Gold Coast Amateur Radio Association, Inc.

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Come one, come all, to see what Ham Helpers has received in donated radio equipment. The Free Flea will take place at 2725 NE 14 Ave. Wilton Manors, 33334 from 8 am to 2 pm on Saturday, April 13, 2024.

It is open to all hams, family and friends. Free tailgating.

There will be an ICOM IC-7610 for auction with a starting bid of $750.00. The winning bid will be announced Saturday at 2 pm. Contact information : kennyh4600@gmail.com (ke4nc).

You must come and see what Kenny has scooped up in his trips around Florida. We will see you there!

Submitted by Melanie Fernandez KJ4VCT

Many of you do not know what goes on in planning a Field Day so I thought I would review some of the processes of this past Winter Field Day.

When someone volunteers to head up the committee, in this case Joe McGee NX4T, they map out what they would like to see happen. Joe wanted to see as many different hams as well as club members attend the Field Day and have a good experience. He first thought of how to bring that about and came up with an idea to reach out by Post Cards to hams all over the Broward County area. Normally we had only used the emails we have in our database in the past. The Board agreed to support the project and Joe went to work designing the post cards with the help of Tom Savoca K9TJS, our PIO and webmaster over the December break period. After the design was complete it was sent off to the printer and when they were received by Joe, he went busily to work hand addressing the Post cards using the info from the FCC database for all the general and extra license holders in Broward County. He addressed some 400 cards and since he had not included call signs on them and the general thought was that it would be a better way to bring attention to the cards, a great friend to the club and most gregarious member, Aurora Figueiredo WD4AGF, then took the cards and added all of the call signs to them and sorted them by zip code for easy mailing. I then took all to the post office and put them in the mail.

Of course, although the hopes were that people would RSVP for food prep purposes, we did not get any and thought perhaps the Post cards may not yield any results. On WFD, we found that we got a 3% response in attendees and the visiting hams were delighted to be invited and meet our worker bees for the club. Some had issues with their antennas and other things in their shack but they were introduced to Jeff Stahl K4BH, Ricky Eaton KD4HGR, Tom McClain N3HPR, and Joe McGee NX4T to discuss the issues and get better ideas and the promise of future help with the problems.

It was wonderful to have satisfied people in our midst and we felt the Post Card effort was not in vain.

Joe McGee NX4T also felt that it was of the utmost importance for all visiting hams get a chance on the air during a Field Day so Joe again enlisted the able aid of Tom Savoca K9TJS to write a program where people could register for a time slot on the air of their choosing in half hour increments. This would, one, insure everyone got a chance to get on the air when convenient for them and two, the radio would be busy all day and night long. Thanks to these two gentlemen, who worked all through the Christmas holidays on the program project, its objective was met. Someone was on the radio at all times supporting the club by operating. We had over 15 different operators as opposed to the usual 3 or 5 we normally had on the radio. Some were first time operators and were given a chance to get their feet wet on the air. The GCARA Board were all happy with the result of the efforts of Joe and Tom and the support staff at the WFD. It was a first and it won’t be the last!

Now, if this intrigues you, we would like to invite your participation in the summer ARRL FIELD DAY. With the new ideas Joe spawned for inviting and operating, we managed to gather 54 visitors, all of whom were treated to a good time. The opportunities to shine are endless and Joe has more fun up his sleeve for the summer, as a consultant, to the contest. I admire his enthusiasm and genuine desire to mentor hams. He works with many newbies or shut ins who need help with equipment or whatever. He is one of the most socially active hams among us and I am so pleased he serves as a director in the club. I am also pleased with the hard work and creative designs of Tom Savoca KJ9TJS who saw these 2 involved projects through all of the time constraints and effort it took with such positive feedback and energy. Gentlemen, GCARA thanks you.

……….and that’s the rest of the story!

Submitted by Melanie Fernandez KJ4VCT

Saturday morning ” ham” breakfast.

From 7 to 9 AM interested Hams meet since 1994 at JJs Cafe for breakfast.

Everyone is welcome to join.

JJs Cafe
6051 NW 31st Ave,
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309
http://jjcafefood.com/

We are looking for help for our 2026 Field June 27 – 28 at Quiet Waters Park.

PLEASE consider volunteering!

Here are some of the things we could use help with:

Please use the form below to contact us about what you can help with!

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Field Day is ham radio’s open house. Every June, more than 31,000 hams throughout North America set up temporary transmitting stations in public places to demonstrate ham radio’s science, skill and service to our communities and our nation. It combines public service, emergency preparedness, community outreach, and technical skills all in a single event. Field Day has been an annual event since 1933, and remains the most popular event in ham radio.

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The South Florida DX Association in Fort Lauderdale invites all DX’ers to our meeting on Wednesday,
May 6, 2026 at 7:00PM. Eyeball QSO’s start at 6:30PM!

Topic: “The KP5/NP3VI Desecheo Island DXpedition – A History Making Amateur Radio Adventure”

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Click BELOW to download and print the PDF version NOTE: Meeting minutes are posted online as a draft for review until approved at the following meeting. Corrections can be sent to the Secretary, currently rickiwitte4@gmail.com.

DX Commander Callum McCormick (M0MCX) gives W4BUG presentation Mar 25, 2022

Dear Fellow Ham,

You are invited to our upcoming GCARA General Meeting:

This will be an in-person meeting only.

