NOTE: The Elmer in the House session scheduled for May 19, 2024 had to be cancelled.
The American Legion Post 113, N7LGN Amateur Ham Radio club will be hosting an “Elmer in the House” session.
“Elmer” is a ham radio term for mentor. This is an opportunity for anyone to come in and ask questions, perhaps get your radio programmed or need assistance in a certain area of amateur ham radio or help prepare for a license exam. If you want to know how to get on the air, talk about modes, discuss antennas or anything else, this is a session for you. It is a way for people to connect and find out more about the hobby and meet other local ham operators. Want to know more about the hobby – ask an “Elmer.”
Date: Sunday, March 24, 2024
Time: 3:00 pm
Location: The American Legion, 22 W. Broadway in Meridian.
RSVP to: Richard Dees at 208-870-7928 or Alicia Bunnell at 208-800-7805
“Elmer in the House” event is on February 18, 2024, at the Post. The address is 22 W. Broadway Ave, Meridian, ID. The event begins at 2:30 PM. John Kernkamp is bringing a service monitor that can test radios. Additionally, he can generate a report detailing the results of the testing. If you think there might be something wrong with your radio, or just want it checked out, consider having John give it a test.
This will be a workshop activity rather than one with formal presentations. Looks like we have several folks who will attend which is great. If you’ve never been on the air, or it’s been a while since you were active, we will get you on the radio and show you some of the techniques and etiquette used today.
One of the things we will be doing is offering radio programming. If you have a radio you want programmed, please bring a programming cable and the book of instructions. Appreciate there are many brands of radios and many models within a brand. The different manufacturers really didn’t coordinate their programming schemes with each other or in some cases even within their product lines. Where would be the fun in that? We can attempt to program through the front panel, but that may take a while. We will be using Chirp to do mass programming. If you have some favorite frequencies you want loaded, bring those along.
Rich Dees will bring a DC power supply with Power Pole connections, a dummy load, and a computer with Chirp loaded with some local repeaters. Anything you can bring to support your radio will be appreciated. If you bring a hand-held, please ensure the battery is fully charged.
There will be several “Elmers” in attendance including John Kernkamp, WB4YIT. I mention John because he is a published author who has been an operator for a long time. He will be in the company with others sporting grey hair or no hair that have been around the hobby for a long time.
There will be no meeting in November 2023 because of Thanksgiving. For the December 2023 meeting we decided to have a pot luck for members and families. We will also have a white elephant exchange. More about all that later
September 1, 2 & 3, 2022 – Cram and Jam session for the Technician License – at American Legion Post 113, 22 W. Broadway, Meridian
September 8, 2022 – Fox Hunt: Meet at Kleiner Park near the Rock of Honor at 10:00 AM
October 8, 2022 – Parks On The Air event starting at 10:00 AM at Eagle Island State Park