GARS (Gainesville Amateur Radio Society)


GARS will host our 2024 Spring Tailgate at Trinity United Methodist Church, 4000 NW 53rd Ave, Gainesville, FL 32653 on April 20th, from 8am till 2pm.
Location and parking will be the same as last year.
More details on this will be posted here soon.

Our usual Tech Day would normally be held that day, so to avoid scheduling conflict, Tech day that month will be held April 27th, the same weekend as the Florida QSO party, which will run April 27th-28th.


We are trying to reduce/eliminate interference heard on our local VHF 146.820 repeater. As an experiment, we have activated the CTCSS tone on the repeater receiver.
Most of our radios already transmit a 123.0Hz sub-audible tone when calling the repeater, so for most of us nothing is needed and the repeater will work as expected.
However if your radio is not able to activate the repeater, then turn on the CTCSS tone when transmitting to the repeater. If in doubt as to which tone to set, set anything called CTCSS to 123.0Hz. Do not change any settings not connected with CTCSS.
Please send questions and feedback to chairman@gars.club.
Thanks for your patience while we figure all this out.


The public and club members are invited on April 27th when GARS will host a Tech Day/Get on the Air event at the Waldo City Square.
Join us from 1pm-4pm: bring your gear that needs trouble shooting, new equipment you need help using and/or spend some time on the club radios - no license needed: we will show you what to do. It’s a fun way to spend a Saturday.
Kids with adults are welcome.

Our Next Club meeting (open to anyone) will be held Tuesday, March 19th. See details on this page.


GARS club meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month from 6:30pm - 8:00pm. The in-person meeting will be located at:
       Trinity United Methodist Church, Room 211
       4000 NW 53rd Ave
       Gainesville, FL 32653
These will be hybrid meetings so you can also attend via Zoom at: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/964853731


*** CQ FLORIDA HAMS ***
The 2024 Florida QSO Party will be held April 27 & 28. We sure hope you'll join us by activating your FL HF stations – home, club, school, mobile and expedition all welcomed.
Let’s make all 67 counties RADIO-ACTIVE!
More details here


GARS members had a great Winter Field Day at the Waldo City Square, January 27-28th. See our Facebook page for updates and photos. We made several hundred contacts using Voice and Morse Code. New Hams got on the air while our more experienced folks mentored and encouraged.


Hamcation in Orlando was February 9-11th (Friday thru Sunday). Several members went to see all that Amateur Radio has to offer - and spend their extra cash...


Mark your calendars now! ARRL Summer Field Day 2024 is June 22-23rd. Go to https://www.arrl.org/field-day for general information about this great event.


Please check our Facebook page for current news, events and related stories, on the Gainesville Amateur Radio Society Page. We are updating our webpage, so check back frequently.


Other than monthly club meetings, most GARS activities take place at the Waldo City Square, located at 14450 NE 148th Avenue, Waldo - 15 minutes north of Gainesville. Google map reference: 29°47'29.5"N 82°10'10.5"W, or "29.791532, -82.169591".


Looking for a helping hand to explain specific radio interests? Email to elmer@gars.club. You will receive a response from a volunteer.

Website updated Mar 12, 2024 =0=


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EXTRA - see repeater test below! Tech/Get on the Air Day Apr 27th at Waldo, Everyone Welcome. Next GARS club monthly meeting Tuesday 3/19/2024 6:30pm. Next local FCC license testing is 1pm Saturday April 6th (see "Testing" below)