Orrin Henry "Hank" Brown, W6HB, SK

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA--Feb 4, 1999--Amateur Radio, electronics, and radio pioneer Orrin "Hank" Brown, W6HB, of San Luis Obispo and formerly of Los Osos and the San Francisco Bay area, died January 21. He was 92.

Brown's radio career included stints at KPO and KSBR. He later worked at Eitel-McCullough and served as Eimac's marketing director for 20 years. He also was a co-founder of WESCON, which stages the IEEE trade shows across the country, and was a co-founder and chairman of the Western Electronic Manufacturers Association (later the American Electronic Association).

Brown had been licensed continuously since 1923, and was a League member for nearly 50 years. He also was a charter member of the Santa Clara County Amateur Radio Association. In 1960, Brown engineered the first Amateur Radio Earth-Moon-Earth (moonbounce) contact with hams on the East Coast. In 1961, he received an ARRL Merit Award. He was a founding member of OSCAR and a project leader for OSCAR-3, the first real-time repeater satellite of any type.

Survivors include a son and daughter. Contributions are welcome to the Santa Clara County Amateur Radio Association, c/o Barbara Britten, 585 S 14th St, San Jose, CA 95112 or CMT International--a support organization for people with CMT disease--1 Springbank Dr, St Catherines, ON, Canada L2S 2K1. -- thanks to John Sneden; Doc Gmelin, W6ZRJ

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