Nine-year-old becomes one of Germany’s youngest amateur radio operators

A nine-year-old from near Munich is among Germany’s youngest licensed amateur radio operators, BR reports. Kirian Lukashevich passed the state exam after about a year of studying and is one of around 61,000 people with an amateur radio licence in Germany. About 11,000 licence holders are registered in Bavaria.

Kirian, who lives in Poing, could Morse his name at seven. His father, Dzianis Lukashevich, taught him radio operation and has made connections from more than 500 mountain peaks around the world. A spokesperson for Germany’s Federal Network Agency told BR that passing the exam at Kirian’s age was a remarkable achievement and confirmed he is among the youngest amateur radio operators.

The exam, administered by the Federal Network Agency, tests operating procedures and the legal rules for radio use. Kirian practises three times a week in a small space in the family’s basement, usually after playing with friends. His call sign is DN9KI. He describes radio communication as a kind of secret language because, instead of speaking normally, operators send signals.

Amateur radio operators from the German Amateur Radio Club give daily demonstrations in the electronics exhibition at the Deutsches Museum, a science and technology museum in Munich. They show visitors how far a signal can travel; one watt can reach the Faroe Islands, according to the demonstration.

Amateur radio has operated at the museum since 1938, and its station received a broadcasting licence in 1949. The Nazis banned amateur radio during the Second World War. The service has also proved useful in emergencies such as earthquakes and floods.

Radio signals travel through the air as electromagnetic waves, without relying on mobile phone masts. Long-distance communication can use waves reflected by the ionosphere, a layer that begins about 70 kilometres above Earth, allowing signals to travel across vast distances.

For a radio contest, Kirian joined his father at a club station in a small building in Munich’s Schwabing district. He had an hour to make as many contacts as possible and record the other operator’s call sign and local club. He logged 45 contacts, including one in Russia, against a target of 50, and said he hoped to finish in the top five.