K6TZ will provide educational outreach to the community as part of the permanent gallery space at the Chrisman California Islands Center.
The Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club and the Santa Barbara Wireless Foundation have been invited to build an Amateur Radio Station at the new Chrisman California Islands Center (CCIC) in Downtown Carpinteria.
The CCIC, opening in Q4 2021, will be home to the Santa Cruz Island Foundation and its museum-quality collection of artifacts from the California Islands. Radio Station K6TZ at the CCIC, a fully-functional HF-VHF-UHF and microwave amateur radio station, will be prominently featured on the gallery floor as both a working display to bring the wonders of radio technology to the visiting public through an interactive display and a functional station for club members to operate.
SBARC presently operates a club station at the American Red Cross building in Santa Barbara. The CCIC Station will expand SBARC’s footprint by offering an additional physical station location serving members in Carpinteria and Ventura County. The Club plans to host Club gatherings at the CCIC Station as well as offer regular open station hours and support radiosport contests from the site. The Carpinteria station will be open to the public during the CCIC’s open hours and part of a living exhibit to promote amateur radio and digital wireless technologies.
The Santa Cruz Island Foundation is providing the 12′ x 7′ gallery space dedicated exclusively to the radio station along with a 55″ TV monitor to display a demonstration of SBARC’s various systems, including the camera and vessel tracking systems on Diablo Peak, Santa Cruz Island.
More details, including opportunities to support fundraising efforts for K6TZ @ CCIC are forthcoming.
AMATEUR RADIO ON THE CHANNEL ISLANDS
Ed Stanton, the San Diego-born businessman who purchased Santa Cruz Island in 1937, operated on HF frequencies from his island ranch.
Over the years, numerous radio operations have taken place on the Channel Islands, including Islands on the Air (IOTA) and UHF Field Day activations.
Today, SBARC/SBWF maintain public safety and amateur radio telecommunications facilities at 2,429 feet above sea level atop Diablo Peak on Santa Cruz Island. Diablo is the tallest mountain on an ocean island in the contiguous 48 states.
