On 18 October 2025 GCARS hosted a JOTA event for the Girl Guides from the Gold Coast. There were 17 Guides and 7 leaders.
The programme included learning how to solder, put together an electronic kit plus getting on air and making a QSO in order to earn a badge. Unfortunately, the HF bands were not cooperative this day so the Guides were setup on the 2 meter band where they were guided by Ashleigh, VK4DRA. Kaye, VK4VKS, helped by making many contacts with the Guides and Ken, VK2KEN was in contact via Echolink whilst on holiday in Rotorua, NZ. The Guides were so happy to be able to communicate over the radio including having a QSO from New Zealand. The guides were coached by Ashleigh to use proper phraseology and proper use of the radios. Craig, VK4AHC, setup a hotspot on his phone to link up with guides in other locations participating in JOTA event.
In the kit-building stage the guides were coached by Aidan VK4APM and John VK4BJT in the proper method of using a soldering iron and how to solder components to a circuit board. Happy to report there were no burns.
These types of events are how GCARS gives back to the community plus, some of the Guides might decide to become licensed amateur radio operators in the future. This was a team effort to make this event a success. Members that helped with the setup: Ashleigh,VK4DRA Aidan, VK4APM, Craig, VK4AHC, John, VK4BJT who also cooked the sausages. Matt, VK4TRK and Sholto, VK4CSB helped with the pack up after a long day. Thanks to Ashleigh for photographing and reporting the event.
