Sorry to hear about Eric KU6J now being silent key. I have never had contact with Eric or benefited from his RBN, but I know he did a great job in setting up the RBN and has helped a lot of CW activators.
Jimmy M0HGY
All I can say is that this is very sad news. Eric will be missed… but he will also be remembered every time I hear that activator pileup, thanks to SOTAwatch.
Pete
WA7JTM
This is very sad and shocking news. Over the past year I have come to rely on the fruits of his labor - the SOTA RBN Network. His contribution to the wider SOTA CW community alone has been immense not with standing the other work already mentioned in this thread.
My sincere and heartfelt condolences to his family and friends RIP Eric
73 Glyn
I am speechless…
So sad to loose such an active Activator/Chaser/Programmer…
My heartfelt condolences to family and friends.
Matt/K0MOS
I was greatly saddened to learn of Eric’s passing. He was very helpful to me in learning how to effectively use his creation: RBNgate. I went back and looked at some of his emails to me from early 2013 and it brought back all sorts of positive images. His great writing skill and wit came back vividly. His contribution to SOTA cannot be adequately expressed. As others have said so well, Eric made a contribution to SOTA that made a huge positive difference. It would be hard to think of any single person who has done so much to add to the enjoyment of thousands of SOTA enthusiasts through his efforts. Rest In Peace, OM.
73,
BILL
W4RK
WØM-Missouri AM
Can’t find the right words, so I won’t try. Life is a dangerous journey, and it never ends well. His is a particularly stunning and untimely loss. RIP, old friend. See you on that summit in the sky some day. You transmit and I’ll keep the log while your RBNGate spots us.
Elliott, K6EL
Sota MT
Sad news.
Rest in Peace in the land of Silent Key.
Gerald
Sad News indeed !
Condolences to his family and friends.
Andrew
K1YMI
W2 AM
Very sorry to hear the news.
Thoughts, prayers, and best wishes to the family.
Thanks for all your efforts.
Mike, N4VBV
Just stunned… Barry, K6ST, who was a good longtime friend of Eric’s asked me to post this to the international SOTA community:
Yes indeed, very sad, KU6J Eric SK
Eric KU6J was a local Truckee ham. I have know him for over 13 years and I just saw him a few months ago at the NCCC Sierra Chapter BBQ in October at N6XI in Truckee. We had great conversation with ERIC KU6J and many of the hams at the outdoor BBQ.
I had spent many a contest and field day with Eric KU6J. He originally got into ham radio with a Technician no code licensee as an adult because he was into hang gliding and utilized 2 meters with other hang glider pilots and the ground crew. Eric later got into CW, upgraded to extra and was an excellent CW op on the HF bands, as well as vhf weak signal bands too.
Eric was a brilliant software engineer and owned a significant software company. Eric KU6J was known for being quite active in Sota and wrote a special program to interface the SOTA activations to the cw RBN network that automatically send spots out. What a wonderful way as a Sota Activator to instantly get spotted as soon as you get on a Sota hilltop.
Most of all, Eric KU6J was a super friendly guy that you just enjoyed hanging around with, especially when we talked ham radio.
RIP… Eric KU6J SK
73,
Barry K6ST
https://twitter.com/barrybettman
http://www.linkedin.com/in/barrybettman
73,
Barry K6ST
I’m still processing this. I’m old, I’m losing friends my age … it’s to be expected. I do not expect to lose good friends 25 years younger than me, especially those who are in good health and hugely physically active. I last talked with Eric at the annual Sierra Radiogrill hosted by Rick, N6XI and his wife Ann, at their home in Truckee. It was a long conversation on a variety of shared interests. Eric was seriously instrumental in the development of the W6 Association, a great activator, serious software engineer, and a great friend. I will miss him a great deal.
Fred [“Skip”] Jensen K6DGW
Sparks NV
Hard to believe this sad news. You will be missed. Farewell, Eric
Jordan, KJ6NHF
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
3 Likes
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