Extract from ARNewsline Report 1777 for September 2, 2011:
THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD: NOTED BROADCAST ENGINEER EARL ARBUCKLE, K6EFA,SK
We have said this before and sadly we must say it once again. The changing of the guard in ham radio continues with word of the sudden passing of noted broadcast engineer Earl F. Arbuckle III, K6EFA, of Secaucus, New Jersey. According to a note from Kent Peterson, KC0DGY, in the early morning hours of Monday, August 29th, K6EFA was taking the trash out but failed to return. Shortly thereafter his wife found him face down on their driveway. While there is no medical confirmation yet, a heart attack is believed to be a possibility.
At the time of his passing, Earl Arbuckle was the Vice-President of Engineering for Fox Television Stations group. This is the owned-and-operated stations division of Fox Entertainment Group, which is a part of the News Corporation. His responsibilities included strategic planning and execution of new technologies for the stations in the group. Under his direction, all Fox owned stations were converted to digital transmission and most also upgraded to high-definition studio news production. Just prior to his passing, Earl Arbuckle had worked through the weekend of August 27th and 28th on hurricane Irene contingencies for the Fox owned stations in New York City, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Boston.
Prior to 1996, K6EFA had been employed for 18 years by Tribune Broadcasting. 16 of these were spent at New York City’s WPIX and 2 years as corporate engineering manager. He joined News Corporation in 1996 as Vice President of Engineering for American Sky Broadcasting where he was part of the core team that designed and built the huge Arizona digital broadcast center, later sold to EchoStar. In late 1997 he moved to the Fox Television Station Group where he began the digital transition. There he launched the first three Fox Television digital stations in 1998, and completed the remaining stations ahead of FCC deadlines.
Earl Arbuckle was a veteran of the US Navy, reaching the rank of Lieutenant. He was a registered Professional Engineer in the State of New Jersey, an adjunct professor at Ramapo College of New Jersey as well as Chairman of the Mahwah Township Planning Board. He was also a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and a member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers.
A native of southern California, Earl Arbuckle, K6EFA, held a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from the University of California at Irvine. He is survived by his wife Pat, his daughter Jennifer and his parents. At air time, memorial services were pending. (KC0DGY, others)