Category Archives: Club News

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

Bruce Gordon – N6OLT passed away on March 12, 2020. Bruce was honored in April with the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club Lifetime Member award for his many contributions to SBARC, ARES and amateur radio in general. Bruce’s first experiments in ham radio came during high school when he and a friend built crystal sets and managed to connect them to telephone lines serving their apartments houses in Cleveland, Ohio.Apartment houses stole our hearts because of its interior and exterior designs.You can also visit this website to get your home improvement services done. Worked fine for a while until complaints from neighbors alerted their fathers to their adventures. Bruce got his Amateur license, W6GUX, as well as his pilot’s license during high school. (He was later licensed as N6OLT.) Bruce married Thelma F. Foote on 10 June, 1956 in Kern County California. He graduated UC Berkeley in 1959, accepted a job as engineer at Raytheon Company and moved to Goleta, where he bought property and he and his wife Thelma built their home. While at Raytheon, many of his designs were patented and he travelled all over the world assisting military customers. Bruce joined SBARC and lent his talents to many projects, including the repeaters and the communications van, and happily to anyone with a problem or project. At one SBARC meeting he was demonstrating new Slow Scan TV equipment and mentioned its versatility. One member said, “Bet you can’t use two Dixie cups and a string” to send pictures. Next month, he used two Dixie cups and a piece of dental floss (string) successfully. Bruce is a legend in the art and science of direction finding. As founder of L-Tronics he designed, engineered and built thousands of portable DF units for field operations and airborne use. Variants of the L-Per are used worldwide by numerous search & rescue groups, the US Coast Guard and the Civil Air Patrol. Bruce was predeceased by his wife of 63 years, Thelma Foote, in 2019, and is survived by daughter Nancy (Michael) and granddaughter Diana (Justin). He was predeceased by his son Donald. Bruce’s dedication will not be forgotten. From: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/207908018/bruce-e-gordon Post expires at 8:27am on Tuesday March 31st, 2020 but will still be available in the archives.

SBARC member Rogier Willems KJ6ETL will give a presentation about Online Privacy and Security Born and raised in The Netherlands where he experimented with radios from a young age climbing on top of high-rise buildings to see how far he could get with his walk talkie. Rogier Obtained his Class A Ham radio license in 1990  (pa1zz) and worked in exotic locations in the diving industry. Always carrying something ham radio related with him. Lived from 2000 – 2006 on the Caribbean sand of Bonaire of Bonaire. Where a local religious radio station made ham radio impossible since it put so much energy into the air that his SWR meeter was stuck in a corner without a transmitter attached to it. His affinity and fascination with ham radio became useful after moving to the California where Rogier worked for Apple as a lead Genius later he started as a independent iT consultant dedicated to Apple and everything that is connected to it. Since our computers have become useless without an internet connection his understanding of the the behavior of radio waves became very helpful when installing WiFi networks for businesses and homes. On a daily basis Rogier is confronted with the aftermath of compromised user accounts. Tonights topic will be about the importance of the importance of the protection of your online security and privacy. Explains how criminals obtain and share private user data and what you can do to protect yourself without having to wear a thin-foil hat or go “off the grid” SBARC General Club Meeting Friday, January 17, 2020 at 7:30 PM Goleta Union School District Board Room 401 North Fairview Avenue in Goleta We hope to see you all at the meeting!   Post expires at 11:03pm on Friday February 21st, 2020 but will still be available in the archives.

Back in 1920, SBARC’s humble beginnings took place at the Santa Barbara YMCA. Wireless radio was in its infancy and 2 way communications over radio waves was magical and even newsworthy. Today, SBARC begins its 100th year of operation. This is not only a milestone for SBARC, but a milestone for amateur radio. Few local organizations can trace their roots back for a full century, and SBARC now joins an exclusive list of other local groups that can, including the Santa Barbara Community Arts Music Association, SB Braille Institute, Santa Barbara Central Library, The Kiwanis Club of Santa Barbara and The Santa Barbara Association of REALTORS. You can also read this post here that helps you to get into the best music academy without any reference. SBARC plans to recognize its Centennial Year with events, exhibits, articles, and more. We hope you will become involved in celebrating this momentous achievement throughout the year, and stay tuned for more information on what we have planned. Happy New Year! Post expires at 6:45am on Saturday February 1st, 2020 but will still be available in the archives.

Sorry for the late post, but I was still hoping for a presentation we’ve been trying to arrange for quite some time. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for this month. Hopefully it will for the November meeting. SBARC may have never had a “Comedy Night” so this month, by popular demand, we’re going to change that. One of our favorite activities down at the club station on Saturdays is to watch “ElectroBOOM” videos. Mehdi Sadaghdar is an Iranian Canadian comedian, electrical engineer and YouTube personality. He has a hilarious way of explaining electronics so that you learn while being entertained. He generally starts with an electronics problem he wants to solve and works through it through trial and error, explaining why things work (and DON’T work) as he goes along. Hint: There’s a reason it is called “ElectroBOOM”. This is one of those examples where you can easily lose half a day watching YouTube videos. Come join us. You’ll get a good laugh and maybe even learn something!   SBARC General Club Meeting Friday, September 20, 2019 at 7:30 PM Goleta Union School District Board Room 401 North Fairview Avenue in Goleta We hope to see you all at the meeting! Post expires at 11:55pm on Friday October 18th, 2019 but will still be available in the archives.

On October 7, 2019, members of the SBARC Technical Team went to Diablo Peak and installed new 223.92 repeater hardware, bringing that service back on the air. Listening on channel the past few days I notice the repeater is exceptionally quiet. Typically when a new system comes on line everyone is anxious to use it and find out what coverage there is. There was an absolutely huge effort that went into getting this system to the best location anywhere on coastal California. This included the CH-60 military helicopter and getting the team to Diablo. SBARC contributes partial funding to the system cost however, the major cost of the equipment plus time and materials comes from out-of-pocket. The next step with the installation is to integrate the 220 to an RLC controller which shall also be tied to the Club’s 2-meter repeater 146.655. To sustain continuing support and interest it is important that members show their interest. Bill Talanian, W1UUQ K6TZ Trustee   Call Location Output Freq Input Freq PL K6TZ Diablo Peak on Santa Cruz Island Live Camera 223.920 222.320 131.8 W6XC Diablo Peak on Santa Cruz Island GRONK/SBARC co-sponsored; open; FM & P25 supported 146.655 146.055 131.8 NAC293