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Biography:
Tommy Henderson, Broken Arrow, OK was licensed at his high school ARC in 10th grade (1977) in Sand Springs, OK. He worked for the Telex Corp for 11 years in the engineering tech area. Once they folded, he went to school in the same field (AASEET degree) at Tulsa Junior College (TCC). Encourage to teach from a friend, he started teaching H.S. electronics at Central Tech School. Four years later he joined OSU- Okmulgee to teach avionics and semiconductor manufacturing. Three years later an opening at Tulsa Community College (TJC were he started) became available to run the electronics department. He is currently the Interim Dean of Engineering and Applied Technology at TCC and also Associate Professor of Electronics for the past 16 years. He completed his BS degree at NSU, and the MET degree from Pittsburg State in KS. Tommy, for the past +30 years, also designs radio astronomy LNAs and Antennas through 10 GHz.
Operating wise, Tommy saw the Tune Tin Two QST article and built it in the 10th grade. So QRPing was the place for a while. He took to VHF and above technology right out of H.S. because it was different and the antennas were smaller to design. Earth Moon Earth (EME) was the most fascinating mode and he made his first EME contact on 144 MHz in 1981 using 4 yagis and a HB pair of 4cx250b’s. Four years later he finished 2m WAS and WAC, and was time to move up the bands. He picked up a 13ft dish and got on 1296 MHz EME with a HB pair of 2C39 water cooled tubes at about 150W out in 1986. That dish was replaced by a H.B. 18ft dish and upped the power to 400W with 4 -180deg. phased 3CX100’s and completed WAC plus 40 states. A move into a CCR area took the 18ft dish off the air, so he has had to go low key for the past 15 years with a 10ft dish. Currently he is active on EME from 432MHz through 5760 MHz with 2304 MHz EME his favorite (300W of solid state phased amplifiers, 60 degree total system temperature, echoes are +14 dB out of the noise.)
Other hobbies include, QRP designing and building, and as of late Electric Vehicle drag racing, he is the current bike record holder in the ¼ mile with 260V (10.7s @ 124 MPH) of course H.B.