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James E. Boyd Tualatin, OR QCWA # 30439 |
Engineer James Boyd Dies at Age 75
He was well known in the technical industry, especially in the northwestern U.S.
BY PAUL MCLANE
PUBLISHED: MAY 22, 2022 UPDATED: MAY 23, 2022
Engineer James Boyd has died.
News of his passing Friday at age 75 was shared by Kent Randles, secretary of Chapter 124 of the Society of Broadcast Engineers.
Boyd was well known in the radio technical industry but especially in the northwestern U.S. He owned Boyd Broadcast Technical Services in Oregon, and according to his LinkedIn page he had extensive experience in all aspects of AM and FM engineering.
Earlier in his career he was a chief engineer, operations manager and group chief for Capps Broadcast Group from the late 1960s to the early 1990s; he also had worked for WTD Industries.
An amateur radio enthusiast (K7MKN), he also was a lead inspector for the Alternate Broadcast Inspection Program for the Oregon Association of Broadcasters and the Idaho Broadcasters Association.
Boyd had experience with AM directional antenna systems, including Moment Method proofing as well as AM and FM IBOC system installation and adjustment, and maintained a large fleet of test equipment for all aspects of AM and FM broadcast systems.
He told author Scott Fybush in a 2008 article for Radio Guide magazine that he began messing around with electronics when I was eight or nine years old. Boyd was a member of that publication's Hall of Achievement. According to that article his first job was at KBND(AM), before he served in Vietnam as a broadcast specialist in the U.S. Army. He founded his company in October 1991, and clients included Entercom, CBS Radio, smaller stations, Harris Corp. and consulting firms Hatfield and Dawson and DuTreil, Lundin & Rackley. He also served on the Oregon Association of Broadcasters board.
According to a Radio World article in 2016, Boyd also was involved in the effort to create a first informer credential for Oregon broadcast engineers.
Randles said Sunday that Boyd;s volunteer firefighting work evolved into volunteering for the Tigard, Ore., Community Emergency Response Team, to which he is donating all of his ham radio equipment.
Randles said information on services was pending.
