k7OJL

Roland Smith, K7OJL, is currently my teacher at CW Academy, who got a very early start in ham radio almost 60 years ago.  After a stint in the US Air Force,  life and professional relocations around the World paused Rolands ham radio activity.  Roland has since returned to amateur radio at a fast and furious pace, operating in just about every band and mode.  Together, we explore the dramatic changes in the hobby and how K7OJL has adapted in this QSO Today.

OJL Ham Radio Blog

Hometown: Soda Springs, ID
First License: Nov 1958, Arrived Feb 19  KN7OJL

Terms
Sputnik
Hammarlund ShortWave Receiver
Boy Scouts of America
Boys’ Life Magazine
Knight-kit Star Roamer Receiver
Colpitts Oscillator
Eico 720 Transmitter Kit
Monsanto Plant, Soda Springs, ID 
US Air Force Reconnaissance
Yale University, Chinese Language
Air Order of Battle – Vietnam War
Gulf of Tonkin
USAF MARS – Vietnam DaNang AFB
Barry Goldwater MARS Operation, 
Purdue University, Mathematics, 
GI Bill
TRW – Lafayette, Indiana
TRW – Cleveland, OH
Thiokol Rocket Boosters
Space Shuttle Challenger
LSI Logic, Japan
Altair Computer
Commodore 64
Radio Shack TRS 80 Computer
Bulletin Board System
Prodigy Email Service
Barnes and Noble Book Store
Ham Radio for Dummies, H. Ward Silver
ARRL Technician Class License Manual
Portneuf Valley Amateur Radio Club
Scout Mountain Ultra Trail Race
AREDN Mesh Networking
Plate Modulator
Idaho National Laboratory
BYU Hawaii Amateur Radio Club
Allstar Link Net
Asterix PBX
CW Academy
CWops
Gro Lux Lights
Eliminating a Noise Source, blog post
Utah DX Association 
Bob Carter, WR7Q
Joe Fisher, AA8TA
Long Island CW Club
Cricket 40 Transmitter, 4 State QRP Group
Parks on the Air
Xiegu X1M portable radio

The key ingredients to ham radio success for new hams that come during retirement:  Get a sense of community associated with amateur radio. Cost of entry is now really low. 

Advice to new or returning hams: become part of the ham radio community. 

Knight-Kit Star Roamer GC Receiver

Eico 720 Novice Transmitter

Xiegu X1M HF Transceiver

Commodore 64 Computer