Gold Coast Amateur Radio Association, Inc.

Join us for Dinner April 23, 2023 7pm at Wings Plus

PLEASE RSVP using the form below so we can let the restaurant know roughly how many people are coming.

You do not have to be a member or a HAM operator to join our monthly club dinner!

Location:
Wings Plus
9880 W Sample Rd
Coral Springs, FL 33065

Gold Coast Amateur Radio Association Board Meeting Minutes

President, Erik Olmer W4EJO

• Call to order
• Greeting

Secretary, Ben Echavarria N7BBE

• Approval of previous min’s
• Attendance taken for officers, and guests

President Report, Erik Olmer W4EJO

• Speaker schedule:
  o March 28– Joe Carcia N1JQ (W1AW trustee), will give virtual tour of station
  o April 25 – Robert Molleda, NWS Hurricane Season Prep
  o May 23 – Bog Heil, whatever he wants to talk about
  o June 27 – Erik Olmer, Shelter Communications
• Other future events:
  o April 8 – Picnic at Vista View Park Needs:
  ▪ Foxhunt equipment / skills
  ▪ Empty eggs
  ▪ Candy

▪ “Donate to GCARA” QR code hung around pavilion
▪ Networks to advertise to kids
▪ Need “teams” to register
▪ Egg hunt teams will include kids, adult guardian(s) and at least one ham to help with fox hunting and to try to answer questions about amateur radio located inside the eggs (bonus points).
▪ Tom added a K9 team to the hunt!
“The only egg hunt in Broward County to have kids, K9s and radio finding equipment.”

o April 15 + 16 – MS Bike Ride
▪ Need to solicit volunteers, webpage already has functionality
o June 24 + 25 – Summer Field Day
▪ W4EJO is EC
▪ Jeff Stahl is Technical Advisor
▪ Ben, N7BBE is Safety Officer “one more time” so we need a deputy

o July 18 10:30AM – Library Presentation

Vice President, Ricki Witte KJ4FSJ

• Committee Reports:
  o MS Bike Ride – N7BBE Bike Ride Chairman
  ▪ 4/15 + 4/16
  ▪ Need to solicit communicators
  o Winter Field Day – W4EJO
  o Testing – K4BH
  o Broward ARES/RACES – KJ4AWB Races Chairman / K4BH
  ARES EC

Interim Treasurer, Erik Olmer W4EJO

• Current checking balance (as of 3/26/2023): $7,6111.85
• Current stripe balance (as of 2/26/2023): $0
• Cash on hand: $67
  Repeater Trustee, Ricky Eaton KD4HGR
• HF Station – Second dry run with Ricki in… April?
• Plan for visit with NT4AL proposal of receiving station to add to JKV
• Antenna adapter kit – In our possession now
• Antenna analyzer – still with W4EJO, needs to be shipped for repair
  

Member at Large, Melanie Fernandez KJ4VCT

• Sunshine Committee – Report on any “good and welfare” topics about
  club membership
• Events scheduled on or before next month’s general meeting
  o 3/26/2023 – Next dinner
  o 4/2/2023 – 10AM “Ham and Eggs” dying eggs with Hope and Melanie
  o 4/8/2023 – Picnic / Egg Hunt
  o 4/15/2023 – 4/16/2023 – MS Bike Ride
  o 4/23/2023 – Next Club Dinner
  o 4/25/2023 – Next Club Meeting – Robert Molleda
• New members and renewals since last general meeting
  o Carol, KJ4AWB renewal
  o Dave, KB4ICU renewal
  

PIO, Tom Savoca K9TJS

• Report on any web page updates
• Summarize past month committee activity on social media and other forums
• Discuss any PIO committee activity planned on or before the next general meeting

Old Business:

• Joe Ruby Brick – Check with request sent
• Banners – Pending, no urgency
• Vests – Delivered
• Business cards / QSL Cards – designs discussed, need to be finalized
  and ordered
• Dirk has announced interest in being elected as treasurer, no other
  qualified candidates reached out.

New Business:

• Shirts / Patches / Stickers
  o Offer style with and without pocket
  o Stickers and patches can have large margin of donation included vs. low price

o Tom / Ben will finalize details of order

• Plan club event to tune Joe McGee’s fan dipole?
  Announcements:
  Adjournment

We will be offering a ham radio licensing course beginning March 24th. The class itself will be virtual, however, the FCC testing session will be in-person. There is no charge to take the class, however, the testing fee is $15.00 payable when you take the test.

Classes will be held on Friday evenings from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm on the following dates: March 24 and 31; April 7, 21 and 28; May 5. In-Person Testing will be on Tuesday, May 9. Although we encourage you to attend each class to learn the material, classes are not mandatory.

