GCARS celebrated Oscar Norris’ 99th birthday yesterday!!! All amateur radio operators know what a blessing it is to know W4OXH!!! Oscar is the oldest and most experienced amateur radio operator in Gaston County that we know of. He is also a wonderful friend! Happy Birthday Oscar!
GCARS is holding a WCARS VEC amateur radio license exam test session tomorrow, Saturday, September 10th @ 9:30 am.
**Exams are held at Southminster Presbyterian Church at 1401 Hoffman Rd. in Gastonia, NC 28054.**
The cost for the test is $10.
Check out our new photo album: GCARS Fox hunt August 13, 2016
Thanks to everyone who participated and thank you to the “fox”, NC0G!!! It was a blast!
Please join us as we hunt for a hidden transmitter, the “fox”. We will meet at 8 am at Grits n’ Greens in Lowell for fellowship and breakfast. You do not have to attend breakfast to participate in the fox hunt!
The “fox” (NC0G) will begin transmitting at 10 am on 146.535 from anywhere in Gaston County on public property. Our wonderful president, KV4WB, has a Tony’s Gift Certificate for the winner!
Let’s have fun together and enjoy the ham radio hobby! We hope to see you Saturday! – Chantel, KM4LWL
GCARS will be providing a program about ham radio and getting the residents on the air at Stanley Total Living Center on Monday, July 18th at 6:30 pm. Please join us for some ham radio fun!
http://www.stanleytotallivingcenter.org/
Thank you to all of the GCARS family for your hard work and for making this a successful event! Thank you, Karl Bowman, W4CHX, ARRL NC Section Manager, for your visit and for your support!
Please check out our photos from Field Day. You can find them under the 2016 ARRL Field Day Page or click on this link: http://gcars.org/?page_id=502
Thanks & 73, Chantel, KM4LWL
Please join GCARS this Saturday, May 28th from 10 am to 5 pm at the Lowell Freedom Festival! We will have a booth with a HF station! Come, find us & talk on the radio! We hope to see you there!! Chantel, KM4LWL
GCARS has a wonderful opportunity to encourage middle school students to pursue the hobby of amateur radio! The students have asked for our help to establish a ham radio club at their school.
What? Ham Radio Club at Saluda Trail Middle School When? Today at 4 pm is our first meeting with them. Where? Saluda Trail Middle School 2300 Saluda Rd. Rock Hill, SC 29730
Please let me know if you can make plans to attend.
Thanks & 73,
Chantel, KM4LWL
NPOTA update: GCARS had 140 QSOs(16 digital & 124 phone): we worked 29 states & 4 DX entites!!!!! All QSOs have been uploaded to LOTW and we received one QSL card already!!!
Please give a comment below if your QSO hasn’t been “QSLed”.
I learned that ham radio = hard work! It was exciting to see this event come to fruition. The crank up antenna with a 3 element yagi is amazing. Thank you to everyone who participated in some way, shape, or form!!
Kings Mountain National Military Park had a reenactment while we were there. We enjoyed showing a radio to the Revolutionary War militia!
Again, thanks to all of GCARS for making this event happen!
God bless & 73, Chantel, KM4LWL
**April 16 & 17 – GCARS will be at Kings Mountain National Military Park (MP06) for NPOTA (National Parks On The Air)!
We hope to be transmitting between the hours of 10 am and 4 pm.
For those interested in joining us on the air:
**We will be operating on the HF bands as conditions permit: tentatively anywhere from 40 to 15 meters. Please watch for spots on the packet and internet spotting networks. Time on air should begin near 14:00 UTC and conclude around 20:00 UTC. QSL via LOTW.
Check us out on QRZ! https://www.qrz.com/db/N4GAS
Thank you for the QSO!!!
For those interested in joining us at the park:
We will be setting up at 9 am and breaking down at 4 pm. All help is greatly appreciated!
Kings Mountain National Military Park is located on South Carolina Highway 216. From Greenville, SC travel on I-85 North to NC Exit #2. From Charlotte, NC travel on I- 85 South to NC Exit #2.
NOTE: GPS units do not recognize the parks address, therefore do not enter 2625 Park Road into your GPS unit. Call the park for directions.
Lunch for Saturday ONLY will be catered for GCARS hams participating in this event. Our generous and loving President, Annlette, KV4WB, is providing our lunch! Bring your own drink! Coffee will be provided by our generous and loving ARES EC, George, NC0G!!
Please bring your own lunch on Sunday if you want to stay the entire time.
We hope this will be a great event with lots and lots of contacts!
Thanks & 73, Chantel, KM4LWL
https://npota.arrl.org/index.php
We will be setting up and breaking down at 9 am & 4 pm each day. The park closes at 5 pm each night. All help is appreciated!
We hope to be transmitting from 10 am to 4 pm each day.
Lunch for Saturday ONLY will be catered for GCARS hams participating in this event. Our generous and loving President, Annlette, KV4WB, is providing our lunch!
We will need sodas, water, mustard, mayo, chips, fruit bowl, salt and pepper. Please let me know if you can bring an item.
Please bring your own lunch on Sunday if you want to stay the entire time.
We hope this will be a great event with lots and lots of contacts!
Thanks & 73, Chantel, KM4LWL
https://npota.arrl.org/index.php
March 11 & 12 – Charlotte Hamfest – VE Sessions @ 1pm (VE’s be there at Noon, please)
April 16 & 17 – GCARS at Kings Mountain National Military Park for NPOTA (National Parks On The Air)! More details to follow in another post. If you want to camp, you must contact the State Park to reserve a camp site.
April 30 – Skywarn Class at Airport in Hickory NC
https://charlotteskywarn.com/announcements/
May 27 & 28 GCARS will be helping with Emergency Communications at the Lowell Freedom Festival and we will have a booth! We need you to come and share the joy of ham radio with the community!
Hey GCARS! This sounds like a fun opportunity for my home school group! What do you think??? I’ve got a lot of work to do before this could become a possibility but it would be sooooo cool to speak to an ISS astronaut!!! 😀 Food for thought & 73, Chantel KM4LWL
http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact
The Roanoke Division ARRL Service Award was instituted in 1968 by then Roanoke Division Director Vic Clark, W4KFC. Vic intended the award to be recognition for a long history of significant and consistent contributions to Amateur Radio. The amateur selected would have, over the years, dedicated much of his or her time to Amateur Radio and the ARRL. Nominations for the award were solicited in late 2015. The selection committee is comprised of past award recipients, and the administration of the award is done by the Roanoke Division Director.
Out of a field of five very worthy candidates, one clearly received the
majority of the votes.
Congratulations to our 2015 Roanoke Division ARRL Service Award
winner:
David Ritter ND4MR of North Wilkesboro, NC.
The award presentation is currently planned at the 2016 Charlotte
Hamfest on Saturday, March 12, 2016 during the ARRL forum:
http://www.charlottehamfest.
Please join us in congratulating our 2015 Roanoke Division ARRL Service
Award winner!
——————————
ARRL Roanoke Division
Director: James F Boehner, N2ZZ
n2zz@arrl.org
GCARS is having a fox hunt this Saturday!!!!!
Here are the details & logistics:
