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/
Vista View Park
4001 SW 142nd Ave, Davie, FL 33330, USA
All are invited, please RSVP so we can have enough food. $10.00 Donation is suggested to help cover the food costs and park price.
More information closer to the event.
A NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT – AUGUST 2024
CQ, CQ, CQ, calling all members of GCARA!
I hope that my note finds everyone doing well and making contacts as you wish. Our equipment is working well at this time except for our HF Remote station which for some unknown reason keeps shutting itself off intermittently and without reason we can identify yet. This weekend, Eric Rodriguez KF4LZA, and Ricky Eaton KD4HGR, will go up to the repeater room at John Knox and investigate further. More details to follow in my next communication.
I want to remind people that we are in the process of collecting the dues owed to the club for this year and greatly appreciate all of you who respond in a timely manner with payment. Dues support the club infrastructure and equipment. They are a necessary ASK of the membership.
Thank you to all who stay current and to those individuals who are busy volunteering for the many jobs in the club. Any and all support is greatly appreciated by the Board and those members who seek to have a viable club. We cannot do anything of import without the loyal support of the membership.
Recently, the “91” repeater and equipment was removed from its home and no longer provides the County EOC with communications during hurricanes and disasters. Our “61” repeater now fills that position, and it is so very important to keep it up and running. GCARA takes that responsibility very seriously and our repeater Trustee team is busy doing whatever it takes to both maintain and secure the equipment. We owe a great deal of thanks to both Ricky Eaton KD4HGR and Eric Rodriguez KF4LZA for their devotion to this cause. These two gentlemen give many hours of personal time to keep us with working equipment that is both reliable and up to date. Kindly tell them thanks should you ever see them as they are the jewels in GCARA’s crown.
We are planning for our November picnic at Vista View Park in Davie for Nov 9th. We are looking forward to seeing all of you there for some mutually beneficial fun and education as well as networking. Everyone is welcome to attend.
I have included some pictures from our recent club dinner at GG’s of New York. The food is so good and the company is stimulating. We have been able to even have some successful auctions of donated equipment to provide the club with some funding. Many thanks to Dirk Basting N4AN, our Treasurer for his generous donations of slightly used but still viable top end equipment. Eating great food served by the sweetest, waitress, “Trish the Dish”, and socializing with our Ham friends is a great way to spend a Sunday evening.
The Board is currently trying, once again, to make some arrangements to meet at Imperial Point Hospital for our monthly meetings which will be a hybrid of in person and a Zoom affair. If we can, we would like to start in September. Many members have requested this because they miss the old format of rag chewing in person and networking with their Ham friends in the club. (A few have also stated they miss the Dandee Donuts, too. Lol) Luckily, GCARA has had a wonderful memory of old meetings where we came together to learn and check on old friends in person as well as get all of the information necessary to operate a great club. Thank you to all for all of your efforts in that capacity. We welcome ALL hams to our meetings.
Hopefully, we will be seeing each other soon! God bless.
Submitted by Melanie Fernandez KJ4VCT
Our guest speaker in August 27, 2024 will be Ian Barton (VK5AIB).
Ian has been licensed since July 1977 and over the years has had an interest in RTTY including “Glass RTTY” & Packet radio.
In 1992 he ceased all operations upon moving location to a much smaller block which couldn’t accommodate his previous 50ft free standing tower and antennas. Back in about April 2023 he recommenced operations after chatting with Henry Seidner about FT8 and the ICOM IC-7300 but this time with a Cushcraft R8 vertical antenna rather than the HyGain TH3 he had in his previous days.
Due to “domestic pressure”(!!!) it was important to Ian that he be able to bring his antenna to ground quickly and by himself in the event of inclement weather so Ian will demonstrate to us the approach he has taken to bringing this about. He will also share information about operating amateur radio “down under”.
Speaker info submitted by Henry Seidner WA2ROA Boca Raton ARA Vice President
CQ, CQ, CQ, Calling all hams!
The very first priority of mine is to thank all of those hams who volunteered their time, talent and strength to get involved in the June ARRL Summer Field Day this past June. It has taken us some time to recover from being in Covid Isolation and our previous attempts at large public gatherings were understandably impacted. 2024 proved to be encouraging with about 70 visitors and volunteers who attended, visited, learned, operated and enjoyed our twenty-four hour emergency practice Field Day. This was a 50% improvement over last Summer Field Day. Thank you. Hopefully this will be a trend toward higher attendance in the future.
We have learned valuable tips and have improved our set up and planning techniques. I want to thank some particular people, instrumental in this Field Day exercise in 2024.
