on a DXpedition to Sierra Leone until the 10th of November using the callsign 9L8MD. A separate activity will take place on Banana Island, IOTA Number AF-037, using the callsign 9L9L on 40-6 metres. QSL via IK2VUC.

Eddy, OE3SEU, will be active as CN2SE/p while touring Morocco in his motorhome between the 1st of November and the 7th of December. Eddy will also be calling on the QO-100 satellite. QSL via LoTW.

Members of the Radio Club del Tarragones, EA3RCY, will be using the callsign AO25TWHS [pron: AY OH TWO FIVE TEE W H S] from the 1st to the 30th of November. The special callsign celebrates the 25th anniversary since the Archaeological Ensemble of Tarraco, which is modern-day Tarragona, as inscribed into the UNESCO World Heritage List. QSL via LoTW, QRZ Logbook and eQSL.

(425 DX BULLETIN)

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KICKER: WHY HAVE A QSO WHEN YOU CAN HAVE A CONCERTO?

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Our final story this week, will be music to your ears, or maybe not. Jim Davis W2JKD explains.

JIM: When the musician-composer duo of Brian Eno and Beatie Wolfe launched their new album, "Liminal," on the 10th of October, they really launched it, in every sense of the word. On Facebook, Brian Eno described the pair's musical partnership as [quote] "exploring an intimate and unfamiliar new sonic world" [endquote]. So what better venue for it than some far-away sonic world? The pair beamed the album into space via microwave transmission five days after its release. At the helm of Liminal's liftoff was Nobel Prize-winning physicist Robert Wilson operating the Holmdel Horn Antenna in New Jersey which had played a role in helping prove the Big Bang Theory.

The microwave horn antenna, as it turns out, is a well-tuned instrument of music as well as science. For Beatie Wolfe, this was actually its encore performance. Robert Wilson helped broadcast a previous album of hers in 2017, a work known as "Raw Space."

Music, the universal language, is now the universe's language. Even NASA has got into the act. In 2008 the space agency marked its 50th anniversary by sending a recording of the Beatles' "Across the Universe" into deep space. Last year its Deep Space Station 13 radio dish antenna in California beamed the first hip-hop song into space, Missy Elliott's "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)."

This past May, the European Space Agency broadcast a Vienna Symphony Orchestra performance of Johann Strauss' "Blue Danube Waltz" from its radio antenna in Spain at the speed of light in the direction of the Voyager 1 probe.

This is the never-ending journey of music. It is now surrounded by constellations and CubeSats, dancing with the stars.

This is Jim Davis, W2JKD.

(MUSICRADAR, NPR, NASA.GOV)

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If you haven't sent in your ham radio haiku yet, what's been stopping you? Visit our website at arnewsline.org and as you compose your ode to your favorite online activity, we will help you use the correct number of syllables to make an authentic haiku. Submit your work and then sit back and wait to hear whether you are the winner of this week's challenge. The winner gets a shout-out on our website, where everyone can find the winning haiku.

NEWSCAST CLOSE

With thanks to Amateur News Daily; AMSAT News Service; Dave Glas, W╪OXB; David Behar, K7DB; 425DX Bulletin; Futurism.com; Hurricane Watch Net; Martin Crabtree, W3PR; Messe Friedrichshafen; Mountain Radio Challenge; Music Radar; QRZ.com; NASA.gov; NPR; Radio Society of Great Britain; shortwaveradio.de; VOIPWX Net; Western Washington State University; Wired; Wireless Institute of Australia; YouTube; Zero Retries Newsletter; and you our listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. We remind our listeners that Amateur Radio Newsline is an all-volunteer non-profit organization that incurs expenses for its continued operation. If you wish to support us, please visit our website at arnewsline.org and know that we appreciate you all. We also remind our listeners that if you like our newscast, please leave us a 5-star rating wherever you subscribe to us.

For now, with Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT at the news desk in New York, and our news team worldwide, I'm Stephen Kinford N8WB in Wadsworth Ohio saying 73. As always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2025. Amateur Radio Newsline retains ownership of its material even when retransmitted elsewhere. All rights are reserved.

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