Category Archives: Club News

Local hams monitoring firefighting operations and disseminating fire information over the air, online. SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. – Amateur radio operators at the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club (SBARC) have been on the air around the clock monitoring the progress of firefighting efforts during the Thomas Fire. The local radio enthusiasts monitor a number of over-the-air and online resources and disseminate information over the air including updates on aerial firefighting operations, weather conditions, evacuation orders and traffic and road conditions. Listen to the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club repeater streaming live online. Listen to the Thomas Fire Incident Command frequency streaming live online. SBARC operates five primary emergency telecommunications sites including Santa Barbara City and Santa Barbara County facilities on various peaks throughout the area including Diablo Peak on Santa Cruz Island and from the American Red Cross building on State Street in Santa Barbara. Club members volunteer to build and maintain resources such as analog and digital radio repeaters, shortwave radio stations, microwave internet links and local area mesh network nodes, webcams, weather stations, and GPS asset tracking systems. These systems allow for live tracking of firefighting aircraft over the Thomas Fire online. Access to many of the resources provided by SBARC including a live audio stream of the Club’s radio repeater is available to the general public at www.sbarc.org. Anyone interested in obtaining an amateur radio license may contact the club at that website or by calling 805-456-5689. SBARC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit public benefit corporation organized to promote education for persons interested in radio telecommunications, to disseminate information about scientific discoveries and progress in the field, and to train communicators for public service and emergency communications. SBARC operates a wide-area network of analog and digital communications systems across Santa Barbara County and encourages and sponsors experiments in electronics while promoting the highest standards of practice and ethics in the conduct of communications. Media Contact: Levi C. Maaia, Director at Large Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club 805-604-5384 k6lcm@sbarc.org

Despite the scheduled power outage at our meeting place, we were able to successfully conduct the SBARC election for the 2018 Board of Directors under portable, generator-powered lights. All of the nominated candidates were approved by the voting membership. 2018 Executive Committee President and Chief Executive Officer: Brian Milburn, K6BPM Chief Financial Officer: Tom Saunders, N6YX Secretary: Wayne Beckman, AF6GX 2018 Directors At Large Director At Large: Ken Alker, KA6KEN Director At Large: Theo Howe, KK6YYZ Director At Large: Levi Maaia, K6LCM Director At Large: Michael Taylor, K6RQV Two referendum items were also on the ballot. Results for those ballot questions are as follows: #1 Raise the annual dues from $24 per year to $35 per year: APPROVED. #2 Amend bylaws to allow Board of Directors to set annual membership dues. NOT APPROVED.

The audio archive of this net can best be followed by downloading the .mp3 file for the appropriate date here and listening with the media player of your choice. You can move the progress slider forward or backward to the subject of interest to you. We had another good net tonight with 10 check-ins plus net control, Frank, K6FLD and some chat room visitors! Tonight’s subjects included: Flex Radio – Opinion, features and functionality. Why does our 145.18 repeater phonetically announce MACRO-Error 9? Looking for new radio and getting into digital communications, does anyone have any experience with the ICOM 718 vs Yaesu FT450D? What is a static talk group on DMR (Digital Mobile Radio)? Configure ZUMSpot for static talk groups so you can hear traffic without keying up every 10-15 minutes. Tune in to the SBARC TM&E Net every Thursday at 8:00 PM local (2000 Hrs) and see what interesting questions will arise or ask some of your own! All club members and visitors are encouraged to check in to the net each week and join in with questions and /or answers to and contribute the knowledge of new and seasoned amateur radio operators alike.

At the General Club Meeting on November 17, 2017, the Club membership will have the opportunity to elect the 2018 SBARC Board of Directors.  Members must be in good standing for at least 28 days prior to the election in order to be eligible to vote. Expired memberships may be renewed online or in person at the General Club Meeting this Friday, October 20, 2017. The SBARC Nominating Committee has submitted the following slate of nominees for consideration by the membership. Additional nominations may be made from the floor by any member in good standing at the October 20th General Club Meeting and prior to the election at the November 17th General Club Meeting. Nominees for the Executive Committee These candidates are presently running unopposed. (i) = incumbent candidate President and Chief Executive Officer: Brian Milburn, K6BPM (i) Chief Financial Officer: Tom Saunders, N6YX (i) Secretary: Wayne Beckman, AF6GX Nominees for Director At Large Members may vote for up to 4 directors. These candidates are presently running unopposed. (i) = incumbent candidate Director At Large: Ken Alker, KA6KEN Director At Large: Theo Howe, KK6YYZ (i) Director At Large: Levi Maaia, K6LCM (i) Director At Large: Michael Taylor, K6RQV (i) Submitted to the membership by this duly appointed Nominating Committee in accordance with the SBARC Bylaws: Levi C. Maaia, K6LCM Michael Taylor, K6RQV   Notice of Vote to Change the Bylaws We will be conducting a special vote at the SBARC General Club Meeting on November 17, 2017 on a proposed change to the SBARC bylaws. Background: After much discussion, the Board of Directors is recommending that we raise the annual club dues from $24.00 to $35.00. The dues have not been raised in over 16 years, and the modest increase we are recommending helps us keep our revenues more in line with current expenses. At our current membership levels, the $11.00 increase will provide approximately $1600 per year in additional revenue for the club. Over the past 16 years, costs for things like insurance, vehicle maintenance, infrastructure maintenance, etc. have risen, and the dues increase will help us prevent having to dip into the club’s reserves for regular expenses. This averages out to be a 91¢ per month increase per member. Most other clubs have significantly higher dues than ours. Reason for bylaws change: The current bylaws require a vote by the membership on any dues increase. We feel that any adjustments in the dues amount should be a… Continue reading →