We will be working out of the book by Gordon West – 2022-2026 Technician Class FCC Element 2 Amateur Radio License Preparation. You can order it online prior to the class. This book contains the entire question pool and has all of the possible questions you might see on your 35 question exam.

Classes will be held via Zoom and those who register for the class will be sent the Zoom information for each class.

To register CLICK HERE to send me an email with your full name, email address and cell phone number.

You can download the flyer here which has all of the pertinent information.

Hope you will be able to join us for this advanced training!

Carol

Call to Order

Erik Olmer (W4EJO) called to order on ZOOM the Gold Coast Amateur Radio Association’s regular meeting at 7:30 pm on January 24, 2023 A quorum was present.

1) Secretary’s Report – Ben Echavarria (N7BBE)

Ben Echavarria (N7BBE) motioned to approve the minutes from January was seconded by Rick Eaton (KD4HGR)°°

• See appendix “A” for membership and guests list.

2) President’s Report – Erik Olmer (W4EJO)

Speaker schedule:

• April 25 – Robert Molleda, NWS Hurricane Season Preparation
• May 23 – Bob Heil, whatever he wants to talk about

Other future events:

• April 8 – Picnic at Vista View Park in Davie Needs:
  • Foxhunt equipment and operators
  • Empty plastic eggs
  • Candy
  • Propose making it a free event, minimal “picnic” food, emphasizing showing off
    • Amateur radio equipment and skills
  • “Donate to GCARA” QR code hung at pavilion
  • Network for advertising to public (kids, parents, families, etc)
  • Need to register teams for egg hunt
  • Egg hunt teams will include kids, adult guardian(s) and at least one ham to help with the fox hunt and to answer questions about amateur radio located inside the eggs (bonus points).
    
• April 15 & 16 – MS Bike Ride
  • Need volunteers, webpage already has functionality

• July 18, 10:30am Library Presentation at the Century Plaza Library in Deerfield Beach.

• Shirts will be going on sale, probably $40 each, donation to GCARA included with Shirt; great way to show support for the club.
• Club QSL cards for W4BUG, will honor old cards in design
• Ricki Witte (KJ4FSJ) working on application for “Special Service Club” status

3) Vice President Ricki Witte (KJ4FSJ) – Excused

Committee Reports:

• MS Bike Ride – Ben E (N7BBE) Ride Chairman
• 4/15 & 4/16
• Need Communicators

Winter Field Day – Eric Olmer (W4EJO)

Testing – Jeff Stahl (K4BH)

Broward ARES\RACES – Carol Sjursen (KJ4AWB) RACES Chairman Jeff Stahl (K4BH) ARES EC

4) Interim Treasurer, Erik Olmer (W4EJO)

• Current checking balance (as of 2/26/2023) $8,126.29
• Current stripe balance (as of 2/26/2023) $0
• Cash on hand $67.00
• WFD cash donations: $40.00
• WFD online donations: $540.00
• WFD Expenses: $573.00
• WFD Revenue/Loss: +$6.36

6) Repeater Trustee Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR)

• HF STATION – Discuss Zoom session in Feb, and planned for March
• Discuss NT4AL proposal of receiving station to add to JKV
• Club purchasing new antenna adapter kit for the antenna analyzer for events like Field Day

7) Member at Large, Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT)

• Sunshine Committee – Report on any “good and welfare” topics about Club membership
• Events scheduled on or before next month’s general meeting:
  • 3/18/2023 – Skywarn class
  • 3/26/2023 – Next dinner at Wings Plus
  • 3/28/2023 – March General Meeting – W1AW tour
  • 3/31/2023 – Deadline to order shirts to have by field day
    
• New members AND Renewals since last general meeting
  • N4QZB, N4BUG, K4RU, KC2DEX, K4ADD, N2HYD, KG4SLH

8) PIO, Tom Savoca (K9TJS)

• Reported on any web page updates
• Discuss any PIO committee activity planned on or before the next general meeting

9) Old Business:

• Joe Ruby Brick
• Banners – PIO Committee will submit proposal by March board meeting
• Vests – Ordered

10) New Business

• Will monitor for interest in Treasurer position, will name nominating committee if no one expresses interest, hold special election March 2023

