What’s happening at SBARC? Here you will find the latest club news, events, projects, net activities, and news from our special interest groups (SIGS).
Be sure to check in frequently so you don’t miss out on any of the interesting things going on with the club and its members!
We have moved content for the Technical Mentoring and Elmering Net here, and content for the Digital Modes Net here.
With Field Day planning getting underway, we’re going to try to focus on various aspects of HF operation in some of the upcoming meetings. In recent years it seems like interest in HF has dropped off somewhat. Luckily, Warren KN6ZZI has a keen interest in HF and he will be heading up SBARCs Field Day project again this year,
This year we want to add some digital mode operation into the mix, so for this meeting we’re going to be going over some of the most popular modes.
Most people are aware of some of the original modes like RTTY and PSK 31, but newer modes like FT8 and FT4 are becoming immensely popular. With their ability to pull signals out of the noise, even the most modest stations can make contacts the world over.
Please join us this Friday!
SBARC General Club Meeting
Friday, February 21, 2025 at 7:30 PM (Doors open at 7pm)
Goleta Union School District Board Room
401 North Fairview Avenue in Goleta
Zoom Details:
Topic: SBARC General Club Meeting
Time: Feb 21, 2025 07:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83403374119?pwd=hwt1REFY56CGHlWSKjfcvFio404BMh.1
Meeting ID: 834 0337 4119
Passcode: 073810
Post expires at 1:00am on Saturday February 22nd, 2025 but will still be available in the archives.
Announcing SBARC / SBWF Field Day
June 28-29, 2025
Chase Palm Field, Santa Barbara
Field Day is the most popular on-the-air event in the US and Canada, held annually on the fourth weekend of June. Thousands of radio amateurs gather with their clubs, groups, or friends to operate from remote locations. It’s a picnic, a practice for emergencies, an informal contest, and most importantly, FUN!
The SBARC / SBWF Field Day Team has been hard at work preparing for the 2025 event. We’ve secured Chase Palm Field, a great location as you’ll recall from last year. We’ve also made significant updates to our portable operating equipment, which will be used for both Field Day and emergency-portable operations. These updates include:
– Two new antennas: a HexBeam two-element Yagi and a “CrankIR” vertical antenna.
– A solar/battery D.C. power system that allows us to operate in a special event class, giving us an advantage over our competitors.
We plan to hold one or two Field Day Practice sessions this year, the first of which will be on Saturday, March 29th. We will activate two club stations, including solar/battery DC power system, two radios & antennas, and a couple of pop-up tents & tables. Anyone wishing to set-up their own station or operate a club station will be welcome.
RSVP to Warren – KN6ZZI
Post expires at 12:12pm on Sunday June 29th, 2025 but will still be available in the archives.
The election for year 2024 is complete. All incumbents were reelected and will return to serve in 2025.
The dues increase measure passed and dues will be increased to $40 annually effective January 1, 2025.
Importantly, the measure concerning changing the corporate name to Santa Barbara Wireless Foundation was approved by the membership. The next steps will include a final draft of the Bylaws to reflect the changes, and formal adoption by the board at the first board meeting in January 2025. Certain changes regarding bank accounts, IRS and state forms, licensing, and other items will be performed by the appropriate board members. Levi K6LCM will remain as Club Trustee, and Wayne AF6GX will remain as Site Trustee. These appointments are ongoing and are not subject to annual changes. Bill W1UUQ remains Trustee Emeritus, a lifetime appointment.
You may notice some subtle changes to our public facing materials to reflect the new corporate name in areas where we want to promote ourselves as a more professional, multi-faceted organization. This will be an exciting time as we work to restore our relevance as leaders in the communications field.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to vote. Your participation ensures that all voices are heard. Thanks also to our board members for organizing and holding this years election.
Post expires at 10:20am on Friday January 10th, 2025 but will still be available in the archives.
November meetings are always election night meetings. Members who do not vote online will be able to vote in person. Of course we’ll all be tallying up the votes and announcing the winners, so plan on being there, even if you already voted.
We are also going to be talking about getting set up with Winlink. Winlink is a very useful system you can use to send email over RF without the internet. Winlink has been around for awhile, but it is getting easier to use and SBARC is now fully equipped to handle members emergency email traffic.
It’s Home Brew Night Too!
November meetings have traditionally also been Home-brew Night! We invite everyone to bring a something you have built, or a project in progress, to show, demonstrate, and tell your ham friends about. Home-brew is what being a ham is all about! Anyone can go buy a radio, antenna or other accessory, but to many hams, building their own gear is much more fun and rewarding. So bring something (or a lot of things) because we’re all interested in seeing what you’re up to!
The meeting will also be available on Zoom, if you can’t attend in person, but please try to be there if you can to congratulate the new board members, whoever they are!
SBARC General Club Meeting
Friday, November 15, 2024 at 7:30 PM (Doors open at 7pm)
Goleta Union School District Board Room
401 North Fairview Avenue in Goleta
Zoom Details:
Topic: General Club Meeting – November 2024
Time: Nov 15, 2024 07:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85645742809?pwd=l46QUn9PaPQ1M2z2DY3gPLFVGC2wqC.1
Meeting ID: 856 4574 2809
Passcode: 036337
Post expires at 1:42am on Saturday November 16th, 2024 but will still be available in the archives.
Voting is now open for our 2025 election for the 2025 year.
Online voting is available and you can also download and deliver your ballot. Ballots will also be available at the meeting for in-person voting.
You may vote online until midnight November 13, 2024.
Click Here to Visit the Official SBARC Election Page
Online ballot is at the bottom of the page.
Thank you for participating!
Post expires at 11:58pm on Wednesday November 13th, 2024 but will still be available in the archives.
Bob Tangel WD6ESU became a silent key on October 23, 2024 in Medford Oregon. Bob was a past president of SBARC and was very active in ARES, Search & Rescue support, and many other SBARC activities. Bob worked at Delco and retired in 2008 to Medford.
His obituary is available on Noozhawk.
Post expires at 10:12am on Thursday December 5th, 2024 but will still be available in the archives.
We’ll have a lot to talk about this meeting!
First, we have news about the status of the Vic Trace / TCF site you will want to hear. As most of us know, we have been under a deadline of October 31 to remove our equipment and relocate the building. We’ve been busy and we’ll bring you all up-to-date.
Every November SBARC holds its annual elections. The election will be held at the November Club Meeting. One of my jobs as president is to appoint a nominating committee to provide candidates for the club officers and directors at large. This year Dorothy K6DSO and Larry (WA6MVJ) comprised the nominating committee and we’ll present the slate of candidates at this meeting.
This year we’ll also be proposing some organizational changes that will require a vote by the membership. We’ll be discussing these thoroughly, explaining everything and answering any questions. Some of the changes are ones we have worked on for several years. Bill W1UUQ will also provide us some background that will help to define the issues we hope to address and how SBARC can position itself to reestablish our community relevance moving forward.
Additional election information and schedule will go live on the website immediately after this months meeting.
As we have done for the past few years, you will be able to vote in person, by mail, or using online voting.
You will definitely want to attend this meeting or listen in on ZOOM.
SBARC General Club Meeting
Friday, October 18, 2024 at 7:30 PM (Doors open at 7pm)
Goleta Union School District Board Room
401 North Fairview Avenue in Goleta
Doors open at 7pm, meeting starts at 7:30pm
Zoom Link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87896497627?pwd=noXxHmQeFAWaaVIclEw31nRYweaEDF.1
Post expires at 11:59pm on Friday October 18th, 2024 but will still be available in the archives.
