“Elmer” LOL
From Wikipedia:
“ The term first appeared in the March, 1971 issue of QST magazine’s “How’s DX” column by Rod Newkirk, W9BRD (now also VA3ZBB). Newkirk called them “the unsung fathers of Amateur Radio.” While he probably was not trying to coin a term at the time, here’s how Newkirk introduced “Elmer” in his column and, as it turned out, to the rest of the amateur radio world: “Too frequently one hears a sad story in this little nutshell: ‘Oh, I almost got a ticket, too, but Elmer, W9XYZ, moved away and I kind of lost interest.’” Newkirk went on to say, “We need those Elmers. All the Elmers, including the ham who took the most time and trouble to give you a push toward your license, are the birds who keep this great game young and fresh.”
A Technician license is fairly easy to get with a little study. It allow a licensee to use the UHF and VHF bands, which have a range of 3-50 miles, but usually are used with a high-tower repeater, allowing a sub-$100 hand-held radio (Chinese...) to communicate by analog or digital voice in about a 50-mile radius.
Most of the dialog in amateur radio is just chit-chat and radio checks. It would be very easy for a husband-wife to develop a normal-sounding code that no one would notice.
However, the vast majority of amateur radio licensees are men and it is less frequent to hear a woman’s voice on the air here in NC.
I suspect the FCC and NSA record the entire spectrum 24/7, particularly around DC.