--- service: "Publicasta" schema_version: "1.0" article_id: 973 title: "Off Frequency: The Daily Radio Digest — 26 October 2026" language: "en" default_language: "en" canonical_url: "https://publicasta.com/off_frequency/off-frequency-digest-2026-10-26?lang=en" json_url: "https://publicasta.com/off_frequency/off-frequency-digest-2026-10-26.json?lang=en" api_url: "https://publicasta.com/api/public/v1/channels/off_frequency/articles/off-frequency-digest-2026-10-26?lang=en" channel_url: "https://publicasta.com/api/public/v1/channels/off_frequency" channel_articles: "https://publicasta.com/api/public/v1/channels/off_frequency/articles" search_url: "https://publicasta.com/api/public/v1/search" documentation_url: "https://publicasta.com/api-docs#reading-publicasta" openapi_url: "https://publicasta.com/api-docs/openapi.json" published_at: "2026-10-26T07:13:38+00:00" updated_at: "2026-10-26T07:13:38+00:00" translations: - language: "en" html_url: "https://publicasta.com/off_frequency/off-frequency-digest-2026-10-26?lang=en" markdown_url: "https://publicasta.com/off_frequency/off-frequency-digest-2026-10-26.md?lang=en" json_url: "https://publicasta.com/off_frequency/off-frequency-digest-2026-10-26.json?lang=en" - language: "ru" html_url: "https://publicasta.com/off_frequency/off-frequency-digest-2026-10-26?lang=ru" markdown_url: "https://publicasta.com/off_frequency/off-frequency-digest-2026-10-26.md?lang=ru" json_url: "https://publicasta.com/off_frequency/off-frequency-digest-2026-10-26.json?lang=ru" --- # Off Frequency: The Daily Radio Digest — 26 October 2026 > FCC collecting from Northeast pirates, UVB-76 muttering “unpleasant” things, portable SDRs that don’t need a laptop, and the leap second finally clocking out. A slightly ironic look at the last 48 hours in ham and pirate radio. The bands were not completely silent, even if the volume on X was a bit lower than usual. Between the FCC quietly confirming it still intends to collect from a few Northeast pirates, the Buzzer deciding the airwaves needed the words “metritis” and “unpleasant,” and a handful of open-source SDR projects that continue to make laptops optional, there was enough to keep the dial interesting. **The FCC still wants its money from the pirates** On 25 October the Enforcement Bureau affirmed proposed fines totaling $60,000 against three people linked to unlicensed FM operations in the New York metro area and Massachusetts. One was running “Wild FM” on 106.3 in Brooklyn; another was the voice of a Haitian-immigrant station in Spring Valley; the third had been on 87.9 in Hyannis since 2024. None of them filed responses. The PIRATE Act still lets the Commission go after both operators and property owners who knowingly host them. Business as usual, just with a bit more paperwork. **UVB-76 felt like sharing** The legendary shortwave buzzer on 4625 kHz interrupted its monotone on 22 October with two short voice messages. The first, at 12:36 MSK, contained the word “METRIT”; the second, two hours later, offered “NEPRYATNY” (unpleasant). Enthusiasts who monitor the station logged the usual call-sign-like groups and numbers. As always, nobody official explained anything, which is precisely why the channel remains popular among both radio hobbyists and people who prefer their mystery undiluted. ![Antenna on a rooftop against a blue sky](https://publicasta.com/storage/projects/55/mcp/8e850350-9e44-45c4-88f3-688e30d4bfcd.webp) **The laptop is becoming optional** OrcSDR continues to turn an M5Stack Tab5 plus a compatible RTL-SDR into a battery-powered touchscreen radio that does spectrum, waterfall, FM with RDS, airband, FT8, ADS-B, LoRa/Meshtastic and more without a PC in the loop. Meanwhile OFFgrid-SDR 1.6 (still a single HTML file that can run from a pen drive) added FT8, ACARS and improved PSK decoders plus a tougher USB connection. Both projects lean hard into the “I just want to listen, not administer a workstation” aesthetic that has been spreading through the SDR world. **Time itself is getting simpler** The Wireless Institute of Australia pointed out that the leap second is finally being retired. For most of the planet this is good news; for amateur radio operators who still care about precise timing for digital modes, satellite work and some contest logging, it is one more thing that will quietly change how the clocks in the shack behave. The post from VK4TS linking the WIA note circulated quietly on the 26th. **Small victories and floating beacons** Japanese operator JE3OUU posted a modest but cheerful CQWW SSB 2026 result: 46 contacts on four bands, DXCC now at 130 worked and 102 confirmed on LoTW. Elsewhere, a balloon carrying AC3AU was tracked via 20 m WSPR as it passed near Vancouver, its reach plotted over both 24-hour and four-hour windows. Neither is headline material, yet both are the ordinary texture of the hobby. ![Large radio telescope dish on a hillside](https://publicasta.com/storage/projects/55/mcp/f85bfd31-d121-444e-81ec-4bcd9f341661.webp) **Other things worth a glance** - Mobile-Whip, a compact battery-powered active HF receive antenna aimed at handhelds and SDRs, appeared on rtl-sdr.com. - Kondor (and related) decoder plugins continue expanding the list of digital modes that can be decoded natively inside SDR++ and SDR#. - The Semtech LR2021 LoRa chip keeps being turned into a raw I/Q SDR covering roughly 100 MHz to 2.74 GHz for P25, POCSAG and FM. If you only have time for one experiment this week, try running OFFgrid-SDR or OrcSDR offline and see how much of the usual digital-mode workflow you can still do without a full laptop. Or just tune 4625 kHz and wait for the next word the Buzzer decides is worth saying out loud. Either way, the spectrum is still there.