[AMRadio] Elmer

[Rob Atkinson]

I am not sure Rod Newkirk ever intended for "elmer" to become a part
of the ham radio lexicon.
He just wrote a column one month and anyone who has to write any kind
of column will tell you there are dry spells when you have to come up
with something to get some words on paper.  Maybe the Elmer column was
one of those times.

Regardless, it's a dumb term because it fills a need that never
existed.  There was never anything wrong with simply saying "the ham
who helped me get started" in every day speech.  A special term was
never and is not necessary.

"This is Walt, the ham who helped me get started."

"This is Walt, my elmer."  Yech.

Rob
K5UJ


On Sat, Feb 4, 2012 at 12:00 AM, D. Chester <k4kyv at charter.net> wrote:
> I never heard the term until sometime in the late 70s or early 80s. I don't
> think it existed in ham radio jargon in the 50s, 60s or earlier.
>
> To me, it always had a dumb-sounding ring to it. Maybe I associate it with
> Elmer Fudd or somebody I knew as a kid, but it conjures up the image of some
> guy with thick horn-rimmed glasses and double digit IQ, a "duh" kind of
> character.  "Mentor" carries far more dignity, at least in my opinion.
>
> Don k4kyv