First, the architect of the Plan, Joe McGee NX4T, who faithfully drew people together, creatively anticipated the technical needs and found interesting ways to entice people to come. He and Tom Savoca K9TJS, our PIO, worked tirelessly to advertise, invite people and we learned new ways to attract hams and keep order among the communicators.
Our co-chairmen in the event were Joe McGee NX4T and our loyal Repeater Trustee, Ricky Eaton KD4HGR. They were assisted by Jeff Stahl K4BH and Dan Vasilca AI4WW in the technical arena. Thank you gentlemen for all of your time and consideration and doing what it takes to provide a successful event. Dan, thank you for collecting all of our FD information and submitting our points to the ARRL. Thanks to you and your new friend with CW, and all the rest who operated, we did remarkably better than the previous year. That’s fantastic.
Thanks to the PIO Tom Savoca K9TJS and his partner, Carol Sjursen KJ4AWB, who helped meet and greet and get officials to come, making it effortless to extend out hospitality to those friends we had not met yet. They get better every year and they are a big blessing to GCARA. This year Tom arranged for a drone pilot to record our event and to get a picture of our group who were present at that time. Thanks Tom and Carol, for all of your work and sharing of talents.
We were assisted by volunteers Mark Blanchard KQ4RRG, Bill Mercer KE8TPU, Mike Meeks WA4VEF, Matt Foran K4VMF, Mark Filla N4DES, Half Moon AJ4JG, Ed Grumet KE2EF, and a few others that I know I am forgetting. Thank you gentlemen for all the lifting, antenna placement, radio assembly, and acting as gophers when we needed more supplies.
In the cooking arena, the chefs de jour were Melanie Fernandez KJ4VCT, Carol Sjursen KJ4AWB, Ricki Witte KJ4FSJ, and Mike Wolf KD4OVP. We were told that the chili was the best ever tasted (Ricki made it). The Brazilian Chicken Wings and Brazilian steak was complimented throughout the evening as had been our Burgers, dogs and Kielbasa at lunch. The Hospitality Crew with Jerry Deitch W4LST, our procurement specialist, and Kenny Hollenbeck KE4NC, our grill keeper and transport, worked tirelessly to get everything done in an orderly manner. Breakdown this year was done at record speed and order was established for our inventory with Carol’s help. New clear view plastic bins were provided by the club so we can see what we have as well as store it in a cleanlier fashion. Two new coolers were purchased to help in keeping perishables at safe temperatures and to hold and to replace a broken one that is kept to hold drinks.
Almost to the person, everyone I spoke with had a positive comment and many who had not previously participated in an outdoor Field Day were very impressed at our efforts and encouraged to do this again next year.
I am happy to report that we added six new members to our rolls as a result of the experience at Field Day.
If I missed naming you, it was an oversight, and not intentional. I thank everyone who came, helped, learned and enjoyed this Field Day.
As to the future of Field Day, we are letting people know that we need a replacement for Jerry Deitch W4LST, as procurement specialist and for storage of our coolers, and inventory. This faithful ham has been by my side through the last 6 years, helping me shop for food the Friday preceding the Field Day event, store the inventory, transport the food for Field Day, and packing all up at the end of Field Day. He has a Ford Explorer that has been so, so helpful for our needs. If you think you would like to help us in Hospitality to shop, store and transport food and drinks for our events, kindly let Melanie know. Jerry will not be available after Winter Field Day. Thank you Jerry for the advance notice and all of your help.
We also need younger hams to learn how to put on a Field Day next year. We want the hams to be able to be self sufficient and have an idea of how to throw such a large event. While all of us spend a lot of time planning, talking, and calling others, we do not feel this is an impossible task or one that is not fun. It is just that the leaders of Field Day now are much older and prone to health insults as a result of life and this causes some difficulty in execution of duties. We would love to mentor anyone interested in learning and helping us. We will be ready to assist, too. We just “need a little help from our friends”. By all means, please contact Melanie to volunteer for January and June 2025 Field Days or our November 9, 2024 Picnic. God bless us all and keep us well throughout the coming year.
Submitted by Melanie Fernandez, KJ4VCT
Come and join us for our August Monthly Dinner Meeting at GG’s at 5 PM, Sunday August 25, 2024.. The menu is great and so is the food! See you there!
******* Auction of a Veritium Clock at 7 PM ******
NOTE: Individual cash payments suggested to make it easy on restaurant staff serving us. Thank you!
RSVPs APPRECIATED
There will be a brief overview of:
- Monthly meeting speaker
- Upcoming events
Club Dinner RSVP
Click here 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.
GENERAL-MEETING-minutes-2024-05-28We will be raffling of a 2024 Field Day shirt, size Large, and a 2024 Field Day Cap, separately for Field Day. The items were donated by Aurora Figueiredo KW4AGF. Thank you Aurora, and may the new owners get a lot of use out of the items.
