They award a toilet seat to members for gaffes such as burping on air or sitting on microphones. They help install antennae on each others' rooftops. And after hurricanes down power lines or telephone wires, they help evacuees at shelters by radioing for water, cots and blankets.

This is how the ham operators of the Johnston Amateur Radio Society have become a tight crew.

"It's a fun group that can get serious in emergencies," says Billy Massengill, who gives his call sign "WB4EBG ... E-B-G as in eggs, bacon and grits."

Massengill, a 71-year-old farmer near Dunn, chartered the club in 1975 with a few friends. The club's first repeater, a device that takes weak radio signals and transmits them farther at a higher power, used to reside atop a water tower in Benson. Today, the group's repeater perches 820 feet high on the WRAL television tower at the fringes of Wake County near Clayton. It can broadcast about 70 miles in all directions and as far as Fayetteville or Goldsboro.

More laid back and less technical than many radio clubs, the Johnston Amateur Radio Society has about a 100 members, including engineers, doctors, lawyers, farmers, plant workers, truck drivers and their families.

At the club's designated radio frequency of 147.270, anyone with an "amateur" radio or scanner can tune in around the clock. Some are "closet listeners" who never say much. Others drop a hello whenever they pass through the area in their car or truck.

Nightly at 8:30 p.m., many of the club members sign in for a "ragchew." It's like one big party line; banter ranges from work and family to tech gossip.

Members get together at least once a month. They listen to talks on topics such as doing radio on very low power -- as little as less than a watt. They discuss past feats, such as reaching other amateur radio operators in tiny Liechtenstein in Central Europe, or former King Hussein in Jordan (So they can communicate to the other side of the world, some hams bounce their signals off the upper regions of the atmosphere; some use satellites).

And they give out a "Lid of the Month" award --part honor, part joke, it is a wooden commode seat, which when lifted reveals a mirror and the engraved call signs of past recipients. "Lid" is a term for a poor radio operator. "Lid-like" behavior is anything from forgetting to turn off music when transmitting or accidentally cursing on-air. The previous lid picks next month's recipient. It's a playful way to jab friends, teach newly licensed operators proper etiquette and self-police the airwaves.

This month, the group has been counting the days to its 19th annual hamfest, which draws about 1,000 people from North Carolina and surrounding states.

The event's name still sometimes befuddles the uninitiated. A hamfest, says club president Byron King, a BellSouth lineman, is a bazaar where amateur radio operators buy and sell equipment such as antennae, radios and scanners. Besides offering food and prizes, volunteers also stand by to administer license exams.