(Ham speak for Mentors)
The term "Elmer" means someone who provides personal guidance and assistance to other hams.
Elmering or mentoring has long been the backbone of Amateur Radio. While technology constantly evolves, the human interaction between hams will not be replaced and will always remain one of the hobby's strongest traditions. As licensed hams we are all ambassadors of Amateur Radio and we should always be looking at ways in which we can welcome newly licensed hams and project a positive image that will attract others to ham radio.
NFARL is committed to helping the North Fulton Ham community improve their amateur radio skills, experience and fun! We are a Club filled with Elmers who have years of experience to help you get on the air and aid you in joining the fun of Ham Radio.
NFARL Discord Server
Our Discord server is probably the fastest way to get help or find the right Elmer or Elmers to help you. It is divided into several different channels such as Tech Talk, SOTA/POTA, Digital, Satellites and General. Our NFARL Discord community is quite active. Whether it is a question, a request for help, or general discussion, you can get a response quickly from our Discord server. You can find our Discord server here: https://discord.gg/spr2a9D.
When checking into our Discord server, please edit your screen name to include your call sign as soon as you have one. Post your questions in the relevant discord channel.
Tech Talk
The Tech Talk channel is the place to ask your questions or discuss technical topics pertaining to ham radio.
NFARL hosts a Tech Talk Net each week on Monday night at 8:30PM local time on the 147.06 + (600k) with 100 Hz tone machine. The purpose of this net is to discuss all things technical that are related to ham radio. We highly encourage you to ask questions and participate in the discussions over the repeater. It’s a great place to ask questions and share your experiences with others.
Groups.io Reflector
NFARL has an email reflector that we use to communicate with each other hams, to ask and answer questions, promote various events. Occasionally you might even find a member offering used equipment for sale. Feel free to post any question you might have and you will get many responses very soon. To join our Groups.IO reflector or email list, send an email from the address you wish to use for NFARL correspondence to main+subscribe@NFARL.groups.io. Our group's web page is located here. It provides more information about our group including the email addresses to use to post messages, to unsubscribe and to contact our group owner. It also includes a link to help topics.
License Upgrade Help
NFARL members stand ready to help you meet your upgrade goals. We can meet with you to outline a plan of study, answer your questions, and get you ready for the test. Periodically NFARL sponsors Ham Cram events for both Technician and General class licenses. Check here for the latest Ham Cram information and schedule.
Here are several on-line resources our members have found helpful:
- Hamstudy.org is an excellent resource for studying for any of the exams
- Ham Test onLine provides very good on-line training for General and Extra upgrades.
- Electronics + Radio Today includes topics such as basic electronics and radio concepts, basic components, simple electronics circuits, radio, ham radio, construction techniques and much more.
When you are ready, you can take the test at one of our club's testing sessions which occur monthly (click here to see our club activity schedule with the next test session).
You'll also get lots of ideas from our groups.io Group.
Antenna Installation
NFARL has many members who are willing to help you design, build and even install your antenna.
Equipment Loan Around
The club has a variety of equipment we can loan to you to get you on the air. This equipment belongs to members who have put it in a pool that can be borrowed for a week or a month or more. If you need to borrow equipment – just let us know! Contact John N4TOL at n4tol@nfarl.org to borrow equipment or to donate to the Loan Around Program.
Station Planning and Setup
Many hams do not know the steps involved in setting up a station, whether it's VHF or HF. Our members will help you with these decisions. What to buy, where to get it, what's a good price, etc. Let us know how we can help.
If you join our groups.io email reflector / group (click here to view the group web site), you will often see equipment listed for sale. Always a good idea to buy from other club members.