CLASSIFIED
// FOR OPERATOR EYES ONLY //
DOC: TN-9-BNS-2026 █
// Designated Operator
PRESTON
// FCC Callsign
W?–???
⬡ PENDING EXAM PASS
CLEARANCE UPGRADED
JUNIOR OPERATOR → TRUSTED FIELD OPERATIVE
// BIRTHDAY PROTOCOL TRIGGERED — 25 FEB 2026 // OPERATOR AGE: 9 YEARS // THRESHOLD MET
AUTH: AUTO
AGE-9 CLEARANCE TIER
AGE-9 CLEARANCE TIER
01 // MISSION OVERVIEW
Operator PRESTON — you have been selected for a communications program reserved for individuals with exceptional intelligence and technical ability. This is not a game. This is a real Federal Communications Commission license that grants you legal authority to transmit radio signals across New Jersey, across the United States, and to satellites in orbit 250 miles above Earth.
Your equipment package is inbound. Your mission is to study, pass the FCC Technician Exam, earn your official callsign, and complete your first live radio contact — before cruise departure at end of March 2026.
02 // EQUIPMENT PACKAGE — INBOUND
UNIT 01 — BAOFENG BF-F9 Dual-Band Transceiver. 8 Watts. Covers all VHF/UHF amateur frequencies. Your primary field radio. Transmit, receive, and access every repeater in New Jersey. Also receives airline and aviation frequencies — listen to live pilot-to-tower conversations.
UNIT 02 — ABBREE AR-152A Tactical Antenna — 42.5 inches. Foldable. 5.0 dBi gain. Long-range field antenna. Extends signal reach to 40+ miles when deployed. Clips to a pack.
UNIT 03 — ABBREE AR-771 Field Antenna — 15 inches. Standard daily antenna. Direct replacement for the weak stock antenna.
UNIT 04 — BTECH Programming Cable + CHIRP Software. Load every NJ repeater frequency into your radio from a laptop. You program it yourself.
03 // WHAT A TYPICAL DAY LOOKS LIKE
Listen to Real Pilots
Your BF-F9 can receive aviation frequencies (118–136 MHz) — no license needed to listen. Tune to Newark approach control and hear real American Airlines and United pilots talking to air traffic control in real time. You'll hear "United 432, descend to 4,000, cleared ILS runway 22L." Every landing at EWR. Right from your room.
Track the ISS Overhead
Go to heavens-above.com, enter your address, and get the exact minute the ISS passes over Brick, NJ. Tune to 145.825 MHz. As it crosses the sky at 17,500 mph, your radio locks onto its signal. The ISS callsign NA1SS will appear as a moving dot on aprs.fi. You are tracking a real spacecraft.
Talk Across New Jersey
NJ has dozens of repeater towers on hilltops that catch your signal and relay it 40–80 miles. Key up from your backyard in Brick and your voice reaches operators in New York City, Philadelphia, and the Jersey Shore. During the morning drive, the repeaters are active — operators checking in, chatting, reporting weather. You can join any time.
Talk to Other Kids
YOTA (Youth on the Air) and YACHT (Young Amateur Communications Ham Team) are active networks of licensed operators aged 9–18. They run scheduled nets where young operators check in by callsign from across the US and internationally. There are kids your age — and younger — active right now. Weekly nets are listed at youthontheair.org.
APRS — Live Radio Map
Open aprs.fi right now. Every dot is a real licensed operator reporting their position via radio — no internet, no GPS app. You'll see operators moving across New Jersey, weather balloons drifting over Pennsylvania, boats off the Jersey Shore, and the ISS callsign crossing the entire continent every 90 minutes. You become one of those dots.
Weekend Contests
Nearly every weekend, operators compete to contact as many stations as possible in 24 hours. ARRL Field Day, Sweepstakes, and dozens of others. Points for each US state and country contacted. Top young operators log hundreds of contacts. It is strategic, competitive, and logged in a real national database under your callsign.
04 // PHASE 2 UPGRADE — DMR DIGITAL RADIO
Same Technician license. No extra exam. DMR (Digital Mobile Radio) is a digital transmission mode that connects your handheld radio to worldwide talk groups via internet-linked repeaters. A kid in Brick, NJ can talk to operators in Warsaw, Tokyo, and Sydney using a $60 radio and a local repeater tower.
// Field Office Authorization — Commander T.B.
Authorization Granted
Upon successful licensing and completion of first radio contact, Commander T. Banas has authorized and will personally sponsor the procurement of a DMR-capable radio as a Phase 2 mission upgrade. Equipment pending callsign registration.
DMR Talk Groups — What They Are
Talk groups are worldwide radio conversations organized by topic, language, or region. There is a Poland talk group (TG260) active with Polish operators right now. A worldwide English talk group (TG91) with operators on every continent. A US-only group. A youth group. You pick a talk group, key up, and you are heard around the world — through one local repeater tower in New Jersey.
Zero Extra Cost to Operate
Once you have the radio and a free DMR ID registered at radioid.net, there is no subscription, no monthly fee, and no data plan required. The repeater infrastructure is maintained by volunteers worldwide. Your voice goes: radio → NJ repeater → internet → repeaters in Europe, Asia, anywhere → other operators' radios. Instantaneous.
Works Alongside Analog
A DMR-capable radio also operates on all standard analog FM frequencies — every NJ repeater, ISS tracking, aviation receive. It is a full upgrade, not a replacement. Everything you already have, plus worldwide digital capability.