Adjournment – 8:22 pm
Special quest: Samuel Greenfield talking about the Flipper

A. Appendix A

Members Present (20)
Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT), Jeff Stahl (K4BH), Mike Wolf (K2HXC), Erik Olmer (W4EJO) Tom Savoca (K9TJS) Ricki Witte (KJ4FSJ), Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR), John Cole (N1QFH), Nigel Richards (KB4F), Dirk Basting (N4AN), Mickey Galper (AA4AC), Carol Sjursen (KJ4AWB), Allan Karden (N4ALK) Ben Echavarria (N7BBE) Joe McGee (NX4T), Jerry Deitch (W4LST), Barry Porter (KP1PA), Harvey Kramer (KC4CX), Abe Betesh (W4FTL), Elliot Spiro (N2HYD)

Guests Present (1)
Samuel Greenfield

Downloadable PDF

Saturday, March 11th at 11:00 AM
(rain date March 18th)

Location:
At our Shack at West Delray Park
10875 West Atlantic Ave
Delray Beach FL

PLEASE RSVP: https://brara.org/BLOG/radiator-grillee-rsvp/

I would like to wish everyone a Happy Spring this month! This is personally my favorite time of year. The birds are down from the north nesting and getting fat for the trip back up North later. The flowers are bursting forth in colors and scents that are a delight to all of our senses. Life in Florida is presenting weather at its best and we see the true paradise that is called Florida. We are so lucky to be hams and live here.

Speaking of our hams, I would like to introduce a few to you. Welcome Henry Garcia KC2DEX. I met Henry at the Winter Field Day and he has followed us for some time and decided to join us. Henry’s greatest interests as a General is in DMR, DSTAR and VHF/UHF and other digital modes
along with FT8 and Digital HF and DX. Anyone who shares his interests would have a good conversation with Henry at our club functions.

Next, welcome to Adam Hilmers, KO4BVD, a new Technician who joined us on Winter Field Day. Adam likes contesting and Sat Comm as well as Portable Go-Kit Building and usage. He is looking forward to learning from our club members as soon as his family time permits. A good match for Adam would be Mike Samokieszyn (Sams) KF4ZW, who actually builds “go-kits” and is very technically inclined and computer savvy.

Welcome also to Elliot Spiro, N2HYD, an EXTRA from NY. His interests lie in DMR, DSTAR, Digital VHF/UHF modes as well as DX. I would say that Elliot and Henry need to get together with our Repeater trustee, Ricky Eaton, KD4HGR for some first hand knowledge of their interests.

We would also like to welcome new member MJ Duff KG4SLH, an EXTRA who enjoys and is interested in ARES/RACES. We will get her involved with Carol Sjursen KJ4AWB and Jeff Stahl K4BH who work with the Broward Emergency Management for ARES/RACES in Broward. She is sure to enjoy her experiences with them as an emergency communicator.

As far as Health and Welfare goes, we have a few hams tending to medical problems. If you know of anyone who needs prayers or attention, please notify the Sunshine Committee, Melanie Fernandez KJ4VCT @954-560-3706 with their permission and we will ask for prayers and emotional support for these hams.

I am remiss in mentioning that one of our newer members, Johnny Marino, N4QZB, lost his wife of many years, Lisa, to breast cancer over the Christmas holidays. Our hearts and condolences go out to Johnny who will be working with Ricky Eaton KD4HGR to get on the air soon. Kudos for improvement to our favorite HAMs Marty Falk KI4IQZ, and Barry Porter, KB1PA, who have been under the weather and fighting for good health on and off for some months. We pray that soon, your health issues will be resolved. We NEED you and you mean a lot to the ham hobby and the club.

God bless everyone always in all ways. 73, Melanie KJ4VCT 2-28-23

1) Call to Order

Erik Olmer (W4EJO) called the meeting to order at 14:39 hours on February 26, 2023. A quorom is present with five (5)
board members.

Members present: Erik Olmer (W4EJO), Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT), Ricki Witte (KJ4FSJ), Ben Echavarria (N7BBE), Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR), Tom Savoca (K9TJS)

Robert Ligum (KN4WII) Treasurer had submitted his resignation. Erik Olmer will fill in as interim Treasurer.

2) Secretary – Ben Echavarria (N7BBE)

• Approval of previous minutes.
• Attendance taken of officers.

3) Presidents Report – Erik Olmer (W4EJO)

• Speaker schedule
  • March 28 – Joe Garcia (N1JQ) W1AW Trustee, will give a virtual tour of the W1AW Station.
  • April 25 – Robert Molleda of the NWS Hurricane Season Prep
  • May 23 – Bob Heil, will give a talk on various subjects.

• Other future events:

• April 8 – Picnic at Vista View Park in Davie
  • Need Fox Hunt Equipment and skilled operators.
  • Empty plastic eggs
  • Candy
  • We are making it a “free event” minimal picnic food, emphasize showing off amateur radio equipment and skills.
  • “Donate to GCARA” QR code hung around the pavilion.
  • Networks needed to advertise event to public.
  • Need “teams” to register”.
  • Egg hunt “teams” will include kids, adult guardian(s) and at least one ham to help with fox hunting and to answer the questions about amateur radio located inside the eggs. (bonus points)

• April 15 & 16 – MS BIKE RIDE
  • Need volunteers to sign up on our web sight for this event.

