[UPDATED 2014-05-16 1707 UTC] ARRL member Jim Abercrombie, N4JA (ex-K4BMS), of Enoree, South Carolina, died May 14. He was 76. According to Charles Pennington, K4GK, Abercrombie was fatally injured as the result of a fall from his Amateur Radio tower.

Abercrombie was a serious DXer with 340 current DXCC entities confirmed (mixed). He served briefly in 1972 as the ARRL Section Communications Manager (now Section Manager) for South Carolina, and he was an ARRL Technical Specialist from 1995 until 2005. He was the author of Understanding Antennas for the Non-Technical Ham.

“Jim was repairing a feed line on one his towers when he lost his grip and fell approximately 80 feet to his death,” Pennington told ARRL. “He was an experienced tower climber and had climbed his towers dozens of times in the past.” Licensed in the 1950s as K4BMS, Abercrombie was a former high school science teacher and corporate chief engineer for WGAC Radio in Augusta, Georgia. He also served as president of the Amateur Radio Club of Augusta (W4DV) and was Georgia Repeater Frequency Coordinator for the Southeastern Repeater Association (SERA). Survivors include his wife, Lois, N4POL. — Thanks to The Daily DX and Charles Pennington, K4GK