📡 Yasuo KAGAYA

Citizen Researcher ｜ Founder of LoPRA Lab (Low-Power Radio Research & Applications Laboratory) ｜ Radio Experimenter Documenting Regulation and Culture

Profile

Based in Tokyo, Yasuo KAGAYA is a citizen researcher focusing on license-free radio systems. He conducts institutional research, cultural documentation, and legal experiments related to low-power communication. His work crosses the boundaries of regulatory history, radio technology, communication culture, and archival editing. His distinctive research style seeks intersections between regulation and non-regulation, past and present, domestic and international contexts.

In the early 2000s, under the name “KashiwaFX886”, he extensively documented Japan’s license-free radio systems—such as Specified Low Power Radio (SRD 422 MHz, 10 mW), 27 MHz Citizen’s Band (0.5 W, AM, limited to 8 channels by Japanese regulation), and other short-range devices. His work was cited internationally, including by the Open Spectrum Foundation, as a reference for understanding Japan’s unique case.

From 1999 to 2002, he lived in Hong Kong, observing the differences in spectrum regulation and communication culture in Asian metropolitan areas. From 2008 to 2023, he was based in Taiwan (with residence in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, from 2009 to 2014), engaging in comparative studies of citizen’s radio practices and regulatory frameworks. These experiences became the foundation for Japan–Taiwan CB propagation experiments and comparative research with Mainland China.

Since 2024, he has been contributing articles to Denshi Kosaku Magazine (Electronics & Hobbies Magazine, Dempa Shimbun Publishing) on license-free radio. In 2025, his historical essay “The History of License-Free Radio in Japan” appeared in the 70th Anniversary Memorial Issue of Radio no Seisaku (Radio Making, Dempa Shimbun Publishing), receiving notable attention.

His main fields include 27 MHz CB Radio, Specified Low Power Radio (422MHz 10mW), Low Power Digital Community Radio (150 MHz, 0.5 W), and toy transceivers. Through experiments with communication tools that exist in the gray zones of regulation, he continues to explore the possibilities of “radio as culture.”

In 2025, he launched LoPRA Lab (Low-Power Radio Research & Applications Laboratory) as a personal project, archiving and publishing research, experiments, and reflections that connect regulation, technology, and culture.

Main Activities

Japan–Taiwan CB radio propagation experiments (2019–)
Meteor scatter communication using digital SRDs (2019–)
Research on toy transceivers and unlicensed communication culture (2004–)
Archival editing of regulatory and technical documents

Media Appearance

Ebisu FM (Saga City, Saga Prefecture) JOZZ0BX-FM
Program: License-Free Radio
Date: January 23, 2024
→ Discussed his personal radio background and the current situation of Japan–Taiwan CB communication.

Publications & Contributions

Early Work

Radio Life (Sansai Books), February 1982 issue
“DO Challenge: Receiving Overseas Coast Stations and Collecting QSLs”
→ Introduced beginner-friendly SWL (shortwave listening) practices through reception of overseas coastal stations and QSL card exchanges.

Special Issues & Features (Dempa Shimbun Publishing)

Denshi Kosaku Magazine (Electronics & Hobbies Magazine), Special Issue New BCL Manual: Reiwa Edition (2022)
“Calling Japanese Hobbyists from Taiwan via 27 MHz CB” (p.154)
Denshi Kosaku Magazine (Electronics & Hobbies Magazine), Special Issue License-Free & Convenience Radio Manual: Reiwa Edition (2024)
- “Challenge DX: Communicating with Taiwan on CB Radio” (Ch.8, p.128)
- “Challenge DX: Meteor Scatter Communication with Digital Community Radio” (Ch.8, p.168)
- “Building an Automatic ID Transmitter for Digital Community Radio” (Ch.11-2, p.146)

Series Articles (Dempa Shimbun Publishing)

Denshi Kosaku Magazine (Electronics & Hobbies Magazine), 2024 Winter Issue
“Becoming a License-Free Radio Expert (7): Effective Use of SRDs Considering Propagation”
Denshi Kosaku Magazine (Electronics & Hobbies Magazine), 2025 Spring Issue
“Becoming a License-Free Radio Expert (8): Extending Range with Repeaters and VOIP (eQSO, Zello, Discord)”
Denshi Kosaku Magazine (Electronics & Hobbies Magazine), 2025 Spring Issue
“Building a Handy Transceiver–Smartphone Interface”
Denshi Kosaku Magazine (Electronics & Hobbies Magazine), 2025 Summer Issue
“Becoming a License-Free Radio Expert (9): Performance Test of DECT Wireless Intercoms”
Denshi Kosaku Magazine (Electronics & Hobbies Magazine), 2025 Autumn Issue
“Becoming a License-Free Radio Expert (10): Reading the ‘Freedom’ of License-Free Radio through Regulation”

Memorial Contribution (Dempa Shimbun Publishing)

Radio no Seisaku (Radio Making), 70th Anniversary Issue (2025)
“The History of License-Free Radio in Japan”
→ A historical overview and institutional analysis of Japan’s license-free radio systems.

Teaching / Education Experience

From 1991 to 1992, he also served as a part-time lecturer in the Department of Information Engineering at Tokyo Kogakuin College of Technology (A technical college in Tokyo, Japan), teaching computing and communications. This teaching experience further informed his independent practice as a citizen researcher.