| Edmonds man's voice heard around the world (May 10) |
 |
 |
 |
|
An Edmonds ham radio operator has talked to people in 338 countries
From the comfort of his home on a hill overlooking Browns Bay, John Owens listens to chatter coming from Asia, Africa and the tip of Chile, all linked by amateur radio operators. As he eavesdrops, the world is made smaller as the operators strike up friendships and trade knowledge of the different kinds of ham radio licenses and privileges each can attain. A ham radio operator from Mexico City has been connecting with Owens since 1995 over the air waves. “I have friends all over the world,” said Owens. For his tenacious communication skills, Owens — N7TK as he is known across the globe — has achieved a distinction of No. 1 DX Century Club Honor Roll. The honor was bestowed last fall by the American Radio Relay League. Simply put, Owens attained this pinnacle of ham operator achievement by confirming contact with all 338 countries and other geographical areas on the league’s list. Some are easy to reach. Others, including North Korea, which was silent for 50 years, are next to impossible. Confirming a contact involves an exchange of call signs, signal reports and the eventual exchange of postcards summarizing the contact. Some of the cards depicting remote tropical beaches and ice-covered islands, paper the walls of Owens’ den. Reaching the achievement took Owens 18 years. He attributes his success to “a very good radio station, modern computer-assisted resources, determination and a lot of luck.” Many ham operators never reach the No. 1 distinction in their lifetime. Only 1,400 exist out of a total pool of 3 million licensed hams worldwide. Owens’ pursuit has put 9,500 contacts into his log book dating to 1961. Owens’ introduction to the radio world began as a child in California tuning his parents’ shortwave radio. When he spotted a neighbor’s antenna he learned more about ham operators and became hooked on the international game of “tag.” He credits his passion for amateur radio for launching him into his career as an electrical engineer. “The world of ham radio is so much more than most people realize,” said Owens. “Its most important contribution is through volunteer support of emergency communications needs that arise during a major emergency. You wouldn’t think that necessary in this day of cell phones and computers, but major disasters can take out electrical power and infrastructure in large regions rendering these resources useless.” Owens pointed to the tsunami that devastated Indonesia and Thailand. A major ham radio station was on one of the Andaman Islands near India. Following the tsunami, they shifted operations from purely social to develop an emergency communications center. This international hobby is experiencing growth, Owens said. “There is still a lot of interest in this technology,” he said. “Getting a license is fairly simple and straightforward, having been simplified in recent years by elimination of the Morse Code testing requirement.” Article: Hearldnet
|
Radio News
