The Northern California DX Club (NCDXC) is starting an Elmering program designed to get newly-licensed amateur radio operators on the HF bands in September. According to the club’s website:

“The goal of the NCDXC Elmering Project is to get you on the HF bands doing something that you enjoy. We know that all of you may not be primarily interested in working DX so there is material on all phases of HF operation, station building, equipment selection and antennas woven into three tracks.

“After a couple of introductory classes, the tracks include Track I General License Exam Preparation, Track II HF Operating and Station Building and Track III Advanced Topics. Because the material is presented in tracks you can take only the classes that interest you. Our plan is to expose you to everything HF at your own skill level. There will even be a little material on how to chase DX thrown in for good measure.

“Classes are free and we will do our best to make them fun. Some classes will be taught using Webex so you don’t even have to leave your home to take them. Others will be taught at your Elmer’s shack where you can try out what you are learning on the air. We look forward to helping you to enjoy HF ham [sic].”

More information is available on the NCDXC website, including:

A flyer that briefly describes the program.
A PowerPoint presentation that goes into a little more detail.

You can’t sign up for the classes just yet. John, K6YP, says that they are currently working on the online registration system. When they get it working, students will be able to fill out a form on the NCDXC website, and the website will then issue him or her a Webex signup code and contact info for an individual Elmer.

Another restriction is that currently all of the program’s Elmers are in the San Francisco Bay area. They realize that their online students can be nearly anywhere, however. I’ve volunteered to Elmer one or two here in SE Michigan. I might suggest to our listeners who might be interested in being a local Elmer in this program that they contact John, K6YP, and offer their services.

Northern California DX Club - http://www.ncdxc.org/

ARRL Story - http://www.arrl.org/news/northern-california-dx-club-launching-initiative-to-get-newcomers-on-hf-bands