10 Years Old, Freshly Licensed, and Already Rocking a Yaesu FT-857D

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Every so often a story comes along that's a genuine shot of good news for the hobby, and this is one of them.

A brand-new young ham in Arizona walked away with a lot more than just a call sign this month. 10-year-old Reynaldo Mangual passed his Technician class license exam, earning the call sign KM7HFU from the FCC — and the Maricopa Amateur Radio Association (MARA) decided that deserved a proper welcome.

A Station, Not Just a Certificate

MARA presented Reynaldo with an almost-new Yaesu FT-857D HF/VHF/UHF multimode transceiver, an LDG YT-100 automatic antenna tuner, and a power supply — a full working station handed straight to a ten-year-old on the day he earned his license. The gear had been donated anonymously to the club, with one condition attached: that it go to a deserving young person the moment they passed their exam. Reynaldo was that person.

The club didn't stop there either. Member Steve Miller, W6DSM, who collects and restores historic Morse keys, gave Reynaldo a fully restored World War II-era J-38 telegraph key to help introduce him to code — a nice touch linking a brand-new ham to a piece of radio history.

Already Getting Stuck In

Reynaldo has since joined ARRL, and he's also a member of the Pinal County 4-H Amateur Radio Club, a youth programme backed by 4-H, MARA, the Arizona 4-H Foundation, and a grant from the Amateur Radio Council of Arizona. He now holds the title of MARA's youngest member. MARA is an ARRL-affiliated club.

Feds Hunting for German Spy Found a 12-Year-Old Radio Genius Instead

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Feds Hunting for German Spy Found a 12-Year-Old Radio Genius Instead

Local artist recalls her father, Francis “Frank” Ryder, whose remarkable talent for radio led federal agents to his Brooklyn home during World War I before he went on to found the Suffolk County Radio Club.

Federal agents arrived at a Brooklyn brownstone during World War I believing they were closing in on a German spy.

Powerful radio transmissions had been detected coming from a home just across the street from the Brooklyn Navy Yard, one of the nation’s most strategically important military facilities. At a time when fears of enemy espionage were running high, authorities suspected German agents were using the radio to gather intelligence on naval operations.

Instead, they found a 12-year-old boy.

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Indonesian YL, 10, Is Champion In CQ DX Marathon

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A 10-year-old girl in Indonesia, who received her amateur radio license in July 2024, has been declared the World Youth Champion among operators 14 and younger who participated in the CQ DX Marathon Program.

“....her accomplishment demonstrates that age is no barrier to success in amateur radio and international DXing.”
— Nahla Aila Varisha, YD1NAV, Administrators CQ DX Marathon Program

Nahla, who is 10 years old, is being recognised for her achievements throughout 2025, in which she worked the most DXCC entities and CQ Zones during the 12-month period. She will receive a Youth Winner plaque, which is being sponsored by Ann, WA1S of the Young Ladies Radio League.

This award to an especially young operator is one of numerous awards conferred during this annual operating event. The committee said that it hoped Nahla's accomplishment would inspire other youngsters.