Gold Coast Summer Field Day 2024 – June 22/23 2024
The Gold Coast Amateur Radio Association will sponsor its ARRL Field Day event on June 22/23 , again at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach.
All interested parties, licensed amateurs and others , are invited to attend and participate. As in the recent past, we will set up 3 operating stations , one each for Single Sideband (SSB), Morse Code (CW) and Digital (primarily FT-8 or FT-4) modulation.
In addition, we will have other activities including various equipment demonstrations and satellite contact attempts.
Food will be available (please indicate your interest in advance) and we do have an open shelter with bathroom facilities. Those who wish to stay overnight will be welcome and can help us remain on the air through the evening hours. They should bring their own sleeping equipment (Bags, cots, blankets, air mattresses, tents, etc.)
Setup will begin at 8 AM Saturday and we will go on the air at 2 PM for a period of 24 hours.
Advance reservations for operating time on the SSB station will be available on the website (below)
We seek volunteers for this effort and encourage anyone willing to chip in and help us to contact the undersigned
This will be an interesting and fun event. Do plan to join us.
Additional details wil be available on our website (www.w4bug.org) and in future announcements. Also questions can be addressed to the undersigned.
Joe McGee, NX4T
Ricky Eaton, KD4HGR
Field Day Chairmen
Call to order 1931 hrs. Adjourned 2045r hrs.
Board members – Melanie Fernandez, Ben Echavarria, Ricky Eaton, Joe McGee
Absent – Rickie Witte, Tom Savoca, Dirk Basting
Members present – Rick K1DS, Jeff Stahl K4BH, Carol Sjursen KJ4AWB, Alan N4ALK,Mike Wolf KD4OVP, Elliot N2HYD, Sylvan Pierre, Leon Rosen N1XKT, Harvey KC4CX, Matt K4VMF, Mark Blanchard KQ4RRG, Dan AI4WW, Bill Mercer KE8TPU, Rick Rosen WA5VJB gave a talk on Satellites.
PRESIDENT – MELANIE FERNANDEZ KJ4VCT
- Call to order
- Greeting and Pledge of allegiance.
- Introductions from the board and roll call
Secretary – Ricki Witte KJ4FSJ - Approval of draft of Minutes as appears on the website W4BUG.org Vice President – Ben Echavarria N7BBE
- Testing – Jeff Stahl K4BH Jeff to give address of MAY 2024 testing and date
- Broward Ares Races – Carol Sjursen KJ4AWB
Treasurer Report – Dirk Basting N4AN (away) Ricki Witte KJ4FSJ to give report
- Current checking balance $5,000 FUND $3305.65 checking
- Membership_104 Unpaid 15 Lifetime 28
Repeater trustee – Ricky Eaton KD4HGR
- DMR Update
- AllSTAR update
- HF Update
- Plans for this year
Director, PIO. -Tom Savoca K9TJS
- New projects for website?p
- Who’s not getting their emails? Remember if you change email,
please update on website.
Director at Large – Joe McGee NX4T
- Speakers
- Tonight – April 23, 2024 Jeff Stahl K4BH Digital on a
dime - Vista View Picnic. May 4, 2024 10 am to 5 pm
- Next Club Dinner May 26, 2024 at GIGI’s of NY in Margate on 441. 6 pm to 8:30 pm
- Gen Mtg. May 28, 2024 Rick Rosen K1DS on Satellites. Happy Birthday Rick!
Announcements:
o We can order shirts or badges as people are interested. Please call Melanie @ 954-560-3706 with interest. Badges are a $10.00 Donation to the club and Shirts are a $40.00 donation to the club. We need your size, with or without a pocket, call sign and you may pay for these items online.
o Please consider using EDCO.com for all your awards and trophies needs. My contact there for Gold Coast is Gloria Sejas.
They do excellent work and are consumer attentive. Call Gloria @ 800-377-8646 xt 114 or go to EDCO.com to see what they offer.
o Carol Sjursen is collecting names now for volunteering at 2024 Winterfest Boat Parade KINDLY GIVE HER A CALL AT 954-
803-6338 if you are interested for winter of this year.
o CERT training is being offered by Parkland, Coral Springs Cert ASSN. Classes can be started when registered. For more information, talk to Carol.
o If you are a serious volunteer in radio communications, please get involved with ARES/RACES. They need shelter workers for
the hurricane season and it is good training for community service AND ham radio. Contact Jeff Stahl K4BH or Carol Sjursen KJ4AWB for more information.
PROGRAM: Digital on a Dime. Jeff Stahl K4BH
Ben E
N7BBE