Ulrich “Uli” Bihlmayer, DJ9KR, who was active in the Deutscher Amateur Radio Club’s (DARC) Band Watch program for more than 40 years, died on December 16 after a long illness.

Bihlmayer, who was 77, headed the DARC Band Watch from 1986 until 2012, and he served as Deputy Coordinator of the International Amateur Radio Union Region 1 (IARU-R1) Monitoring System (Intruder Watch) (IARUMS) for 7 years.

The DARC recognized his contributions to promoting international goodwill through ham radio by conferring its Gold Badge of Honor. He received the IARU Region 1 medal in 2011, before he stepped down from the IARU Monitoring Service the following year.

Licensed in 1964, Bihlmayer was a top-tier DXer. -- Thanks to DARC, IARU Region 1