[AMRadio] watch what you say

[Eddy Swynar]

Hi Guys,

If I ever had an "Elmer", I'd have to say it was the old 3rd hand Hallicrafters receiver that my folks bought in 1969 for forty bucks. That rascal taught me more about electronics, & started me on a path of homebrewing, that I shall always be thankful for.

It was terribly unstable above 10-MHz---and so I built an outboard converter for it. It had the world's worst dial calibration---so I built a 100-KHz crystal calibrator. Being an AC/DC set, it gave nasty electrical shocks if the plug wasn't inserted the right way in the AC outlet---so I installed an isolation transformer. Its CW selectivity was nil---so I built an outboard audio filter, & installed a Heathkit QF-1 Q-multiplier. It lacked good sensitivity---so I built a regenerative RF preselector...etc. etc. etc.

In short, its "lacking" was my "gain". All this HB work gave me the confidence to build my own transmitter after I got licensed in 1971...in fact, the very first operational Ham station that I ever saw---was my own!

Who needs living, breathing Elmers, when you have something like an old S-77A to inspire you...?!

~73!~ de Eddy VE3CUI - VE3XZ


***********************************************************************************************************************


On 2012-01-30, at 10:36 AM, Rob Atkinson wrote:

> "Elmer" came ouf of a "How's DX" column Rod Newkirk wrote in QST in
> the early 1970s, around 1972.  I remember the first mention of the
> elmer thing.  I don't recall the details but we have Rod to thank for
> that one.
> 
> the column was a cloying and sentimental account of the ham who got
> Rod (or maybe someone else) started, and his name really was Elmer.
> It caught on and after a year or two, "Elmer" had become a noun.   I
> am not wild about it either but you can't fight everything so I mostly
> ignore it and life goes on.
> 
> 73
> 
> Rob
> K5UJ
> 
> On Mon, Jan 30, 2012 at 9:24 AM, Bernie Doran
> <qedconsultants at embarqmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> A question, I never had an "elmer"  I had a menter.  Where did that come
>> from?
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