The OK2KOJ Radio Club was founded at the end of the 1950s at Brno University of Technology (BUT) on the initiative of the students and employees of the university at that time. The rapid rise of the radio club in its early years is best evidenced by around 10 filled station logbooks with several thousand contacts from the early 1960s and approximately 20 contest diplomas awarded for top placements
. In the 1970s and 1980s, RK OK2KOJ served for many years as the base for top athletes in radio orienteering and, on a nationwide scale, regularly alternated with the Prague base at the top of national competitions. The result of their work was a historically significant achievement—a gold medal and the title of World Champion at the 4th Radio Orienteering World Championship in Beatenberg, Switzerland in 1988. The title was won in competition with racers from 18 countries by then-BUT student Petr Kopor, representing RK OK2KOJ. This success gained major publicity at the time (see articles in AR 1988/12, AR 1989/1), not only in Czechoslovakia. At that time, some founding members were still active, such as Prof. Jan Žižka, OK2WBW, who worked selflessly to ensure the conditions necessary for the club’s existence (for many years, broadcasting was done using equipment he lent, and a map of Brno with coordinates marked by him still hangs in the club room today). Over the course of its existence, several hundred people—mostly students—have passed through the radio club. Many of them obtained amateur radio licenses thanks to the club, which made OK2KOJ widely known in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Until 1990, RK OK2KOJ operated under the Svazarm organization, which was also active at BUT and provided partial support. After Svazarm’s dissolution, most radio clubs in Brno lost their existing facilities due to a lack of financial resources and either disappeared or remained active only nominally. Interest in hobby-based volunteer activities also declined, especially among young people. In Brno, only about three out of the original eleven active radio clubs survived, including OK2KOJ. After Svazarm ceased to exist, legal status became necessary in order to transfer the modest property that had remained with the club. Therefore, the club first obtained delegated legal status as a member of SMSR (Union of Moravian-Silesian Radio Amateurs), and later applied for and gained independent legal status under the name “Radio Club OK2KOJ at Brno University of Technology.” After 1990, the radio orienteering group in Brno separated from OK2KOJ for financial and organizational reasons and continued with other sponsors. The activity of the radio club at BUT has always been quite specific—its members are mostly students from outside Brno who leave after graduation, so there is a constant need to recruit and train new members. After 1990, the club saw a decline in membership due to the temporary interruption of operator training courses, caused by uncertainty surrounding the club’s future (loss of funding after Svazarm’s closure at BUT) and long-term legislative uncertainties regarding non-profit organizations and amateur radio. A turning point in the club’s activities came in 1995, when RK OK2KOJ became a center for the newly developing digital mode Packet Radio. A PR network node and several user access points were established within the club, shaping its next focus. At that time, the authors of the bestseller Packet Radio from A Almost to Z—Ing. Pavel Lajšner, OK2UCX, and Ing. Radek Václavík, OK2XDX—were also members of the club. Also noteworthy is the installation of the first (and likely only) Czech Aplink OK0PBR, which was later converted into an FBB mailbox. Dalibor Berka, OK2PEN, is also a member of RK OK2KOJ. Over the past 20 years, the radio club OK2KOJ has had an average of about 40 members. Interestingly, some of the club’s courses have been attended even by elementary and high school students, many of whom later graduated from BUT, and some remain active in the club to this day. At the end of the 1990s, the membership base once again grew and stabilized. Each year, the club has hosted preparation courses for examinations required to obtain an individual license to use radio frequencies in the amateur radiocommunication service (amateur radio license). The OK2KOJ Radio Club currently represents one of the few operational radio clubs in Brno. It actively participates in VHF contests on the 2m, 70cm, and 23cm bands, where trips to hilltops (usually in the vicinity of Brno) are an essential part of the operation. Participation in the Alpe Adria contests has also become a tradition, bringing an element of high-mountain hiking into the competition, as every year we attempt to conquer major mountain peaks for the purpose of operating from them. In the HF area, participation in the CQ WPX and CQ WW contests is a must, during which we use the club’s radio room.