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We are pleased to have our own Jeff K4BH as guest speaker presenting:

“Computer Logging for the Technically Challenged”

This is not only valuable for the upcoming Summer Field Day, but also for everyday QSOs

Helping you track contacts, work toward awards, and keep accurate logs.

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Coffee and donuts will be available.

We look forward to seeing you there!

73,
Dirk Basting, N4AN
Treasurer
Gold Coast Amateur Radio Association (GCARA)

This year we came in with the highest score and took first place in the 3 radio outdoor category as N4FL.

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While the ARRL Field Day in June is the “big one” for many, Winter Field Day (WFD) has become a massive favorite for operators who want to test their gear (and themselves) in much tougher conditions.

Winter Field Day 2026 Details

• Dates: Saturday, January 24 – Sunday, January 25, 2026.
• Time: The 30-hour period starts at 16:00 UTC (11:00 AM EST) on Saturday and ends at 21:59 UTC (4:59 PM EST) on Sunday.
• Sponsor: It is organized by the Winter Field Day Association (WFDA), a completely separate entity from the ARRL.

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How is it different from ARRL Field Day?

While both events focus on emergency preparedness and portable operation, they have distinct “personalities”:

1. The Goal: Public Outreach vs. Weather Adversity

• ARRL (Summer): A huge part of the June event is public relations. Clubs often set up in high-traffic parks, invite local officials, and earn bonus points for media coverage. It’s a “show and tell” for the hobby.
• WFD (Winter): The focus is strictly on technical and physical readiness. Since it’s held in January, public outreach is secondary. The goal is to see if you can effectively communicate when the weather is at its worst—simulating a real winter emergency where you might be operating in the snow, wind, or cold.

2. Simplified Classes

Winter Field Day uses a much simpler classification system than the ARRL’s “1A, 2F” alphabet soup. In WFD, you just choose your environment:

• O (Outdoor): Tents, sheds with no heat, or open pavilions.
• I (Indoor): A location not normally used for a station (like a cabin or community center) that has heat and a roof.
• M (Mobile): Operating from a vehicle, RV, or boat.
• H (Home): Operating from your permanent home station.

3. Power Restrictions

Unlike the ARRL event, which allows for higher power in certain classes, WFD is strictly limited to 100 watts PEP. This keeps the playing field level and emphasizes antenna efficiency and operating skill over raw power.

4. Setup Time

WFD has a strict rule that you cannot begin setting up more than 12 hours before the event begins. This ensures that everyone is practicing “rapid deployment” rather than spending a week building a permanent-style station in the woods.

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Which one is better?

If you enjoy the social, festive atmosphere of a summer BBQ with radios, the ARRL June event is hard to beat. However, if you want a “hardcore” experience where you have to worry about battery life in the cold and keeping your fingers warm enough to send Morse code, Winter Field Day is your event.

Please join us for the next meeting of the Gold Coast Amateur Radio Association on Tuesday, March 24 at 7:00 PM.

This will be a special evening as it will be the first time we gather at our new meeting location at Broward Health North. A strong turnout will help demonstrate the enthusiasm and strength of our amateur radio community as we begin meeting at this new venue.

During the meeting we will recognize and honor our Life Members and present them with their Life Member plaques in appreciation of their long-standing dedication and contributions to the club. Please come and support our Life Members as we celebrate them during this special meeting.

To make the evening even more enjoyable, Leonardo, K4ITA, has generously offered to provide ice cream, coffee and donuts will also be served. We will also introduce the new GCARA club T-shirts featuring our updated club logo.

This meeting will be IN PERSON ONLY.

Location
Broward Health North
Conference Center (across from the main entrance)
201 E Sample Road
Deerfield Beach, FL

No registration is required at the hospital. / Newly licensed hams and guests are always welcome.

We look forward to seeing many of you there for this special evening.

Since the hospital staff is preparing the conference room and refreshments for us, PLEASE RSVP below so we can give them an approximate number of participants.

73
Dirk Basting, N4AN
Treasurer
Gold Coast Amateur Radio Association

Mark Your Calendar for a meeting you won’t want to miss on Wednesday, March 4, 2026

The South Florida DX Association in Fort Lauderdale is having our annual membership drive and is pleased to invite all hams and their guests interested in the HF bands to our “Get to Know Us Meeting” on Wednesday, March 4, 2026 at 7PM.

On-Site Speaker Our very special speaker will be Julio Ripoll WD4R Founder/ Coordinator of WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center. Julio received the prestigious 2025 Dayton Hamvention Special Achievement Award and the 2025 RCA Barry Goldwater Amateur Radio Award in Washington DC for 45 years of service to the National Hurricane Center. He will be speaking on “The National Hurricane Center and the Essential Role of HF Operators and DX’ers”

DIRECTIONS
7 PM – Eyeball QSO’s
Meeting starts at 7:33 PM
Florida Medical Center
5000 W. Oakland Park Blvd., Fort
Lauderdale, FL 33133
To find our meeting space check in with security at the
main entrance. Make a right at the first cross aisle, pass the
cafeteria entrance and look for the auditorium on your
right. CALL IN ON 147.330 (+600 Khz) PL 103.5

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Gold Coast Amateur Radio Association Fiscal Year: December 1, 2024 – November 30, 2025

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