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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

SAVE THE DATE – 59TH ANNUAL MELBOURNE HAMFEST OCTOBER 11TH & 12TH 2024

The 59th Annual Melbourne Hamfest, a Florida tradition, will be held on October 11th & 12th, 2024, at the Melbourne Auditorium. Tickets will be available soon. Stay tuned for more details!!

“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.

PCARS Member dues for 2024

PCARS Member dues for 2024, can be paid starting now. Regular membership is $20 per year & Associate Members are $10. Dues are collected throughout January until the March General Membership meeting. After March 13th, members who have not paid, will be dropped from the Membership list & the E-Mail list as well.

For questions concerning membership, dues, etc., please contact Membership Chair Bob Creswick NB4C.

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 April 13th

There will be the 1st ever PCARS Mobile Car Show on April 13th, @ 0900, in the Sarno Pizza parking lot. Trophies will be awarded for the Best of Show, etc. Come out & show off your mobile installation!! Please contact Paul W1IP for more details. The monthly Sarno Pizza lunch for April will follow this event.

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 approximately 160 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. The “Florida Boys” was a name given to our PCARS contest group. However, this group has retired now. as many of the members have moved on/ However, a whole new generation of contesters have sprung up & begin winning contests as well. Most Wednesday evenings, a few members will get together at the club station to work DX (distant stations). Operators may use their own call sign, and log contacts using the club’s radios, amplifiers, and directional antennas. Also, in addition to DX Night on Wednesdays, it is also Elmer Night, where we encourage would be & new hams, to come out & ask questions, get assistance with radios, antennas, etc.

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.