If you are involved in emergency communications or security, it is likely you're familiar with the name of Ross Merlin, WA2WDT.

Ross became a Silent Key on the 3rd of May.

A former radio communications professional with National Disaster Medical Services, he had a long government career that also included serving as manager of the National Emergency Radio System of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He had also been a board member of the Amateur Radio Safety Foundation, which funds and operates Winlink. Ross is credited with being one of the creators of a Winlink network on a number of government radio channels.

Ross wrote the National Interoperability Field Operations Guide published by the US Department of Homeland Security and later served as program manager of the department's Shared Resources HF Radio Program.

Licensed in 1974, he enjoyed DXing, contesting, automatic link establishment and the digital modes. He had also held a General Radiotelephone Operator License.

He was 67.