Dear friends and fellow Hams,
You may have heard the old saying: “A good antenna is the best amplifier.”
I am personally very fortunate — my antennas and our repeater are installed on a 300-ft condominium, thanks to an exceptionally understanding board. Without their goodwill, my station would hardly be workable.
Many of you may not be so lucky.
Here in Florida, as we all know, it is nearly impossible to find housing without an HOA. That means most Hams in our state face severe limitations on antennas, sometimes even on small and unobtrusive ones. This affects our hobby, our emergency-response capability, and the future of Amateur Radio overall.
The ARRL has now put forward important legislation that would finally help level the playing field and allow reasonable outdoor antennas, even in HOA-controlled communities.
To make this happen, we need as many Florida Hams as possible to contact our Senators and Representatives. Fortunately, ARRL has created an easy one-click tool that generates the letter automatically. You simply enter your name and address and send it off.
Click here to send the ARRL letter
It takes less than a minute — but it can make a real difference for every Ham in Florida who dreams of having a usable antenna again.
Thank you for taking the time to support this effort.
Let’s stand together to protect and strengthen Amateur Radio in our state.
73
Dirk N4AN
Treasurer GCARA
Upcoming Events
Winterfest Boat Parade
Saturday, December 13, 2025
Ham operators are needed!
Contact CarolSjursen@gmail.com) / 954-803-6338 with questions or to help out!
Winter Field Day
January 24th & 25th, 2026
401 S Powerline Rd, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442
Winter Field Day is an exciting annual event for amateur radio enthusiasts and the community to get together!
GCARA General Meeting (ZOOM and In-Person)
Date: TBA
5 PM – Dinner in Cafeteria
6 PM – TESTING in Auditorium
7 PM – Socialization before meeting
7:30 PM – Business Meeting starts
7:50 PM – 50/50 Drawing and auction**
8 PM – Speaker
8:50 PM – Q&A; subsequent adjournment
In-person at:
Imperial Point Hospital
6401 N FED HWY
Ft Lauderdale, FL 33308
Meetings are usually the 4th Tuesday of the month.
Holidays can change the date so PLEASE CHECK BACK.
GCARA Club Dinner
NO November or December Dinners
Club Dinner RSVP
GCARA Picnic
Next Picnic TBD
Ham License TESTING:
1st Saturday 10:00 at Northwest Regional Library see parrotarc.org for details
2nd Saturday 10:00 at Community Church of Davie see palmettoarc.org for details
3rd Sunday 13:00 at DCARC see dcarc.club for details
4th Tuesday (except Dec.) 18:00 at Broward Health Imperial Point
Past News & Articles
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SEFTN Traffic & Training net: Mon – Fri 18:00 146.610 MHz (110.9 Hz CTCSS)
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