Ed James, KA8JMW - New Mexico Section Manager

Ed James, KA8JMW, of Albuquerque, has been named  as the new Section Manager for New Mexico from 11 June 2015, succeeding Bill Kauffman, W5YEJ, who has resigned citing increased family responsibilities.

Kauffman had served as New Mexico's Section Manager since 2012, and was the Section Emergency Coordinator for many years prior to that. James will complete the remainder of the current term, which continues through the end of the year.

ARRL Field Services and Radiosport Department Manager Dave Patton, NN1N, made the appointment after consulting with, and receiving the recommendation from, Rocky Mountain Division Director Brian Mileshosky, N5ZGT, and Vice Director Dwayne Allen, WY7FD.

An Amateur / Ham Radio operator for 35 years, James has served as an Assistant Section Manager of New Mexico since 2012, and currently serves as an Assistant Director in the Rocky Mountain Division. He recently concluded a 30-year electrical engineering career at Sandia National Laboratories.

James comes from a ham radio family. His late father was WD8MMG.

His wife Carol is N5ZYP, and all five of the couple's daughters hold ham tickets and are ARRL members. Field Day is among his passions. "Most weekends I can be found operating from somewhere in the mountains of New Mexico," James said in his QRZ.com biography. "I love operating from the field."

Petitions to nominate candidates to serve as New Mexico Section Manager for the next 2-year term should be submitted to ARRL Headquarters by 4 September 2015

Radio Call Saves SOTA Climber

An radio amateur and mountaineer from Littleton, Colorado, USA, was happy to have his handheld amateur / ham radio transceiver with him during his climb on 17 May 2015 after he slipped and fell from an icy ledge in Berthoud Pass while snowshoeing. 

Summits On The Air (SOTA) enthusiast Brad Byland, WA6MM, said he's been climbing and mountaineering for many years now and never before came this close to what he called "a possible life-ending disaster."

"I'm doing fine," Byland told ARRL. "I didn't get hurt...only bad wind and sunburn on my face! My daughter says my geeky hobby -- ham radio -- saved me from my dangerous hobby -- climbing and mountaineering!"

Byland said that while this was his first climb in the Berthoud Pass area, he was never "lost," as some media accounts reported. He had prepared to climb Mount Flora -- which would have been his 29th SOTA peak -- by studying maps and others' trip reports, plus he had his iPhone with GPS, a compass, and his radio along.

"Things went smoothly until about 12,700 feet," Byland said, at which point, with visibility deteriorating, he decided to turn back. "It wasn't long before I was in a total whiteout," he recounted. "The ground is white, the air around me is white, and I had no perception of direction and elevation. My iPhone GPS was of no use, as I couldn't read the display. I pulled out my compass for navigation." Byland said he knew the basic heading he should follow along the ridge, and he proceeded.

"A short time later I had a strange feeling I was floating in air. I didn't realize I was falling until I landed on my back on a snow-filled ledge about 20 feet below a cornice," Byland continued. "I was quite surprised and amazed that I suffered no injuries."

But he was essentially "stuck," and, while his snowshoes remained on, he was unable to climb back up, due to the overhanging nature of the cornice. "I needed to wait for better conditions," he concluded. "After about an hour I decided to make a call for help, as I knew it would take time for a rescue party to mobilize and find me. Spending the night would probably not end well, and I might have had to take on significant risk to attempt a self-rescue."

Byland said he'd programmed his radio to a few local mountain repeaters, he was able to quickly contact another ham, "and the rest of the story unfolded with my eventual rescue."

While well equipped for his situation, he remained on the ledge for 4 or 5 hours. "I was in good spirits," he said, "and I can't tell you enough about how comforting it is to have another person on the radio keeping me informed of the rescue process. I didn't feel so alone on that ledge."

Byland thanked the Alpine and Grand County Search and Rescue members who got him off the ledge. "Words alone cannot express my feelings of gratitude for the work you do and the countless hours you invest in this service," he said. "My donations to both SAR groups are forthcoming."

He also expressed his gratitude to the hams who picked up his distress call and quickly notified authorities. "The outcome would have certainly been different without their help," he said. "I particularly want to thank Alpine SAR ham radio operator Mike, KC0CNT, who spent countless hours with me exchanging vital information during the rescue operation."

In retrospect, Byland said, he should have taken another route or hunkered down and waited for better visibility before descending.

Bletchley Honour for Morse Code Interceptor

Marion Booth has received the Bletchley Park Commemorative Badge for her work in intercepting Japanese Morse code radio messages during World War Two

She joined the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service in 1944, did basic training in Galt and in the spring of 1945 in Victoria, British Columbia, intercepted Japanese radio messages in Morse code.

Prince George Citizen -  http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/calgary-woman-recognized-for-work-as-code-breaker-in-second-world-war-1.1947901