Welcome to the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club

aspenWelcome, and thanks for visiting our website. The Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club (SBARC) was established in 1920 and has operated continuously ever since. If you are a licensed amateur radio operator and not yet a member, we hope you will consider joining our club. If you are not yet licensed but have an interest in amateur radio, contact us and we’ll help you get started! Better yet come meet our friendly members at one of our monthly club meetings or at the Red Cross Club Station on Saturday mornings.

Photo caption: Repeaters are the backbone of our local communication systems. SBARC operates numerous repeaters that are open and free to use, including one on Diablo Peak on Santa Cruz Island, which our team accesses with the help of Aspen Helicopters.​

Member Weather Stations

The Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club is a 501(c)(3) non-profit public benefit corporation. Our public service efforts and emergency communications infrastructure are supported by donations from our members and the community. Your tax deductible contributions help ensure our continued success

SBARC Designated Emergency Frequencies

  • SBARC Main Repeater Output 146.79 / Input 146.19 PL 131.8
  • In the event the repeater is not working, use 146.79 SIMPLEX
  • Also monitor 146.52 SIMPLEX

We also maintain a list of local frequencies used by first responders and emergency services. These are useful for programming consumer grade scanners. Please click here.

 


SBARC to Demo Emergency Communications

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Youth-Focused Activities, Earthquake Commemoration, Historic Reenactment, and Public Demonstrations Highlight 2025 Field Day

The Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club invites people of all ages to participate in the nationwide 2025 Amateur Radio Field Day at Chase Palm Park June 28-29. (photo: Jim Smart)

June 23, 2025 – SANTA BARBARA, Calif.

When cell towers fail and internet connections go silent, one form of communication continues to deliver: amateur radio. Each year, the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club (SBARC) joins thousands of operators across North America to demonstrate this essential technology during the nationwide:

Amateur Radio Field Day
June 28–29 at Chase Palm Park.

Field Day is the most anticipated event on the amateur radio calendar—a 24-hour emergency communication exercise that mixes public service, technical skills, and community outreach. Now in its 92nd year, Field Day reminds us that when all else fails, amateur radio still works.

New for 2025, SBARC will also be activating a special radio station on State Street as part of the City of Santa Barbara’s centennial reenactment of the 1925 earthquake. The station will showcase how amateur radio can provide critical communication in disaster scenarios when modern infrastructure is compromised.

At the Chase Palm Park Field Day site, SBARC will operate three High Frequency (HF) stations, powered entirely by emergency generators. The public is encouraged to drop by, ask questions, and learn how these stations connect with others across the globe—entirely off-grid. Licensed amateur radio operators are invited to operate under the club’s call sign, within the privileges of their license.

This year, young people are especially encouraged to attend. In 2024, more than 20 local children and teens participated in Field Day, sparking curiosity and even helping scouts fulfill requirements for their Radio Merit Badge. With hands-on demonstrations and real-world communication scenarios, Field Day is a perfect introduction to the world of radio for all ages.

SBARC has served Santa Barbara since 1920, fostering public service, technical experimentation, and emergency preparedness. The club maintains a robust network of repeaters, remote stations, and trained operators dedicated to community resilience.

📍 Join us at Chase Palm Park from Saturday, June 28 at 11:00 AM through Sunday, June 29 at 11:00 AM. Activities will be ongoing throughout the day and night.

📡 Learn more: www.sbarc.org

📘 About ARRL Field Day: www.arrl.org/field-day

Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club (SBARC) is a part of the Santa Barbara Wireless Foundation (SBWF), a non-profit public benefit corporation organized and operated to promote education for persons interested in telecommunications, to disseminate information about scientific discoveries and progress in the field, and to train communicators for public service and emergency communications. SBWF advises and assists other non-profit groups with communications related challenges by leveraging our wide area of expertise. SBWF serves organizations engaged in services that benefit the public such as first responders, animal rescue, event communications, scientific research, aviation safety, and emergency preparedness.



SBARC Members Activate Santa Barbara Island

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On May 19, 2025, KA6KEN and I joined The Explorers Club expedition to Santa Barbara Island. It’s the smallest and most remote in Channel Islands National Park.

There’s no dock, no cell service, and landings are only possible by skiff when the weather cooperates. We brought along a VHF handheld and a directional antenna and made simplex contact with KK6SXA and KN6ZZI from the island’s summit, Signal Peak. It was a quick turnaround. We had less than 90 minutes on shore. But we made it work.

I documented the trip and put together a short film that tells the story, with some help from fellow explorers we met along the way.

📺 Watch the video below:

—Levi, K6LCM

SBARC Field Day Practice A Success

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March 29, 2024 – Members of the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club had a fun and successful day activating a number of H.F. radio stations at Mountain View School’s playing field. We accomplished our objectives for the day, and more!

