Charlie is a fictitious character who portrays the kindly older ham we all wish would live near us. He's always ready to help the beginner and now that he's retired, always can make the time. In a special way, Charlie builds a life form around the ubiquitous "Elmer", referenced for years as the person responsible for helping us become hams and once licensed, advancing our knowledge, understanding and skill level.

Care was taken to develop characters and stories not portraying actual people or events except in benign local references in space and time. All Charlie's Whistle stories are purely fictional and any resemblance of anyone to Charlie, be they living or dead, is purely coincidental. (and flattering ed. note)

The intent of these stories is to teach by example, the principles and joys of amateur radio. Charlie is a role model for us all to follow. He epitomizes the notion of an "Elmer" for older hams to emulate and for newer hams to locate and question. The lead character is a CW DXer, retired from an engineering management career. He is as sharp as ever and his operating skills are unmatched. He has hundreds of close friends around the world and is respected by all for his exemplary operating style and ethical behavior. None of this expertise has inflated his ego, however. He has remained humble and still sees himself as someone who simply wants to help others and try to make some difference in their lives.

Please read and enjoy these stories. Relate your experiences to those of Charlie, Mary, Brian, Jennifer, Rufus and all the characters in Charlie's Whistle.

Oh, I almost forgot. The title's analogy to a whistle is made because the stories are always concerning some object lesson or timely topic. They are supposed to radiate in all directions like the sound of a whistle.

Charlie's Whistle is your forum to allow Charlie to discuss or teach some aspect of ham radio. Got any suggestions for future stories?

For the latest Charlie's Whistle, read the club newsletter: The Messenger