PCARS — The Platinum Coast Amateur Radio Society is a private club and Florida non-profit corporation for and by radio amateurs. For over 55 years PCARS has been the premier amateur radio club in central and southern Brevard County. There is a lot more information in the About section of this website. There is also valuable information for anyone interested in amateur radio, no matter what their experience level.
FIELD DAY 2024 is history!!
PCARS Field Day 2024 is now history! Field Day Chairman K4JC reports it was another great Field Day this year. There were quite a few visitors that came out to Field Day, including Camille Fischer, granddaughter of Dan AI4GK, who got on the GOTA station & made a few contacts. Pictured with Camille above is KQ4NVU & K5LD.
See the PCARS Field Day page for more info!
59TH ANNUAL MELBOURNE HAMFEST
ATTENTION…ATTENTION…IMPORTANT NOTICE!!!
PCARS is aware of Tropical Storm Milton, which formed in the southwest Gulf of Mexico today. There are predictions that the storm may track to the northeast into our area. We are monitoring the storm via the NHC. At this time, the Hamfest is still currently planned to be held, however, this may be subject to change, when updated information is available. Please stay tuned & continue to monitor this page for future updates. PCARS thanks you in advance for your cooperation!
– From the Melbourne Hamfest Committee
OCTOBER 11TH & 12TH 2024
The 59th Annual Melbourne Hamfest, a Florida tradition, is just over a month away.!! The Hamfest will be held on October 11th & 12th, 2024, at the Melbourne Auditorium. Table sales, as well as Tailgate spots, are available, but going fast! Get your orders in quickly to avoid the rush. Last year, the Hamfest completely sold out out of tables prior to the Hamfest. Advance tickets are also available. Please contact us at . Also, PCARS now has a permanent Website that you can go to year round at – melbournehamfest.com
Grand Prizes – 2024
1st Prize – Yaesu HF/6 Meter Transceiver FT710 AESS
2nd Prize – Bird Wattmeter with with gift certificate for 1 slug
3rd Prize – Yaesu VHF/UHF/Fusion capable Mobile Transceiver FTM-500DR
Education Opportunities
For any General or Advanced licensees wanting to upgrade, there is an Extra License class starting on Saturday July 27, 2024, 9::30AM, in-person and online via Zoom. The class is 8 weeks and based on the July 1, 2024 question pool and ends a week before the September Exam session at the Suntree/Viera Public Library. This class finally got listed on the ARRL website. Delayed due to the “Service Disruption”.
Anyone who’s interested or knows someone that is, please contact Bob Luken W3RDL – or 321-432-0550
FRIDAY LUNCH VENUE AT CRYSTAL’S
Every Friday is PCARS’s lunch at Crystal’s Buffett on the corner of 192 & Wickham Road. We meet there every Friday @ 11AM. We can have 5-6 people or as many as 20. Come join in conversations on various topics, talking about the latest rigs available, stations, antennas, etc. & other technical things. All are welcome!!
“PCARS in the Park” a success!!
PCARS in the Park was held on January 20th, at 3 Forks Conservation Area & was a total success! Over 20 operators attended the event. A BIG THANKS to Paul W1IP for chairing the event.
Mark Burke W9MGB accepts Sunshine Chair position
Mark Burke W9MGB, has officially accepted the position of Sunshine Chairman. PCARS BOD thanks Mark for stepping up to take this role!
If anyone is aware of a member/member’s family, etc. who is ill, etc. & would like to receive a card, please drop Mark a line at .
PCARS Mobile Car Show a success!
The 1st ever PCARS Mobile Car show took place on Saturday, April 13th. It was held in the Sarno Plaza parking lot. The event was organized & ran by Paul W1IP. There were quite a few “mobiles” in attendance & prizes were awarded. Pictured above are the winners, l-r W1BQ, 2nd place, W1IP, W4GWC, 3rd Place, AD4ES, 1st place & K4AOQ. A big thanks to W1IP for putting on the event & also KC1YL for supplying the trophies !
PCARS Quarterly Tailgate held April 20th at the Fire Training Center
The Quarterly PCARS Tailgate was held on April 20th. As always, we had a good crowd turn out. The time moved to 0700, as the warmer months are upon us. A big thanks to K4CXX for chairing another successful Tailgate!
PCARS Lab Training Session held on April 20th
A PCARS Lab Training session for new hams was also held on April 20th in the afternoon. K4CXX originated & ran the session, with assistance from W7TSO, KO4AQF & K5LD. A big thanks to K4CXX for chairing the session.
PCARS POTA Support Your Parks Weekend
The weekend of April 20th-21st was Parks on the Air (POTA) Support Your Parks Weekend. This is an event that takes place 4 times a year, for the different seasons.
