- Original version: September 2004
Current version:
September 27, 2013
K7TO
Terry Owen - Beaverton, Oregon
Beaverton is about 10 miles southwest of downtown Portland.
Tektronix started here and it is the home for the Nike world
headquarters.
Bio
I was first licensed as a Novice as WV6NAV in 1960 while attending high
school in San Jose, California. After three months I earned my General
license and became WA6NAV. Around 1969 I upgraded to Extra at the San
Francisco office of the FCC. I have a vivid memory of taking the CW
test that day. There were about 20 people in the room with
earphones on trying to copy
one error free minute at 20 WPM out of five minutes. After the
five
minute transmission the examiner collected the papers and started his
grading.
As I remember the first 18 or so were called and told they had
not
passed - one at a time. Myself and one other were still sitting
waiting
for our results. My name was called and I was told I passed and
could
take the written exam! After moving to Bend, OR in 1976 I was
issued
the call WB7DXN. When the 1X2 calls became available in the late 1970s
I
received my current call K7TO - my initials.
I received my BA in Physics in 1966 from San Jose State College and a
MS in 1968 in Physics from the University of Oregon. From 1968 to
1976 I worked at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (now the Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory) as an
experimental physicist. I returned to graduate school at San Jose
State
University and received a MS in Electrical Engineering in late 1975.
From
1976 to 1985 I taught electronics techonology at Central Oregon
Community
College in Bend Oregon. I taught electronics and engineering at
Portland
Community College from 1985 to 2002. In June 2002 I retired after
27
years of teaching.
Much of my time now is spent remodeling my home. Other hobbies
include walks, bicycle touring, hiking, and cross country skiing. I am
active with the Beaverton CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) and
the associated ham group. In 2013 I headed the rebuilding of the
CERT UHF repeater. My wife Mary and I also enjoy traveling and
making new friends in other areas of the country and world. We often
make use of the hosting
network for educators when traveling. When cycle touring I often
use the Warmshowers
hosts. Links open in a new page.
Please visit my photo album page.
Click on the link below
the image to view
these pages from my early years in amateur radio.