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Edward P. 'Ed' Tilton Springfield, MA West Hartford, CT Canton, CT Spring Hill, FL QCWA # 17750 Chapter 148 |
Conducted by E. P. Tilton, W1HDQ
SB SPCL @ ARL $ARLX008
ARLX008 Edward P. Tilton, W1HDQ, SK
ZCZC AX08
QST de W1AW
Special Bulletin 8 ARLX008
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT April 18, 1997
To all radio amateurs
SB SPCL ARL ARLX008
ARLX008 Edward P. Tilton, W1HDQ, SK
ARRL Headquarters was saddened to learn that VHF pioneer and former QST VHF Editor Ed Tilton, W1HDQ, of Spring Hill, Florida, died March 1. He was 89. In December 1939, Tilton inaugurated the first QST column devoted to VHF. Originally called ''On the Ultra Highs,'' it eventually became ''The World Above 50 Mhz.'' Tilton edited the VHF column until he retired from the ARRL staff in 1960, reporting on-the-air activity and encouraging experimentation initially on the then 56 and 112-MHz amateur allocations and, later, on all VHF and UHF bands. The UHF DX Records box--the precursor of today's standings boxes--debuted in 1940.
During World War II, Tilton worked as a field engineer for the military on radar projects--mostly at Pearl Harbor and Guam, and became acquainted with the great technological progress the military was making in the VHF-UHF spectrum. Even while occupied with his military duties, he still managed to file occasional columns throughout the war years.
In 1947, Tilton established the first WAS standings box for 6 meters. In 1955, he proposed establishing the first calling frequencies for the 6 and 2-meter bands. Following his retirement, Tilton remained a QST Contributing Editor. He was the author of the ARRL's first VHF Manual and wrote numerous articles for QST.
Tilton's column inspired an entire generation of VHF and UHF enthusiasts and encouraged such activities as EME, meteor scatter and auroral propagation. He was considered an authority on sunspots and solar flares and their effects on propagation. As ARRL Executive Vice President David Sumner, K1ZZ, put it: ''Ed Tilton was one of the outstanding amateur scientists of his generation. Perhaps more than any other individual, he led the exploration of the extended-range properties of the VHF and UHF bands.''
Tilton was a life member of the ARRL. He also belonged to the QCWA and the Spring Hill Amateur Radio Club. He was a native of Springfield, Massachusetts. His wife, Leitha, died in 1995. His sister, Ruby, is among the survivors. He is to be interred in Canton, Connecticut.
Donations in Ed Tilton's name may be made to the Hospice of the Florida Suncoast, 300 E Bay Dr, Largo, FL 34640.
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