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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
KC0DGY.

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 KC0DGY.

(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 W0W [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.
localtime.

**
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 W0JH 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, W0OXB, 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, KF0PSC, 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, we've made contact with 1,000 hams average
per year worldwide. Mostly throughout North America. There's often
someone who tells us of a connection they've 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 W0OXB, 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/AH0G, Micronesia, using
V6CW, the Marshall Islands, using V73RK and possibly Western Kiribati
using T30RK. 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,
W0OXB; 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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