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 2023 Completed
PCARS Field Day 2023 is now history! We had a great time over the weekend. More info under Activities/ARRL Field Day
FRIDAY LUNCH VENUE AT CRYSTAL’S
Crystal’s Buffett on the corner of 192 & Wickham Rd., is the place for lunch on Fridays. We meet there every Friday @ 11AM. We can have 5-6 people or as many as 18. Please come join us!!
58TH MELBOURNE HAMFEST IS HISTORY!!
The Melbourne Hamfest, a Florida tradition for 58 years, is now history!! The weather held out throughout the weekend, making it a great time for all that attended. Many thanks to PCARS Hamfest Chairman N0OJ, for leading our Hamfest Committee to a successful Hamfest!
2023 Grand Prize Winners
1st Prize – Yaesu HF/6 Meter Transceiver FT710 AESS – W4OX
2nd Prize – Bird Wattmeter with with gift certificate for 1 slug – Shelle Pendergrast
3rd Prize – Yaesu VHF/UHF/Fusion capable Mobile Transceiver FTM-300DR – KN4ZUJ
PARKS ON THE AIR EVENT – “PCARS in the Park”
Parks on the Air is still a hugely popular ham radio activity. POTA has continued to grow, and there are stations on the bands every day. There were 140,000 park activations resulting in 6.2 million QSO’s in 2022! It’s a low-key fun way to make and get tons of contacts.PCARS has several experienced POTA operators, and they want to encourage more of you to have fun with this radio activity. As a POTA activator, you get to be the one people want to call! Many of us go out together to activate, which makes it a lot more fun.
We will be having a POTA get on the air event on December 16th at 9am. The location is Three Forks Conservation Area. This is a nice spot with a pavilion and tables to set up. Lots of room for antennas. https://maps.app.goo.gl/H5Tcj3HgYa5XYaFW7
We will cover the basics including logging, setting up, spotting network and the protocol for making QSO’s (its easy!). There will be at least two stations operating (SSB and FT8) with an assortment of various POTA antennas, from a simple hamstick, to a 40’ mast to a highly resonant Buddipole setup.
You can get your first activation at this event. All it takes is 10 QSO’s, and we will be there to help you.
More details will follow as the date gets closer. In the meantime, sign up at Parks on the Air | POTA. It is very simple, and it will allow you to upload your logs, and check your progress towards the many free awards POTA offers.
Paul W1ip