France, Aug. 25 -- On his identity card, he is Vincent Plousey. On the airwaves, he goes by "F0GXR" - spelled out as "Foxtrot, Zero, Golf, X-ray, Romeo" in the international radio alphabet, a callsign he also wears stitched on to his cap.

Plousey has been roaming the radio waves since he was 10 years old. It began with his father's radio set, which could pick up shortwave signals carrying foreign stations.

"By turning the dials, I came across Radio Moscow, Voice of America, Vatican Radio, RFI," he said. "It was an immediate shock, because from my suburb of Paris, I had access to the whole world."

This fascination grew into a lasting passion for amateur radio.

In 2024, France had 15,000 radio amateurs and 400 active radio clubs, accord...