Category Archives: Club News

Andy Seybold W6AMS Public Safety Communications Consultant Andy gave a fantastic presentation on AT&T FirstNet, Public Safety Communication advances and the Three Flavors of 5G. Download a PDF of Andy’s presentation slides.

Well, the stay-at-home order is STILL in effect, so we’re going to do our club meeting live using ZOOM like we did last month. This month we’ll be hearing from a special guest. Andy Seybold W6AMS Public Safety Communications Consultant Andy will be speaking on Public Safety Communication Advances and the Three Flavors of 5G. Andy is the go-to guy for all things radio. You won’t want to miss this! You will have two easy ways to attend the meeting. Using an online meeting program called Zoom. Visiting a live YouTube feed. If you choose the Zoom option, you need a computer with a camera. You can also use a smartphone or a tablet. You will be able to participate in any discussion or ask questions. We’ll be able to see you, so if you want to speak, simply raise your hand and I’ll recognize you. If you choose the YouTube option, you will be able to view and hear the meeting but you will not be able to directly participate. We’re going to ask you to check back on the front page of the SBARC website about 7:00pm on Friday. We won’t know the exact links until we open the meeting, and we’ll post them here. We hope you will participate! Remember, visit https://www.sbarc.org about 7:00 pm or a little after for final instructions. The actual meeting will start at 7:30. Brian – K6BPM   Post expires at 1:03am on Saturday May 16th, 2020 but will still be available in the archives.

The two amateur radio repeater systems at Diablo Peak on Santa Cruz Island were recently upgraded. A four man team and two pilots departed SB Airport aboard a twin engine Huey helicopter to repair a critical Public Safety SAR repeater. The problem was isolated and the system restored to service. There was sufficient time to finally install a repeater control system in the amateur radio rack. We now have control of 223.92 and 146.655 repeaters. The two SBARC systems are interconnected both ways on a trial basis. Additional site infrastructure repair and upgrades were also accomplished including installation of a new wind sock and a rather unusual wind speed and direction indicator which I call Wayne’s Vane. The wind vane may be seen using the club’s webcam. If we were to take a boat to the Island and climb the hill then return by boat it would be a three day journey and a logistical nightmare. Sure nice when you can load out at the airport and you’re there in 20 minutes. Thanks to those who made it happen. Winds were high all day prompting a late departure. Thanks to Wayne Beckman, Jonah Blossom, and Matt Lechliter for a clean sweep day. The K6TZ 223.92 repeater is a brand new commercial Tait Repeater (New Zealand) donated by Andy Seybold, W6AMS. The two-meter repeater is a commercial grade Motorola Quantar owned by SBARC and operates on 146.655 MHz. The two-meter frequency coordination is held by W6XC of the Seaside Radio Association which is an arm of the GRONK Radio Network. A new RLC Club Repeater controller was recently added to enable a cross connect and control between the two repeater systems. In addition all DC power systems from the site 24 volt solar grid and battery distribution were upgraded with 12 volt Inverters and redundant isolation. Both systems enjoy wide primary coverage from Point Conception to Malibu along the coastline, and many areas inland. The 220MHz system has secondary coverage as far south as San Diego including inland areas of Los Angeles and Orange County. The two-meter repeater on 146.655 is co-channeled with a Los Angeles area repeater. Per agreement, two-meter repeater operations on 146.655 should not communicate with user stations East of Malibu. Both repeaters are normally cross-connected. This can be reconfigured as needed. The two-meter repeater also supports local P25 digital communications. Contact Matt Lechliter, W6XC, for P25 operational… Continue reading →

Well, the stay-at-home order is still in effect, so rather than cancel the meeting again, tried something new this month! We conducted our meeting via video chat. During this meeting Bill Talanian, W1UUQ presented a brief history of SBARC’s involvement on the radio site at Diablo Peak, Santa Cruz Island.

Well, the stay-at-home order is still in effect, so rather than cancel the meeting again, we’re going to try something new this month! We are going to have our club meeting live, online. You will have two easy ways to attend the meeting. Using an online meeting program called Zoom. Visiting a live YouTube feed. If you choose the Zoom option, you need a computer with a camera. You can also use a smartphone or a tablet. You will be able to participate in any discussion or ask questions. We’ll be able to see you, so if you want to speak, simply raise your hand and I’ll recognize you. If you choose the YouTube option, you will be able to view and hear the meeting but you will not be able to directly participate. So, for YouTube users, we’ll be running a NET of sorts on the K6TZ repeater, and we’ll take breaks during the meeting to ask for questions or comments over the air. You can also send an email message to meeting@sbarc.org. I’ll be monitoring that account during the meeting and I’ll also take questions and comments there. We’re going to ask you to check back on the front page of the SBARC website about 7:00pm on Friday. We won’t know the exact links until we open the meeting, and we’ll post them here. We hope you will participate! Remember, visit https://www.sbarc.org about 7:00 pm or a little after for final instructions. The actual meeting will start at 7:30. Brian – K6BPM   Post expires at 11:03pm on Friday April 17th, 2020 but will still be available in the archives.

Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic health recommendations to avoid gatherings, we feel it is best to cancel the regular meeting this month. You can stay current with the latest Santa Barbara County Health information at: https://publichealthsbc.org We will announce whether or not the club station will be open on upcoming Saturdays later, however it is likely that it will remain closed as long as health officials recommend avoiding group gatherings. All nets will carry on normally. Brian – K6BPM