Category Archives: Club News

Many thanks to Rebecca Anderson of the American Red Cross for get great presentation on  “Be Red Cross Ready.” Rebecca specifically focused on the types of emergencies we might face in Santa Barbara and explained how we can prepare ourselves in advance so that we can survive the first few days of an emergency on our own. No matter how well we think we are prepared, we can always learn something new. We certainly did this night. Virtually everyone walked away with additional knowledge as well as some great handouts from the Red Cross. The full audio is available in the General Meeting Audio Archives section. Post expires at 7:15pm on Saturday August 1st, 2015 but will still be available in the archives.

Rebecca Anderson of the American Red Cross, will be presenting a very special program for the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club at our July 17 Club meeting. Rebecca oversees preparedness programs for the Red Cross. Her presentation will be called, “Be Red Cross Ready.” The Red Cross Ready Adult Presentation is a 45 minute presentation covering the three steps to preparing individuals and families at home and in the workplace to 1) Build a Kit, 2) Make a Disaster Plan, and 3) Be Informed before, during and after a disaster. We often become complacent about such things if we haven’t experienced an emergency situation in a long time. Now is the time to get ourselves up to speed on these issues because the next emergency could be just around the corner. At 5:30 PM we will be taking Rebecca and some of her team members to dinner at Cody’s before the meeting. Please come and join us for dinner. Post expires at 1:00am on Saturday July 18th, 2015 but will still be available in the archives.

Theo Howe, KK6YYZ – Unfortunately, this year the SBARC rover based Field Day had to be modified for lack of volunteer operators. The suggestion was made to operate from the Clubstation’s radio room, and quickly the call was put out for interested operators. At 18:00 Zulu Saturday (beginning of Field Day) things started slowly with a few people stopping in to the club station to operate and visit. As the afternoon progressed however, we had a steady stream of visitors and club members excited to operate the Club station on Field Day. We now also have two new members of the Club because of the event.  We worked 40,20,15, 6 and 2 meter contacts. Modes were SSB except for 2m which was FM and SSB. The Club Station, which is not known as a “big gun” in town, nevertheless made many contacts all the way to the East Coast, American Virgin Islands, Hawaii and New Zealand (though they are not a part of Field Day, officially). You can be proud of your club stations’ reach on Field Day! I wanted to put out a big “Thank You” to everyone who participated, and we will be inviting you all back again for other ARRL contests at the Club Station! There are plans to upgrade your radio room and improve our contesting abilities. We will have at least one- if not more- logging station to allow for high speed contesting. We look forward to all of your participation! A big thank you goes out to Ken KA6KEN who was there the entire time helping to work DX. Post expires at 1:00am on Saturday July 4th, 2015 but will still be available in the archives.

SBARC member and local Santa Barbara ham Levi, K6LCM recently had the opportunity to travel to Cuba legally under the U.S.’s new relaxed travel policies. While he was there he visited a Cuban Amateur Radio station and met with local radioaficionados in Havana! Levi will share photos and video from his visit which includes a never-before-seen peek at some of the ingenious homebrewing and repairs that have kept Cubans stations on the bands – including operating many digital modes – despite so many challenges to maintaining radio equipment. Join us for Levi’s presentation at the June SBARC Club meeting. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to get an inside look at life in this mysterious and forbidden island and learn what being a ham in Cuba is really like! Also on the agenda for the evening will be a brief discussion about this year’s ARRL-sponsored Field Day, which starts on Friday, June 26, for the setup and goes on the air for 24 hours straight beginning at 11:00 AM Saturday, June 27. Tom, N6YX, is da man in charge. He invites you all to come out to the Camino Real Shopping Center at Storke Rd. and Hollister Ave., just across from the movie theater, and see what you can do to help us to get on the air and make those contacts and to show the public what Amateur Radio is all about. What an opportunity that will be! There is some talk about a BBQ afterwards. Come find out. We meet Friday, June 19, 2015 at the Goleta Union School District, 401 No. Fairview Ave. across the street from the Goleta Library. The doors should open around 7:00 PM so come early and shake some hands, especially those of Levi.