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.
NNNN
/EX