Announcement: Enigma Encrypted Broadcast Event

The MRHS in cooperation with our good friends at the Cipher History Museum will send a coded message in 5-letter groups via the facilities of coast station KPH on Saturday August 30, 2023. The message will be encrypted using the famous Enigma code machine. 

The Enigma was the Germans' most sophisticated coding machine for securely transmitting command and control messages via radio communications in WWII. It was considered so secure that it was used to encipher the most top-secret of messages.

All KPH listeners are invited to try their hand at receiving and decrypting the message. Certificates will be awarded for proof of successful decode, first to decode and use of original or replica hardware.

You say your Enigma hardware is a bit rusty? Perhaps it has slipped a cog? No problem, MRHS has you covered! Software simulations exist for the Enigma code machine. Click Here for an easy-to-use Enigma simulator. It is web-based, so no download necessary. 

For additional information on the Enigma please see Ralph Simpsons' Cipher Museum History site.

Crypto broadcast date, time and formats

The crypto broadcast will commence at 2000 GMT (1300 Pacific) on 30 August 2025 on all KPH CW and RTTY frequencies. The CW frequencies are (in kc): 6477.5, 8642.0, 12808.5, 17016.8, and 22477.5. Upon completion of the CW transmissions, the broadcast will be repeated on the KPH RTTY frequencies. The RTTY transmission will be 170cps shift Baudot, 45 baud. The RTTY frequencies are (in kc): 6324.5, 8427.0 and 12585.5.

Further Information 

Full details will be announced in mid-August via a Special Bulletin to all MRHS newsletter subscribers and on the MRHS website. The bulletin will contain a link to a code book where the Enigma machine keys can be found, plus helpful hints on Enigma decoding procedures.

For more information or questions about the KPH cipher broadcast send email to crypto@radiomarine.org.