On Sunday afternoon, April 21st, PCARS POTA operators met at 3 Forks Marsh Landing in Palm Bay, to operate in SYPW. A group of 8 operators participated, including some new operators that have not activated a park in POTA before.
Everyone got a chance to get on the air & got their 10 contacts, the amount needed to activate a park. After getting their 10, some operators went back on for more.
PCARS Elmers’ Night replaces DX Night – an absolute success!!
PCARS DX Night, a Wednesday night staple for a few years, has now been replaced by PCARS Elmers’ night, as the DX Night attendance had dropped off over the years.
Elmers’ Night is every Wednesday from 6PM-8PM. Some nights are an open forum, where newbies & seasoned amateurs can bring questions, have discussions, etc. Some evenings have an actual requested topic, such as how to set up a station for the 1st time, how to set up & operate FT8 & RTTY, contesting, how to get started in Parks on the Air (POTA), etc.
In addition to the topics, when requested & the demand is high, Elmers’ night will sometimes be held as a training session on the Club Station, for those who haven’t been checked out or certificated yet.
Look for an E-Mail from Technical Chairman KD8AN, for Elmers’ Nights topics & discussions. If you have a topic you would like to see, please E-Mail Clyde –
Stories
About PCARS
The Platinum Coast Amateur Radio Society
PCARS is an amateur radio club located in Melbourne, Florida, that serves primarily central & southern Brevard County. The club is a Florida non-profit corporation with over 200 members, and it has existed for over fifty-seven years. PCARS is affiliated with the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), which is a national membership organization for licensed amateur radio operators. In 2020, PCARS was designated as a Special Service Club by the ARRL.
PCARS amateur radio operators, often called “HAMS” participate in a wide variety of amateur radio activities. These include providing disaster communications, experimenting with things like amateur TV and satellite communications, competing in amateur radio competitions, and contacting amateurs around the world. Our members use not only voice, but many different modes of communications, such as Morse code, amateur television, radio teletype and other digital modes using computer interfaces.
W4MLB QSL card
The club has an FCC issued amateur radio call sign, W4MLB, and a well-equipped amateur radio station. This station has been used by club members to compete with other clubs and groups around the world in various radio sport competitions. Recently, a whole new generation of contesters have sprung up & begin winning contests as well. Wednesday evenings from 6-8PM is Elmers’ Night at the club station, where we encourage would be & new hams, to come out & ask questions, get assistance with radios, antennas, etc. There is also usually a topic of the week, depending on requests from members.
PCARS conducts a general membership meeting on the second Monday of every month except for December. All amateur radio operators and interested parties are invited to attend. See the meeting page and the calendar for more information. PCARS also publishes a monthly newsletter. Anyone can read the most current newsletter to see what the club is about. Members can access an archive of past newsletters.
PCARS maintains three FM repeaters in the area. Two VHF-FM repeaters and one UHF-FM repeater are owned and operated by the club. The UHF repeater is Fusion enabled. These enable consistent and effective communication over a large part of Brevard County using small hand-held transceivers. These repeaters have been very valuable in helping club members support Red Cross Shelters during hurricanes, and in supporting public service events. Many PCARS members are also members of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), and the club works with the Brevard County ARES Team (BCAT). PCARS sponsors a weekly emergency training net, the Melbourne Region Emergency Net (MREN), where members and guest radio operators check into a controlled group via one of the local repeaters.
There are also a number of PCARS members who are interested in severe weather. storm spotting, and reporting. They participate in a weather reporting net immediately following the MREN each week. Most of these members are registered SKYWARN® spotters, and receive training from the local National Weather Service (NWS) forecasting office. The PCARS Weather Net, as the group is known, has its own website.
Another new mainstream for PCARS members is Parks on the Air (POTA). Several members patriciate in POTA each week, traveling about to the various parks located in our area & beyond. POTA is essentially Field Day every day, without the fanfare. Some members have even operated POTA from a DX country!
The Melbourne Hamfest has been sponsored by PCARS since 1965. This annual event is held the second weekend in October at the Melbourne Auditorium. It draws over 2000 enthusiasts from all over the state of Florida and beyond. It’s a time of fellowship, attending forums, browsing through tables piled high with radio equipment, and “eye-balling” all of the latest gear available through retail outlets.
In addition to providing reliable communications for worthy public service events (races, parades, mock disasters, etc.), PCARS sponsors regular classes to teach interested individuals the technical theory required to obtain an FCC issued Amateur Radio License. PCARS also conducts the exams for those licenses throughout the year.
Amateur Radio License Examiners – November, 2020
SKYWARN® is a registered trademark of NOAA’s National Weather Service.