• June 24 & 25 – Summer Field Day
  • • IC will be picked 3/1/2023.
  • • Ben E (N7BBE) will be the Safety Officer “one more time”, so we need a deputy.\

• July 18 10:30am – library Presentation at Century Plaza Library in Deerfield Beach.

4) Vice President Ricki Witte (KJ4FSJ)

• Committee Reports:

• MS BIKE RIDE – N7BBE is Bike Ride Chairman
  • April 15 & 16
  • Need to enroll communicators.
    
• Winter Field Day – W4EJO
• Testing – K4BH
• Broward ARES/RACES – KJ4AWB Races chairman/K4BH ARES EC

5) Interim Treasurer, Erik Olmer (W4EJO)

• Current checking balance as of 2/26/2023 – $8126.29
• Current stripe balance as of 2/26/2023 – $0
• Cash on hand – $67.00

• WFD Cash Donations – $40.00
• WFD Online Donations – $540.00
• WFD Expenses – $573.64
• WFD REVENUE/loss – +$6.38

6) Repeater Trustee – Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR)

• HF Station – Second dry run with Ricki in March
• Discuss NT4AL proposal of receiving station to add to JKV
• Antenna Analyzer – Will be shipped with W4EJO done with project

7) Member at Large – Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT)

• Sunshine Committee – Report on any “good and welfare” topics about club membership
• Events scheduled on or before next month’s general meeting

• 2/26/2023 – Wings Plus 7:00 pm
• 2/28/2023 – GCARA General Meeting
• 3/18/2023 – Skywarn
• 3/26/2023 – Next Dinner

• New members and renewals since last general meeting
  • N4QZB, N4BUG, K4RU, KC2DEX, K4ADD, N2HYD, KG4SLH

8) PIO – TOM SAVOCA (K9TJS)

• Report on any web page updates
• Summarize past month committee activity on social media and other forums
• Discuss any PIO committee activity planned on or before the next general meeting

9) Old Business

• Joe Ruby Brick – In the works
• Banners – PIO Committee will be asked to submit proposal by March
• Vests – Need to be ordered

10) New Business

• Money Minder Invoice $238.00 due
• Consideration of club business cards and QSL cards
• Consideration of dues forgiveness $23.00 to Kenny and his wife for family membership in consideration of the multiple ways Kenny helps the GCARA via the SEFTN
• Consideration of purchase of antenna adapter kit
  • https://powerwerx.com/30-piece-rf-adapter-kit?gclid=Cj0KCQiAo-yfbhDARlsANr56g4u03q2lf8dF99HR8eqo0LfVVYHosskEzQXNdQOgUpdbnKc2Lh-m8UaArlmEALw wcB
  • To be kept with antenna analyzer guaranteeing that we can mate the tool to any system, and to serve for emergency adapters needed at events such as field day, or during actual communications disasters

• Will monitor for interest in Treasurer position, will name nominating committee if no one expresses interest, hold special election March 2023

Adjournment

We are looking for volunteers on 4/15/23 and 4/16/23 to serve as communicators.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN HELPING
PLEASE CALL (754) 444 1187 OR EMAIL PRESIDENT@W4BUG.ORG

New information will be forthcoming as the event unfolds.

Egg Hunts/Fox Hunt every hour 10AM – 5PM
Vista View Park – Shelter 1

“The Only Egg Hunt In America With Kids, K9’s and Radio Direction Finding”

Bring the kids for a FREE* event guaranteed to be fun and educational

Egg hunt = something people immediately recognize and kids might be interested in. The fact that we mix a fox hunt into it as a radio club is what makes our egg hunt unique.

Fox hunt = an activity unique to amateur radio where people use radio equipment to locate a hidden transmitter. Radio location goes well beyond amateur radio, but hams do “fox hunts” for fun. Fox Hunts are sometimes part of Civil Air Patrol looking for transponders on downed aircraft. A fox hunt is part of our egg hunt event.

We are planning: Picnic – Show and Tell – NET Control review – Fox Hunt

Park info: Phone: 954.357.8898 Email: VistaViewPark@Broward.org

At 65 feet above sea level, this park’s hilltop is the highest manmade elevation in Broward County, popular with competitive bicyclists, paragliders, and horseback riders, not to mention picnickers and, every Fourth of July, people looking to see fireworks.