The WTRA Elmering Program
Welcome to the Western
Tidewater Radio Association’s Elmering Program page. The Elmering Program is an
effort by the WTRA to offer elmering (mentoring) in the finest
traditions of Ham Radio to people who are interested in becoming
hams, new hams, and “old-timers”
alike.
The term
"Elmer"--meaning someone who provides personal guidance and
assistance to would-be hams--first appeared in QST in a March
1971 "How's DX" column by Rod Newkirk, W9BRD (now also VA3ZBB).
Newkirk called them "the unsung fathers of Amateur Radio." While he
probably was not trying to coin a term at the time, here's how
Newkirk introduced "Elmer" in his column and, as it turned out, to
the rest of the Amateur Radio world:
"Too frequently one hears a sad story in this little nutshell:
'Oh, I almost got a ticket, too, but Elmer, W9XYZ, moved away and I
kind of lost interest.'"
Newkirk went on to say, "We need those Elmers. All the Elmers,
including the ham who took the most time and trouble to give
you a push toward your license, are the birds who keep this
great game young and fresh."--Rick Lindquist, N1RL
As you can see, the term is not very old. Prior to the first use
of Elmer as the one who guided and encouraged us, what were these
folks called? I have received a lot of suggestions; teacher, mentor,
tutor, guide, helper, sage? All are appropriate but my guess would
be that first and foremost they were called friend.
In this day and age of instant information
offered by the internet, many of the traditions of elmering have
been lost. In the “old
days” (not so long ago, actually), the path of a new ham typically
involved the newcomer finding (or being found by) an experienced
ham, and being taken under the wing of the experienced ham to learn
the basics of radio, traditions and good operating practices. This program is an effort to
return in some measure to this
tradition.
The Elmering Program has four main components:
(1) A group of volunteer hams willing to mentor
newcomers on a one to one basis, (2) amateur radio
license classes offered by club members to prepare newcomers for
license exams, (3) a Volunteer Examiner Team
sponsored by the club to give amateur radio exams and
(4) a Practical Workshops program which offers
hands-on practical workshop sessions for both newcomers and club
members alike to expand their knowledge in a specific aspect of
amateur radio.
The Elmers
Listed below are the WTRA
Volunteer Elmers along with their areas of specialized knowledge and
contact information.
Please use e-mail to contact these hams. (Club
members wishing to be listed here should contact
N4KIT.)
|
Callsign |
Name |
Expertise |
E-mail |
|
N4KIT |
Chris
Peters |
HF wire antennas; station set-up; computer
applications (sound card interfacing, logging, rig-interface,
modeling); contesting; casual
DXing. |
n4kit@wt4ra.org |
|
|
|
|
|
|
WC4R |
Joe Roth |
Boat anchor restoration, high power
applications, VHF/UHF, contesting, antennas, audio
processing. |
wc4r@wt4ra.org |
License
Classes
Listed below are the
upcoming amateur radio license classes offered by the
club.
|
Class |
Dates |
Location |
Contact |
|
Technician |
Oct 2 6:30 pm
Oct 10 6:30–8:30
pm
Oct 16-17 6:30–8:30
pm
Oct 23-24 6:30–8:30
pm
|
Smithfield Library Community
Room |
Fred Weaver
kg4bki@wt4ra.org |
|
General |
TBD |
TBD |
TBD |
|
|
|
License
Exams
|
|
Click here for the WTRA
VE Team webpage listing test dates and a link to the
pre-registration form.
Technical
Workshops
Listed below is the schedule
of WTRA Technical Workshops. Click here for more information on the
workshop.
|
Class |
Dates |
Location |
Contact |
|
Antennas
101 |
Oct
12 9:00 am |
Home of N4KIT |
Chris Peters
N4KIT
n4kit@wt4ra.org |
|
|
|
|
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