GOTA: GET ON THE AIR AT FIELD DAY 2024!

GSARA Field Day

Is that a GOAT, the Greatest Of All Time? No, it’s a GOTA!

I know what a GOAT is, you may say, but what’s a GOTA? It’s not a female GOAT.

Just got your license in the past year? Did you pass your tech test at the morning VE session? Has your license expired? Are you thinking about getting a ham license, and maybe you have wondered what it’s all about? Have I got a deal for you!

GOTA stands for Get On The Air, and we will have a GOTA table at our annual Field Day activity this year.

The GOTA tent offers an opportunity for people to experience the thrill of amateur radio, either for the first time or the first time in a long time.

Our GOTA tent at Field Day will have both an HF radio and a 2 meter radio for folks to try their hand at amateur radio. Our GOTA team is headed by Mitch KE2BRG along with Jay W2FLK. Not only will our club receive points for GOTA contacts, but we will promote our hobby with active participation.

But we can’t do it alone – we need your help. We could use two or three more hosts at the GOTA table, to explain our hobby, be friendly, answer questions, and act as control operators while others transmit. Led by Mitch KE2BRG and Jay W2FLK, the GOTA tent will have all kinds of cool toys to show off – a homemade dipole, a 17-foot vertical antenna, a solar panel, battery box (or two), a binder chock full of interesting QSL cards and several radios. All of these things will invite questions from the public that you can help answer. You can even help out from the comfort of your home – we will be initiating contacts on the club repeater (which don’t count towards our score) in order to demonstrate the concept of the repeater in amateur radio, and we will seek contacts on VHF simplex (which will count towards our score). You can listen and make that contact. There are many ways to contribute to the club’s Field Day effort, something for everyone. The GOTA tent will operate from 1 pm to 5 pm on Saturday.

We are especially excited to offer an educational activity table this year for kids of all ages, led by Erin KE2CQB and Jean AD2EK. Erin will be teaching the phonetic alphabet which kids can write on a badge and take away a lanyard. Jean will demonstrate CW and Morse Code, and kids can write their names in dots and dashes. Maybe you are a current or former teacher or scout leader, or just enjoy promoting our hobby- we can use you at the table! The educational activity will be running from 1 pm to 5 pm on Saturday.

For both tables, you can sign up for one hour, four hours, or anything in between. Please contact me at WA2JOE@ARRL.net to be a part of the fun. You can also add your name on the club Field Day signup sheet online. Don’t miss out!

And finally, one thing everyone in the club can do – spread the word and invite friends and family to our GOTA tent and education activity tent at Field Day.

73,

WA2JOE

Joe