W4BUG Home Page

Welcome to the Gold Coast Radio Club
Pompano Beach Florida

Last updated Jan 31, 2010

All are welcome to join us at our monthly meetings held the 4th Tuesday of every month, except December, at 7:30 PM in the auditorium of the Imperial Point Hospital. Amateur license testing at 6:00 PM preceeding each meeting.. REMEMBER, there is no longer a requirement for Morse Code so now is a great time to upgrade your license or to join the growing ranks of Amateur Radio operators. "Be a HAM"

Visit Mikes site for the latest hours

February Program

No antennas because of deed-

restricted property? Homeowner or

condo association problems?

Sneaking wires around the yard?

Steve, W1WSN (who spoke earlier on

the history of FM repeaters) will be

speaking at the February meeting

about how he has successfully

worked with two condominium

associations to gain approval for

antenna installations.

One installation was published in the

November, 2008 QST. We will be

seeing another installation not yet

submitted for publication, as well as

hearing about how to work with

associations and why FCC rulings

often confuse both the general public

and radio hams as well.

Saturday morning breakfast

All are welcome to join us each

Saturday morning at 7:30 am for

breakfast and gab session at JJ's

Diner on 31st Avenue just south of

Cyrpess Creek on the West side.

Printed Circuit Newsletter

We have returned to publishing the

Printed Circuit Newsletter for our club

members. It will provide timely and

pertinent information on amateur

radio, our club, and our repeaters to

keep everyone up to date. We are

also selling ad space for those

businesses that would like to take

advantage of an inexpensive means

to reach our audience.

For more information click here.

Download Newsletter click here.

Welcome to the Gold Coast

Amateur Radio Association

The GCARA is one of the oldest ham

radio clubs in South Florida with a

growing membership of about 135

licensed operators. The club was founded

in 1969 by its first trustee, Charles D.

Ritchie, (Chuck) (W4BUG) SK, back

when amateur radio, VHF, UHF, and HF

repeaters were a technical challenge.

Keep in mind that the amateur the radio

operator is often the unseen hero during

emergencies when other means fail to

operate. In this high technology

information age, there is still a need for

the dedicated amateur, and our club

stands ready to provide any public service

communications should it be called upon

to do so.

Dues

We have been fortunate to receive a few

donations but, they will not last forever. If

you are in arrears, please pay your dues

and remain in good standing with the

club. As an incentive, we were able to

obtain, through Mikes Electronics, some

great tools used to attach RJ45

connectors to CAT5 cable. These

connectors are all metal with adjustable

blades to cut, strip, and install the

connector. Each member, that has paid

their 2010 dues, will be elegible to obtain

one free at the November meeting. If your

dues are paid and you want one, just see

Joe Ruby. He will check your name off of

the list and give you one. These tools are

compliments of Mikes Electronics and PC

Cables.

Club repeaters: are available for use

by all licensed amateurs. For more

information about our repeaters.

MEETINGS and TESTING

Tue. February 23, 2010

Walk-ins are welcome

Please bring a pencil, copy of your

license, and the $15.00 fee

If you haven't yet, renewed this years

membership or, if you would like to

join our club, just click on the link

below. You will then download a

membership application,in PDF

format, that you can print, fill out, and

mail with your check, to the address

printed at the top of the application.

Free online exams

Thinking of upgrading your license?Well, Hamilton Carter, KD0FNR, has created a set of free online exam practice tests that you may find useful. Check out his web site.

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