[Boatanchors] Elmer

[manualman at juno.com]

Maybe the neighbor's first name was Elmer. I'm sure there were mentors
back in the "good old days". Maybe some were named Elmer, or Jerry, or
Clyde, or Buba. Does it really make a difference when the term was
actually put into use and print. Let's move on to when HAM, LID,
WTWTTT(wall-to-wall tree-top tall), STRAP, first came into common use.
Why does there seem to be no correlation between the many "Q" code symbol
letters and what they actually are suppose to stand for. i.e. QRZ - who
is calling me; why not QWCM ?  QRP - shall I decrease power or decrease
power; why not QDP or on phone - turn the wick down?

This is a great way to waste time.

Pete, wa2cwa

On Tue, 11 Dec 2012 19:19:07 -0500 (EST) "Rick Poole WA1RKT"
<wa1rkt at arrl.net> writes:
> 
> > Actually, the term "elmer" is something relatively new
> 
> <sigh>  I have read that several times in recent years and people 
> always
> cite the Newkirk article of 1971 as the birth of the term "elmer".
> 
> So sad that so much of amateur radio lore and tradition is being 
> lost.
> 
> "Elmer" was in use long, long before 1971.  I first started getting
> interested in ham radio in about 1954, though I didn't actually get
> licensed until 1962.  My dad used to tell me about the early days 
> of
> amateur radio, since back when he was first licensed in the early or 
> mid
> 1920's.  No one else in his family knew or cared anything about 
> radio, but
> he had a neighbor who was a ham and got him interested, and in our
> conversations he called his neighbor his "elmer".  He also bought me 
> a
> book about amateur radio that described the term "elmer" in the 
> book...
> 'course I was 7 years old back then and had the attention span of a
> housefly so didn't really follow through on it and never got around 
> to
> getting licensed until I graduated high school.
> 
> I wish I could remember the name of the book so I could prove all of 
> this
> but I can't.  Meanwhile, no one can find any mention of "elmer" on 
> the web
> before 1971 so the assumption is that it didn't exist before then.
> 
> Anybody remember what a Wouff Hong is?  A Rettysnitch?  Any idea 
> what they
> look like or what they are used for?  No fair looking it up on the 
> web.
> 
> Rick WA1RKT