05 // FIELD REPORTS — REAL OPERATORS YOUR AGE
// Confirmed — Illinois, Age 9 → NBC Today Show
Dhruv Rebba (KC9ZJX) got his Technician license at age 9 after a hamfest with his father. Six years later, he organized his school and made direct voice contact with NASA astronaut Joe Acaba aboard the ISS. NBC's TODAY show flew a camera crew to cover it. He was 15. He started exactly where you are starting.
// Confirmed — Long Island, Age 11, World Record
Katie Campbell (KE8LQR) earned her Extra class license — the highest FCC level — at age 11. She now teaches Morse code to other kids through the Long Island CW Club and presented at Contest University 2024. She is on the YOTA planning committee. She started at 9.
// Confirmed — Pennsylvania, 2023, National News
Students at Harbor Creek High School used amateur radio to speak with astronaut Andreas Mogensen (KG5GCZ) aboard the ISS. Fifteen licensed student operators participated. Local and national news covered it. The contact lasted 9 minutes, live on air, no internet.
06 // SAFETY CLEARANCE — WHY THIS IS SECURE
Every Operator Is Registered by Name
To transmit on any amateur frequency, you must have an FCC license with your real name and address on file in the federal database, searchable by anyone at fcc.gov. Every person you talk to has a registered callsign. Anonymous communication does not exist in amateur radio. You always know who you are talking to.
Radio is a Broadcast Medium — Not a Private Channel
Unlike the internet, every radio transmission is public. Any licensed operator with a receiver can hear what is being said on any frequency. The community monitors itself. Violations are reported directly to the FCC, which has authority to revoke licenses and issue fines. The radio community has enforced its own conduct rules for over 100 years.
Commanding Officer Monitors in Real Time
Commander T. Banas has an identical radio and can monitor any frequency in real time from anywhere in the house. Every repeater transmission is heard by everyone on that repeater — including experienced adult operators who take the rules seriously.
Structured Entry Points
First contacts happen on monitored repeaters and organized youth nets — not open, unstructured frequencies. YOTA nets have net control operators who manage check-ins. It is structured like a classroom discussion, not an open chat room.
No Screens, No Algorithms, No Ads
Amateur radio has no recommendation engine pushing content at you. No autoplay. No follower counts. No one trying to keep you engaged longer than you want to be. You pick up the radio, make a contact, put it down. You are in control of the interaction.
07 // MORSE CODE — OPTIONAL ADVANCED SKILL
... — — — ... ·– · –· –·–·
// above: "SOS" + "PRES" in Morse code
Morse code is no longer required for any FCC license — it was removed in 2007. But it is still used, and for a specific reason that matters: a 5-watt Morse signal cuts through static and interference that would completely block a 100-watt voice signal. Operators in Europe and Japan can copy your Morse transmission when your voice would be unreadable. It is the most efficient communication mode ever developed for weak signals over long distances.
SPEED — Most beginners reach working speed (13 words per minute) in 4–6 weeks of daily 15-minute practice. The brain treats it like learning music rhythm — pattern recognition, not memorization.
WHO USES IT — Katie Campbell (age 11, Extra class) now teaches Morse to other kids through the Long Island CW Club. Active CW operators span every age group. It has its own contest category and dedicated worldwide community.
⚡ Not required. Not part of the exam. But operators who know CW can reach signals that no other mode can — and it is the one skill that makes experienced operators immediately take a young operator seriously.
08 // EXAM INTELLIGENCE
35Questions
on the exam
on the exam
423Total questions
in public pool
in public pool
74%Passing score
(26 of 35)
(26 of 35)
The FCC publishes every possible exam question in advance. All 423. You can study the exact questions before you walk in. This is public record — not a loophole. The exam costs $15, is held at a local library or community center, and is administered by volunteer examiners. Upon passing, your unique callsign appears in the federal FCC database within days. Registered to you permanently.
STUDY PLATFORM — HamStudy.org. Free. Gamified. Tracks your weak areas automatically. 30 minutes per day is the recommended schedule for an operator of your assessed ability level.
⚡ INTEL: Operators have passed this exam as young as 7 years old. You have been assessed at 3–4 years ahead in math and logic. The exam is not the obstacle. Starting the first session on HamStudy.org is.
09 // MISSION DEADLINE
// Exam Must Be Passed Before
MARCH 2026
Before cruise departure — end of month
TIME REMAINING: APPROX.
4–5 WEEKS
CALLSIGN IN FCC DATABASE
BEFORE BOARDING.
PHASE 2 (DMR) ACTIVATES ON RETURN.
4–5 WEEKS
CALLSIGN IN FCC DATABASE
BEFORE BOARDING.
PHASE 2 (DMR) ACTIVATES ON RETURN.
10 // MISSION COMPLETION — AUTHORIZED UPON PASSING
// The following are unlocked upon verified FCC callsign registration:
ARRL MEMBERSHIP — IN YOUR NAME
Official membership in the American Radio Relay League — the national amateur radio organization with 160,000 members. You receive a membership card with your callsign, monthly QST magazine, and your name in the national operator directory. Issued to: Operator Preston, Age 9, Class: Technician, State: NJ.
DMR RADIO UPGRADE — SPONSORED BY COMMANDER T.B.
A DMR-capable radio, fully programmed with NJ repeaters and worldwide talk groups. You will be connected to operators in Poland, Germany, Japan, and Australia within 48 hours of activation. This is Phase 2. It is waiting for your callsign.
PHASE 3 MISSION BRIEFING — CLASSIFIED
A third briefing will be issued after your first month of active operation. Contents: classified. It involves a contest entry, a specific target contact, and an advanced antenna project. Details pending your operational readiness.
COMMANDER T. BANAS
Commanding Officer // Authorized Sponsor
OPERATOR PRESTON
Operator Acceptance — Mission Active