KINSMAN — Kilo-Foxtrot-8-Charlie-Romeo-Hotel (KF8CRH) has a federal license to broadcast on the Amateur Ham Radio Network — but it will be several years yet before he can get a license to drive a car.

Joseph Badger Local Schools fourth grader Christopher Mazurek was recognized at the elementary academic awards ceremony Monday. His great-uncle, Steve Jones — and fellow radio operator — presented his credentials with station code KF8CRH to him in front of his schoolmates in the third and fourth grades. Also on hand was Christopher’s father Zack Mazurek, who took the licensing exam at the same time as his son.

“Actually, Christopher did one better than Zack,” Jones said. “He became the youngest ham operator in the State of Ohio.”

Christopher said the exam covered safety rules and regulations, how to build antennas properly, how to use electricity safely to operate the equipment and federal rules governing the broadcasting.

Zack Mazurek said his son was drawn to the hobby out of his love for science and technology. Getting to spend family time together doing something they both love is an added bonus, he said.

“Once I told him we could talk to each other on the radio, he was all in,” Zack Mazurek said.

Christopher said he loves talking to his family over the radio. He loved learning about the technology and learning about how the radio signals work.

“You can bounce it off the sky, which is neat, or if you have a big field with no trees, you can transmit easily to another location,” Christopher said.

The family’s home is not in a big field, however, and the fourth grader recounted the trials and errors he and his father went through until they finally hit on a solution to get the signal out of their home and to Uncle Steve, who was nearby to test and troubleshoot.

“It was super hard,” Christopher said. “There were so many trees, we couldn’t transmit. So, we put the big antenna out in the driveway so we can listen to the other radios.”

He said a small antenna is 20 feet tall. Theirs is even taller, reaching up over the trees.

Christopher’s new high-frequency radio is due for delivery this weekend. The family also is going to set up a matching radio at Badger schools and will help create a school club, with the hope of introducing other students to ham radio.

Heidi Barker, PK-6 principal at Badger Elementary, said she’s glad to see young people take an interest in the tech hobby.

“I think it’s so important that we celebrate students and their interests that happen outside the school day,” Barker said. “We can incorporate that knowledge back into the classroom. Having Christopher as a leader, and also in this ham radio area, will allow us to get even more children interested and will expand our STEM opportunities here at Badger.”

This summer, the family will start working on a goal of talking to at least one person in all 50 states over the ham radio network. Christopher said his goal is to improve from the technician license to the general license so he can broadcast even wider signals. With the general license, he’ll be able to operate on radio bands that reach across the world, and even into space — just in case someone at the International Space Station has time to chat.

In addition to the ham radio presentation, students throughout the elementary school were honored Monday for reaching merit and honor rolls. Each student also was presented with a book bag and Badger Schools T-shirt courtesy of the Badger PTO.