Marvin O. “Marv” Loftness, KB7KK, of Olympia, Washington, died October 17. He was 93. A power line noise expert, Loftness may be best known in Amateur Radio circles for his book, AC Power Interference Handbook, distributed by ARRL in its third edition, revised (ARRL is the exclusive distributor.)

“His book is held in high regard by many EMC experts,” said ARRL Sales and Marketing Manager Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, “but he was also the kindest man. I’ll miss our contact with him.” His wife, Nancy Loftness, sent ARRL the manuscript of his book in January 2012, granting the League permission to use it in perpetuity.

Loftness served as a US Army Air Corps radio instructor-technician during World War II. After the war, he went to work with the Federal Aviation Administration, where he suggested a modification to the agency’s instrument guidance-and-landing system that was adopted nationwide. He also was as a design engineer for Boeing. In the late 1950s he went to work for the Bonneville Power Administration, retiring in 1975.

After retirement, he continued as a consultant and research engineer. Loftness was elected a Fellow of the Power Engineering Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for his “development of efficient means of locating and correcting high-voltage power line noise.”