4 • The Southwest Portland Post
FEATURES
October 2015
Look forward to high-tech time travel at the VintageTEK museum
By Jack Rubinger
The Southwest Portland Post
The VintageTEK museum, located at
4820A SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy,
Oscilloscopes, used to observe the change
of an electrical signal over time, can be
found at the VintageTEK museum.
(Post photo by Jack Rubinger)
employee, about a string
of buildings he owns on
Southwest Beaverton-
Hillsdale Highway.
“Ed put substance
into the plan,” explained
Griffiths. “We talked to
Gary about renting the
space and forming a
501(c) 3 organization.
Oregon laws are friendly
to 501(c) 3 organizations.
While we pay a pittance
on the rent, Gary gets a
rebate on his property
taxes.”
The
museum
founder ’s goals are to
share knowledge of
history and resources
to “pique the interest of
young people in science
and technology,” and
to challenge them to
become the technologists
of the next millennium.
Griffiths said he hopes
to provide a scholarship
based training program
u s i n g Vi n t a g e T E K Stan Griffiths at VintageTEK museum on Beaverton-
Museum volunteers, Hillsdale Highway. (Post photo by Jack Rubinger)
facilities, and equipment
machines? “The period of 1945-1985
to teach science and technology subjects
encompassed some of the greatest
to middle school students.
years of technological advancement at
Volunteer Bruce Baur said, “One
Tektronix. These advancements lead
of the best moments at the museum
to many companies which spun off
was when a gal brought in her two
from Tektronix forming what we call
homeschooled kids. We hooked a
the Silicon Forest,” explained Griffiths.
microphone up to an oscilloscope to
“To honor and learn from that period,
watch what happens when you make
we have a group of regular volunteers
a tone with your mouth. The kids
who repair and refurbish instruments
were blown away, which led to a great
and bench test equipment, organize
discussion about why a piano sounds
our inventory, maintain [information
like a piano and why a trumpet sounds
technology] resources, and organize our
like a trumpet.”
library resources.”
Why the devotion to a bunch of old
In the early days, Tektronix was
located on Southeast Hawthorne
Boulevard and 7th Avenue. It was in
the mid-1960s when expansion drove
the company out to the Beaverton area
near where Cedar Hills Boulevard and
Walker Road intersect.
Community of
It was an era of analog oscilloscopes,
Ss Brendan and
cathode ray tubes, electron microscopes
Brigid
and television equipment for studios
— all of which required extensive
A congregation
documentation, product catalogs
in the Catholic
and manuals. A real coup was the
acquisition of the Tek photography
Tradition
department housing more than 13,000
negatives.
Meeting at
One of the quirkiest collections in the
2201 SW Vermont, Portland
museum are the coffee cups. It’s fun to
www.catholicswithadifference.com
see the variety of colors and styles going
back to the 1960s. Another unusual item
is a framed photo of uncashed checks
addressed to engineer John Kobbe
who introduced a number of patents
and was rewarded with checks for $1
and $5.
While most visitors will enjoy the
front of the museum, it’s in the cramped
back that machines are organized and
reconditioned on workbenches donated
by Tektronix. There are thousands of
tiny screws, nuts, bolts, plugs, switches
and other components neatly stored.
While the museum would not exist
without Tektronix, the company today,
now owned by Danaher, has no official
role in the museum.
“That’s by design,” explained
Griffiths. “We didn’t want our museum
www.oakandolivepdx.com
to be located on Tek’s campus because
503-246-4098
we wanted security from today’s Tek
managers and the independence to
8a—9p every day
showcase what we want to showcase.”
6369 SW Capitol Highway, Portland 97239
F o r m o re i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t
vintageTEK, contact Griffiths at w7ni@
comcast.net.
is packed from floor to ceiling with
Tektronix memorabilia, machines, and
memories from the 1940s to the 1980s.
Founded by Stan Griffiths, 76, and Ed
Sinclair, 72, six years ago to preserve the
roots of the Silicon Forest, the museum
is staffed by former employees who
lived, loved, and labored at Tektronix.
Open only on Fridays and Saturdays,
the oscilloscopes, cathode ray tubes,
and high resolution graphic monitors
have that Cold War/science fiction
movie look, but most of them work
just fine and the staff of volunteers are
happy to turn them on and explain
what they do.
Education was a tradition at Tektronix.
“Tek got a lot of other companies started
and had a really good education
system,” explained Griffiths.
Like many museums, VintageTEK
was first a collection of more than 1,000
instruments Stan Griffiths housed at his
place in Aloha. His buddy, Ed Sinclair,
came up with the idea of creating a
museum.
Together, they approached Gary
H o s e l t o n , a n o t h e r f o r m e r Te k
Catholic Means
Everyone!
Change
Your
Routine.
Summer’s over!
The seasons are changing. The leaves are turning... it’s time
for a new routine. In the morning, come by for breakfast
every day— and grab dinner on your way home (including a
bottle of wine from our great retail selection).