The event was primarily focused on practicing set-up and use of the club’s new, portable radio stations. We activated two stations that included a “BuddiHex”, two element beam antenna and a “CrankIR”, 1/4 wave vertical antenna using tuned, elevated radials. Both antenna systems performed well with many K6TZ operators logging QSOs with USA, South American and European stations! A couple of our members also brought their own radio gear including Larry – WA6MVJ’s QRP rig (see photo below). DIY stations are definitely welcomed!

Importantly, SBARC purchased and deployed for the first time, a solar-battery DC power system. This power system will not only avoid the need for a generator during field activations, it will also support our club station at the RedCross in the event of extended power outages. Our experience at the event showed that the system produced more power than we consumed during our radio operations.

We also sought to give club members and visitors a chance to operate HF radios. We were fortunate that our activation occurred during the CQ World Wide WPX SSB contest and during a time of excellent signal propagation. As a result, everyone with an interest was able to work some DX!

Perhaps as important as our technical experiences, we happily welcomed club members that don’t often attend field events, as well as members of the public. John – AG6LJ, Larry – WA6MVJ, Greg – WW6T, Steve – AC6T, and others joined for the fun. We also greeted a number public inquirers – most had questions about what we were doing. And, two indicated an interest in becoming licensed. All were greeted warmly, offered a bagel & cream cheese, and a Prospective HAM interest card.

Looking ahead, we have secured the same exceptional site for Field Day that we had last year – “Chase Palm Field”. Based on the practice event, we are confident that the club’s stations will perform well, perhaps even better given CPF is one hundred feet from the Pacific Ocean! We will begin operating at 9:00 AM on Saturday. And, like last year, we will have a donations accepted breakfast and bar-b-que lunch on Sunday.

In conclusion, we hope that you are feeling the positive energy that these events bring to our club. And, we hope that if you missed the event last year, you will join us in preparing and, or attending the event this year. Field Day is really just plain fun!

 

Post expires at 11:57am on Monday June 30th, 2025 but will still be available in the archives.

Save the Date

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Announcing SBARC / SBWF Field Day
June 28-29, 2025
Chase Palm Field, Santa Barbara

Field Day is the most popular on-the-air event in the US and Canada, held annually on the fourth weekend of June. Thousands of radio amateurs gather with their clubs, groups, or friends to operate from remote locations. It’s a picnic, a practice for emergencies, an informal contest, and most importantly, FUN!

The SBARC / SBWF Field Day Team has been hard at work preparing for the 2025 event. We’ve secured Chase Palm Field, a great location as you’ll recall from last year. We’ve also made significant updates to our portable operating equipment, which will be used for both Field Day and emergency-portable operations. These updates include:

– Two new antennas: a HexBeam two-element Yagi and a “CrankIR” vertical antenna.
– A solar/battery D.C. power system that allows us to operate in a special event class, giving us an advantage over our competitors.

We plan to hold one or two Field Day Practice sessions this year, the first of which will be on Saturday, March 29th. We will activate two club stations, including solar/battery DC power system, two radios & antennas, and a couple of pop-up tents & tables. Anyone wishing to set-up their own station or operate a club station will be welcome.

RSVP to Warren – KN6ZZI

Post expires at 12:12pm on Sunday June 29th, 2025 but will still be available in the archives.

Santa Ynez Peak Repeater Antenna

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Wayne, AF6GX, tilting the 145.18 tower back up into service. Photo: Michael, K6RQV

The antenna for the K6TZ Santa Ynez Peak repeater on 145.18 was replaced today. As a result, its coverage is now vastly improved!

If you haven’t yet, please take a moment to test your signal into this repeater and the new 446.400 repeater on La Cumbre Peak West. Both are standard negative offset, same PL 131.8.

Together, these two repeaters have increased our systemwide coverage tremendously.

Repeater Updates: 446.400 Moved to La Cumbre Peak West

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Wayne, AF6GX and Levi, K6LCM installing the new BridgeCom repeater at La Cumbre Peak West. Photo: Michael, K6RQV

It was a foggy, cool day at La Cumbre Peak when SBARC members Levi, K6LCM; Wayne, AF6GX; and Michael, K6RQV, headed up to the site to install the club’s new BridgeCom FM repeater on 446.400 MHz. Despite the low visibility and brisk weather, the team successfully completed the installation, bringing a significant upgrade to the repeater system.

The new repeater offers excellent coverage and is now linked to the club’s wider system, ensuring even greater range for members and improving communications across the region. This installation is part of SBARC’s ongoing efforts to enhance the reliability and reach of its network for amateur radio operators in Santa Barbara and beyond.

Stay tuned for more updates and make sure to give the new repeater a try on 446.400- PL 131.8.