Category Archives: Club News

Diablo Peak Island Repeater Back on the Air!

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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

General Club Meeting – September 20, 2019

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Last month we showed some video highlights of the Dayton Hamvention in May 2019. We had planned on showing a video that covered many more of the show, but because of a few “technical difficulties”, the one we started to show was for a previous year. So this month we got it right and we will be showing this video. Hopefully you will join us. Bring your own popcorn! 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 11:56pm on Friday September 20th, 2019 but will still be available in the archives.

SBARC Summer Potluck Barbecue – September 15th 2019

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You are invited to join us for a good old fashioned summertime potluck barbecue. SBARC will host this years get-together at Stow Grove Park on La Patera Lane in Goleta just before it intersects Cathedral Oaks Rd. We will be in Area 2, the same location as last year. This once-a-year SBARC event will be held on September 15, 2019, from 9:30 AM until 2:30 PM.  After last years success, we decided to keep the same format this year. SBARC will supply delicious 1/3 lb. hamburgers and cheeseburgers with all the fixings for all SBARC members and their immediate families. For non-members, burgers will be $5 each. You are welcome to bring your own beverages and we will have cold sodas and water available for $1. Since this is a potluck, we are encouraging everyone to bring something to share. You can bring a salad, potato chips, beans, hot dish, cookies or other desert, whatever you like and whatever you have time for. We hope you will join us for a relaxing meal and take the time to catch up with old friends. Of course, we can always use a little help setting things up before the event and cleaning things up afterwards. If you have a little time we would surely appreciate your help. Hope to see you there! Post expires at 1:05am on Monday September 16th, 2019 but will still be available in the archives.

General Club Meeting – August 16, 2019

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We hope you will join us for our August meeting where we will be showing some video highlights from the Dayton Hamvention in May 2019. Hamvention is the place where new products make their debuts each year and we have collected a group of interesting product presentations and demonstration videos from companies like Yaesu, MFJ, TenTec (yes TenTec!), Icom, Comet and Alpha Antenna. SBARC General Club Meeting Friday, August 16, 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 11:56pm on Friday August 16th, 2019 but will still be available in the archives.

WWV Is Turning 100!

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QST QST QST – On October 1, 2019 WWV will celebrate it’s 100th birthday, and a group of intrepid hams from the Northern Colorado Amateur Radio Club have decided to celebrate with a special event station. The call will be WW0WWV and will operate from September 28 to October 2. Please go to www.wwv100.com to lend an assist, donate, or just to get more information! A GoFundMe has been established to raise funds for this event, so if you would like to make a donation, you can do that here:  https://www.gofundme.com/f/wwv-centennial-station Post expires at 11:56pm on Wednesday October 2nd, 2019 but will still be available in the archives.

Field Day 2019 Results

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Field Day 2019 was quite a success!  Despite a late start in the year, and a large number of last year’s heavy-lifters being on vacation this year, we had a good turnout and had fun. A big hand goes out to Abhilekh Virdi (W6WV), Bob Muller (KB6CTX), and Steve Merchant (K6AW) for helping me with all the setup. Jonah Blossom (W6HKE) and his girlfriend stopped by and helped for a bit too. Thanks to Theo (KK6YYZ) for securing the park, and Brian (K6BPM) for lending us his wifi gear. We had two stations this year: the Rover with the SteppIR antenna and a 40/80 dipole, and a second station set up on a table in the field under an awning with a G5RV dipole on three fiberglass poles at about 35 or 40 feet in an inverted-V configuration. Denis Franklin (W6EW) kept us all company while operating HF independently from his vehicle. The best story of the weekend involves Orvel Black (NA6J). Orvel attended an SBARC meeting about a year ago and chose to swing by Field Day for a couple of hours this year to check it out. He has his Extra class license, but he has been waiting to get his morse code skills up to around 20wmp before “allowing himself” to transmit, although he listens frequently. He was so excited by the Field Day events that he decided he had to get on the air and he made his first-ever HF transmission from Field Day. After returning home, he decided he had enjoyed operating so much that he came all the way back from Ventura to operate from about midnight until past 7:00am Sunday morning and he made well over 100 contacts during that time. He told me it was “a day of firsts” for him and “Absolutely a great experience.” His enthusiasm was off the charts. This alone made it all worth it. Abhilekh made a couple of CW contacts and many SSB contacts. Steve Merchant was our heavy hitter with 412 CW contacts over the course of about eight hours. Orvel made over 100 contacts in over seven hours. All in all we had 592 contacts across the 2, 20, 40, and 80 meter bands. Our point score submitted to the ARRL was 2,662 (although, true score will be at least 35 points less due to some duplicate QSOs). Last year our point score was 2,236 for… Continue reading →

General Club Meeting – July 19, 2019

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Do you have a lot of 2m, 220, and 440 radios? SBARC is adding new repeaters every year and we’ll bet you don’t keep your programming updated regularly. At this months meeting we’re going to demonstrate some various types of radio programing software that lets you easily keep up with the latest changes and additions to our ever evolving local repeater infrastructure. You’ll learn how you can share programming and channel data between different brands of radios so no matter which radio you happen to be using, you can keep them organized similarly. We’ll also go over DMR radio programming basics and highlight the differences between normal analog and digital radio programing. SBARC General Club Meeting Friday, July 19, 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 11:00pm on Friday July 19th, 2019 but will still be available in the archives.