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Ärende: ARNEWSLINE Report 2505 - Fri 31 OCT 2025
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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.

**

BILLBOARD CART

**
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.

**
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 KCØDGY.

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 KCØDGY.

(FUTURISM.COM, AMSAT NEWS SERVICE, WIRED)

**
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)

**
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)

**
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) 

**

'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 WØW [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)

**
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.

**
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 WØJH 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, WØOXB, 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, KFØPSC, 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 WØOXB, QRZ.COM)

**

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)

**

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/AHØG, Micronesia, using V6CW, the Marshall Islands, using
V73RK and possibly Western Kiribati using T3ØRK.  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)

**
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)

**
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, WØOXB; 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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