My Journey into Amateur Radio: How S21AMF Got Started On The Air
Every amateur radio operator has a moment that sparked the lifelong fire.
By profession, I am a medical doctor. My daily life revolves around clinical diagnostics, patient care, and medical science. Yet, in the evenings and early mornings, my world transforms. I step into my radio room, turn on the receiver, and listen to the faint whispers of human voices carried across thousands of miles of empty space by the ionosphere.
I am often asked how a medical professional became deeply immersed in RF engineering, Morse code, and antenna physics. Here is the true story of how S21AMF was born.
1. The Spark: Shortwave Radio in Childhood
My fascination with radio began long before I understood electron flow or Maxwell's equations. As a child, I had access to an old analog shortwave broadcast radio. Late at night, when the local medium-wave stations signed off, I turned the plastic knob slowly across the high-frequency spectrum.
Through crackles of static, distant voices spoke languages from across the globe: BBC World Service, Radio Netherlands, Voice of America. Occasionally, on the 7 MHz amateur band, I would hear peculiar rhythmic beeping—CW Morse code—and strange nasal voices speaking in single sideband (SSB). I was captivated. Who were these people talking directly to each other without broadcasters or telephone lines?
2. Balancing Medical School & Electronics
During my intensive medical studies, human anatomy, pathology, and pharmacology consumed my days. Medicine is a rigorous discipline requiring relentless precision. Interestingly, I found that RF electronics shared that exact same demand for intellectual honesty.
In human physiology, the cardiovascular system is governed by fluid dynamics and pressure differentials. In an RF circuit, electricity obeys Ohm's law and impedance matching. An antenna that is not tuned to resonance rejects power back to the source, just as an occluded blood vessel creates pathological resistance. Building circuits and winding toroidal inductors became my ultimate mental sanctuary after demanding hospital ward rotations.
3. Conquering the BTRC Licensing Exam
In Bangladesh, operating a transmitting station requires clearing the formal examination administered by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). Preparing for that exam was both exhilarating and demanding.
I memorized the ITU Region 3 frequency allocations, mastered telegraphy prosigns, and studied telecommunications law under the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulation Act. When the official gazette announced the results and awarded me the callsign S21AMF, it was one of the proudest achievements of my life.
4. My First HF Contact from Dhaka
My first high-frequency antenna was not an expensive aluminum tower. It was a simple half-wave wire dipole cut for the 20-meter band (14 MHz), strung between two bamboo poles on my rooftop in Dhaka. I soldered the center coax feedline with my own hands.
One evening, as the solar terminator swept across the Indian Ocean, I keyed my transmitter on 14.200 MHz and called: "CQ CQ, this is Sierra Two One Alpha Mike Foxtrot, S21AMF in Dhaka, Bangladesh."
Seconds later, an operator in southern Italy came back to my call: "S21AMF, this is Italy! You are 5 and 9 into the Mediterranean! Welcome to the airwaves, my friend!" My heart raced. A copper wire on a rooftop in Dhaka had projected an electromagnetic whisper straight into Europe. I was hooked forever.
5. Why I Founded S21AMF Academy
Over the years, as I worked thousands of international stations, I noticed a troubling reality in Bangladesh and developing nations: many brilliant young engineering students and hobbyists wanted to enter amateur radio, but they lacked structured, accessible training.
Information was fragmented across outdated paper manuals. Mock exams were nonexistent. There was no modern platform that combined Morse auditory training, antenna calculators, and interactive BTRC exam simulations. I founded S21AMF Academy to solve that problem permanently. My goal was to create a modern, free educational hub where any cadet could master telegraphy, study RF physics, and earn their license with distinction.
🎯 A Message to Future Cadets
No matter your age, background, or academic degree, the radio spectrum belongs to those who possess the curiosity to explore it. If a medical doctor can master high-voltage linear amplifiers and telegraphy, you can too.
Pick up your books, practice your Morse code drills in our audio lab, and take the leap. The world is waiting to hear your signal.