A huge loss to all of us in SOTA land. Such a great and helpful chap … Gone way too soon. RIP. May the propagation always be good for you. Thanks for everything.
NS7P
Unexpected bad news. It was always good to know his RBN-Tool behind at cw-activations!
“Thank you Eric” - RIP
Chris, OE3CHC
That is very sad news indeed.
RIP, Eric. You will be missed.
I am quite shocked and saddened by the sudden loss of our SOTA brother Eric. I was just getting to know him through his reputation, accomplishments, activations, and limited emails. I’ll always be thinking of him when activating the high mountains in NA. Rest in peace Eric!
My sincere and heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.
Brad
WA6MM
I’m as shocked and saddened as the rest of us to read this news of Eric’s passing. A look through his website and trip pictures tells us that we have lost one of our best! He clearly enjoyed SOTA and put that spirit back into his work and postings!
Until recently, I routinely expected to get spotted by the RBN when doing my CW activations. I started writing down the time when I would start calling CQ, and then later I would look up the spot time and see how long it took. If it took more than 1 minute, it would indicate that my set-up or propagation were not the best! This nearly-instant spotting was one of the best things about the SOTA experience. I hope that Eric’s great gift to us will not be lost.
George
KX0R
There will be news about the future of Sota RBNGate, but it will be many weeks from now. The last KU6J spot was at 2151 UTC on January 14th, six days after he died. The final activator spotted was WA2USA, and the first one spotted, over three years ago, was NA6MG on a beta setup.
Elliott, K6EL
Sota MT
I didn’t know Eric personally but certainly have benefitted from his RBNGate service during my cw activations. Looking at his QRZ page he was quite a guy and will be missed. My condolences to his family and friends.
I dedicated my activation today of W2/NJ-004 to Eric, KU6J. I made a notation in my spots today. Thank you chasers for a successful activation.
I ended my activation today with KU6J? KU6J? NIL RIP SK dit dit.
Steve WI2W
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Crazy! What a terrible loss. The spirit of “Eric” will be with us all for a long time to come. Young, talented and a vibrant personality.
Dennis - WA2USA
I can’t add much to whats been said, but if there is a SOTA Hall of Fame, Eric should be in it. Only visited with him through email, but what a genuinely nice person, happy to give of his time to help others.
Mike AD5A
All,
Eric’s widow, Tamar, has been in contact with me and would like to express her sincere appreciation for all the kind words which have been expressed above. Both Tamar and Eric’s mother have been following the thread.
Later in the summer, Tamar is planning a memorial service for friends and family, when Eric’s ashes will be spread around the forest and pond area where he lived.
Can I suggest that if anyone wants further details of the above, then PM me and I’ll put them in touch with Tamar directly. I believe Elliot Pisor, K6EL, has already been in touch with Tamar.
It’s also probably better if someone Stateside coordinated things from that side of the pond, and I can bow out gracefully.
I know a SOTA KU6J memorial day has already been mentioned on the nasota list.
Again thanks for all the comments.
Keep them coming.
73
Pete
Yes, there will be a get-together to scatter ashes a few months from now, but it will involve only family and a very small number of non-ham friends coming to his home. If you wish to send condolences by mail, Tamar June’s address is the same as KU6J in QRZ.com. There will be no other remembrance except a series of activations on January 23rd in his memory. All are invited to start their activations by sending KU6J? NIL, RIP ERIC, QRZ
The code for his SOTA Spot Monitor is expected to arrive by disk in a few weeks, and we shall see what can be done thereafter.
Elliott, K6EL
Eric’s wonderful writing skills and detailed maps to many hills in Northern California helped me get started in SOTA in 2013. Eric always answered my questions about access or preferred routes - truly a huge loss for our SOTA community - my thoughts are with his family - RIP Eric 73 SK
Rick WB0USI
I should have mentioned earlier that I have sent a condolence card on behalf of the MT and the SOTA community.
Brian
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We all Japan SOTA lovers are deeply saddened by the loss that you and your family have encountered. Please accept our sincere condolences.
Huge loss to the community, my sincere condolences.
Thanks to Eric, I was able to complete many DX-QSOs from summits because of his RBN system. Many thanks and RIP.
JJ1SWI Gou
Man what a bummer! I was just talking with Eric on the 4th of Jan and we were preplanning a trip up to Lava Beds Nat’l Monument for a dual SOTA/NPOTA activation.
Like a few others here on the list, we had great conversation at the annual
N6XI Sierra chapter NCCC BBQ in Truckee, CA.
I was down at Quartzfest when I got a text from K6ST with the sad news. Knowing I had a long drive home, I wanted to do something prior to leaving so was able to do a quick activation in Eric’s honor Friday morning. It was a great feeling to honor a fellow W6 SOTAteer down in AZ on W7A/PW-060. I threw out Eric’s call a few times and then gave a final call KU6J de KH2TJ 73 SK RIP my friend!
73, Todd KH2TJ
Portola, CA
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Thanks for adding me. I have my ham license, but Eric and I were ATV riding friends and I wasn’t involved with this activity. I just found out today that Eric has passed and I’m extremely sad. Eric was a wonderful human and a good friend. I hadn’t talked to him as much lately, as he’s been more involved with this, than ATV riding. I had just emailed Eric a week or so ago, and I hadn’t gotten a reply. So I called his cell, and it was disconnected. So I went to facebook and saw nothing unusual for Tamar or Eric. So then I googled his name, and this thread came up. My heart sank.
Every year Eric attended a memorial ATV ride for a friend of ours that passed away in 2006. Sadly, Eric will now be part of this memorial. I saw your memorial in your newsletter…I was aware of Eric’s struggles, but he was always funny and well liked by all who knew him personally.
I thought I’d share a video I made with Eric in 2010…
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