Gold Coast Amateur Radio Association DINNER!
Sunday Aug 23, 6pm
Wings Plus 9880 W Sample Rd, Coral Springs, FL 33065
Club Dinner RSVP
Upcoming Events
When disaster strikes, normal communications can become overloaded, damaged, or unavailable. That’s when trained amateur radio operators can become an important part of the emergency communications network.
On Saturday, October 3, 2026, from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM, Broward County ARES/RACES are encouraging ALL amateur radio operators to get on the air and participate in the Statewide Simulated Emergency Test (SET).
We need YOU on the air!
Check-ins will begin promptly at 9:30 AM on the Gold Coast Amateur Radio Association 61 repeater (146.610 MHz, PL 110.9). Once check-ins are completed, operators will receive instructions about the simulated disaster scenario, communications objectives, and the information they will be asked to gather and report.
Before October 3, program these frequencies into your radios:
📻 146.610 MHz — PL 110.9
📻 146.550 MHz — Simplex
📻 147.210 MHz — PL 131.8
The purpose of SET isn’t simply to make contacts. It’s to test our equipment, practice emergency procedures, identify coverage and communications gaps, and learn how effectively we can communicate when normal systems may not be available.
Whether you are an experienced emergency communicator or a ham who has never participated in an exercise before, we want you to participate. The more operators we have on the air, the better we can test our capabilities.
Don’t just program the frequencies—GET ON THE AIR!
Charge your batteries. Check your equipment. Program your radios. And be ready to check in promptly at 9:30 AM on Saturday, October 3.
If a real disaster happens tomorrow, we want our amateur radio operators ready today.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR • PROGRAM YOUR RADIO • CHECK IN • PARTICIPATE
STATEWIDE SIMULATED EMERGENCY TEST
Saturday, October 3, 2026 | 9:30 AM–12:30 PM
We’ll be listening for YOU!
GCARA SOCIAL DINNER
DATE & LOCATION: TBD
Join your fellow GCARA members for an informal evening of good food, conversation, and fellowship.
DATE: TBD
Broward Health North
201 E Sample Road
Pompano Beach, FL
Conference Room (across from main entrance)
Networking at 7:00pm – Meeting at 7:30pm
Meetings are usually the 4th Tuesday of the month.
Holidays can change the date so PLEASE CHECK BACK.
GCARA EVENTS
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Order now!
This is part of our new partnership with HamReady, and we’re pleased to offer high-quality apparel directly to our members.
In addition to the polos, there are several other GCARA-branded items available in the store. Personally, I especially like the coaster with our club logo – a really nice addition!
Questions: Dirk Basting N4AN, treasurer@w4bug.org
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Dear friends and fellow Hams,
You may have heard the old saying: “A good antenna is the best amplifier.”
I am personally very fortunate — my antennas and our repeater are installed on a 300-ft condominium, thanks to an exceptionally understanding board. Without their goodwill, my station would hardly be workable.
Many of you may not be so lucky.
Here in Florida, as we all know, it is nearly impossible to find housing without an HOA. That means most Hams in our state face severe limitations on antennas, sometimes even on small and unobtrusive ones. This affects our hobby, our emergency-response capability, and the future of Amateur Radio overall.
The ARRL has now put forward important legislation that would finally help level the playing field and allow reasonable outdoor antennas, even in HOA-controlled communities.
To make this happen, we need as many Florida Hams as possible to contact our Senators and Representatives. Fortunately, ARRL has created an easy one-click tool that generates the letter automatically. You simply enter your name and address and send it off.
Click here to send the ARRL letter
It takes less than a minute — but it can make a real difference for every Ham in Florida who dreams of having a usable antenna again.
Thank you for taking the time to support this effort.
Let’s stand together to protect and strengthen Amateur Radio in our state.
73
Dirk N4AN
Treasurer GCARA
Ham License TESTING:
1st Saturday 10:00 at Northwest Regional Library see parrotarc.org for details
2nd Saturday 10:00 at Community Church of Davie see palmettoarc.org for details
3rd Sunday 13:00 at DCARC see dcarc.club for details
4th Tuesday (except Dec.) 18:00 at Broward Health Imperial Point
SEFTN Traffic & Training net: Mon – Fri 18:00 146.610 MHz (110.9 Hz CTCSS)
