Silent Key's Rig Donated to Assist American Red Cross

The American Red Cross has many powerful tools in its repertoire to assist communities in distress - and now, in Flagstaff, Arizona, it is about to add amateur radio.

The legacy of Silent Key Jack Lunsford, NT7MM, is going to help save lives. Jack, who had been a member of the Northern Arizona DX Association, became a Silent Key at the age of 94 in December of 2024. His daughter presented his beloved Kenwood radio to the DX Association, hoping it would continue its mission of communication and goodwill.

“Ham radio provides emergency broadcasts when everything is down. They are more powerful than portable radios and can be used to communicate around the globe. Lately, there has been a resurgence of ham radios with wildfires and other disasters.”

— Denny Preisser, KC3DTB, a Red Cross recruitment specialist

Bob Wertz, NF7E, the association president, has ensured that this will happen: He has donated the radio to the American Red Cross office in Flagstaff for use by licensed amateurs among the staff and volunteers.

Russ Woodman K5TUX - Silent Key

We have received news of the untimely passing of Russ Woodman, K5TUX after a short illness.

Woodman was the founder and co-host of the popular Ham Radio Podcast Linux in a HamShack.

Russ promoted the idea of moving away from Microsoft and other closed source IT systems and promoted free and open source communication between IT and Radio Systems.

All the ICQPodcast team pass on their condolences to Russ’s family and the Linux in the HamShack Team.

Bob Jones, VE7RWJ, Silent Key

Robert W. “Bob” Jones, VE7RWJ, a former top official of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and Canadian telecommunications regulator, passed away on 7th January 2026, at age 82. His early fascination with amateur radio led to a career in telecommunications and engineering, according to his obituary.

Jones was Director General of the Canadian Radiocommunications and Broadcasting Regulatory Branch from the 1970s through the mid-1990s, and led the Canadian delegation to various ITU conferences between 1977 and 1994, when he was elected as Director of the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau (ITU-R). He served in that leadership post from 1995 to 2003. Jones continued his involvement with ITU as a member of the Radio Regulations Board from 2007 to 2010, and received an ITU Silver Medal at the end of his term.

Jones was an active amateur first licensed in 1959 as VE3CTM, and International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Secretary Joel Harrison, W5ZN, noted that he “was VERY helpful to amateur radio” during his time as ITU-R director, adding that when he retired, Bob “became one of the IARU Technical Experts and worked with us for several years on WRC (World Radiocommunication Conference) matters.”

ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, noted that Jones will be remembered during a moment of silence for Silent Keys at this week’s ARRL Board of Directors Annual Meeting. 

A celebration of life for Jones will be held on Saturday 27th January 2026, in Kelowna, British Columbia. The service will also be livestreamed. Details are on the https://www.springfieldfuneralhome.com/obituaries/jones-bob/ home website.