Brat Fry 2016
Brat Fry 2016 – another successful year!
The brat fry is our yearly fund raiser that helps to defray the costs of insurance and other club operating expenses as well as provides funds for equipment upgrades that are needed. On April 30, 2016 we held our brat fry at the South Side Piggly Wiggly in Sheboygan.
This year John AB9HH and Linda K9TZU were gracious enough to organize this year’s event. Other members stepped to to lend a hand at our only fund raiser for the year.
Amateur radio operators – who are we?
We are rock singers, network newscasters, astronauts, governors, TV celebrities and of course, the other 98% are people just like you and me.
What do Amateur Radio Operators Do?
Remember the Sheboygan Flood a few years ago? The Sheboygan County Amateur Radio Club was there helping the Red Cross provide communications when power and cell coverage were down.
Remember the power outage in Plymouth during the cold winter of 1996? The Sheboygan County Amateur Radio Club provided communications as the families were moved to central locations.
We are also involved in the following:
- MS Walk every spring.
- Leukemia Lakeshore Ride
- Maywood Earth Day Bike Ride
And of course, if you saw the movie “Independence Day”, you know that Amateur Radio Operators saved the day when normal communications were shut down by the evil aliens. Many times, amateur radio operators are the people standing next to you, you just don’t know it.
But we do have fun too. Imagine talking to the space shuttle, or the International Space Station, or a submarine, or the circus train, or a hot air balloon, or even someone down the block.
So, does this seem interesting to you? Want to find out more? Please feel free to stop down at our monthly meetings, or shoot an email to us about getting started in this exciting and fun hobby.
73,
Steve / AA9SJ
Elmer? What is an Elmer?
Contained within the service of amateur radio (HAM radio), there is an unofficial group of people that help would-be hams to amateur radio.
Members of this unofficial group are sometimes called “Elmers”.
This help usually comes in the form of teaching or tutoring the would-be HAM (a.k.a. potential amateur radio operator) although this is not the only function that an “Elmer” might do.
Sometimes “Elmers” help the new comer to understand the rules, taking the test to get their first license, sometimes as an advisor to the hobby. But most importantly an “Elmer” is a friend in the world of amateur radio.
One important thing to keep in mind is that “Elmers” are learning too, and sometimes the “Elmer” has an “Elmer” that they go to.
In short, almost everyone that is a HAM (amateur radio operator) is an “Elmer”, because we are all friends and we help each other.
73, AB9QP
