KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog

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Respect your Elmers!

Posted: 02 Oct 2016 04:23 PM PDT
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/kb6nu...m_medium=email


No, thats not a typo in the headline above. Heres what theÂ*Norman, OKÂ*South
Canadian Amateur Radio SocietyÂ*(SCARS) is doing toÂ*honor their Elmers.
Thanks to Sam, W5KF for sending this to me.Dan

Elmer List on the W5NOR.org website
This week we talk about a brand new feature on the W5NOR web site. In the
amateur radio community, an experienced amateur radio operator who mentors
a new or prospective ham is commonly called an “Elmer�. In our hobby, that
seems to be a great way for knowledge to be transferred. Yes, we all have
taken an FCC test to receive our license, however that’s only the starting
point. Remember that person that helped you set up your first radio, or
gave you the courage to press the PTT button, or answered endless questions
about a radio, or an antenna? That’s the kind of thing we’re talking about.
Thanks to a great suggestion from Gary Skaggs WB5ULK [not sure it was my
idea. – Editor], we’ve created the SCARS Elmer Page, located at
http://w5nor.org/elmers for us to celebrate Elmers; past, present, and
future. We provide a place for Elmers to list their specialty, and contact
information, which allows new hams to find someone they can ask questions
of. Since this is a new section of the web site, this list is rather short.
In fact, as of this writing, there’s only one listing. So, if you’re
willing to help others on a given topic, send a message to
and you will be added to the list. Right now we need lots of different
categories, like antennas, radio setup, HT programming, contesting,
satellite operation, high power operation, test gear, building your own
gear, repairing radios, APRS, D-Star, DMR, CW, logging, etc. oh well, you
get the idea. Listen, you don’t need a PhD to be listed here. You just need
a willingness to help others in a given area. It’s OK to be a new ham, and
be listed here. You may have just struggled through your first space
contact, but you’ll have infinitely more knowledge than the person who’s
been a ham for 40 years, and has never tried that portion of the hobby.
Also, there is a link to the “ARRL Elmer Award� page of the American Radio
Relay League’s web site. Here, you can enter your favorite Elmer’s name and
callsign. The ARRL will print a nice certificate, and mail it to the
address you enter. Yes, for FREE! This certificate can either be mailed to
your favorite Elmer, or you can mail it to yourself so you can present it
to them personally. Feel free to order an Elmer certificate, and present it
to your Elmer at an upcoming SCARS meeting. Talk with one of the officers
before the meeting to get your place on the agenda. What a great way to
recognize these people for their extra efforts.
Finally, we’ve got a place to list YOUR favorite Elmer in our SCARS Elmer
Hall-of-Fame. This is the place to memorialize your Elmer, whether they are
SCARS members, Silent Keys, or not. I’ve already listed a few Elmers on the
list from my own travels through the hobby. We’d love to list the people
that help us all succeed.
So, please help make this page useful, visit the SCARS Elmer page at:
http://w5nor.org/elmers and be listed as an Elmer, and list your favorite
Elmers.

You all might think of doing something similar in your club. A little
recognition could go a long way.
Now, I want to know why theres a Canadian club in Oklahoma?!

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