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 the introduction of links to the 2m and 220 FM repeaters on Santa Cruz Island in December 2020, SBARC now maintains a network of six full-time-linked repeaters throughout Santa Barbara County including the K6TZ flagship repeater on 146.790 MHz at the Talanian Communications Facility (TCF) on the Santa Barbara Mesa. The table below details the frequencies and tones required for access to the SBARC Hub which now covers Santa Barbara County and parts of San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties.
Club nets held on the SBARC Hub include: Cuckoo Net (M-F 8-8:30am), Digital Communications Net (Tues. 8pm), Club Net (Wed. 7:30pm) and Technical Mentoring and Elmering Net (Thurs. 8pm).
| Call | Location / Name | Output Freq | Input Freq | PL |
| K6TZ | Talanian COMFAC S.B. Mesa “TZ” Main Club 2m Repeater Usually linked to SBARC Hub AllStar Link Node: 43763 incoming VoIP connections only Live audio & archives |
146.790 | 146.190 | 131.8 |
| K6TZ | Santa Ynez Peak “5.18” Usually linked to SBARC Hub |
145.180 | 144.580 | in: 131.8 out: 146.2 |
| W6XC | Diablo Peak/Santa Cruz Island 2m Usually linked to SBARC Hub GRONK/SBARC co-sponsored; open; FM & P25 supported Use limited to stations west of Malibu. |
146.655 | 146.055 | 131.8 NAC293 |
| K6TZ | Diablo Peak/Santa Cruz Island 220 Usually linked to SBARC Hub Live Camera |
223.920 | 222.320 | 131.8 |
| K6TZ | La Cumbre Peak East 220 May be linked to SBARC Hub |
224.080 | 222.480 | 131.8 |
| K6TZ | Santa Ynez Peak 220 Usually linked to SBARC Hub |
224.120 | 222.520 | 131.8 |
| K6TZ | Talanian COMFAC S.B. Mesa “TZ 6m” May be linked to SBARC Hub |
51.820 | 51.320 | 82.5 |
If you are a regular participant or lurker to the Digital Communications Net on Tuesday evenings, you have probably heard us talk regularly about using micro-computers and micro-controllers like the Raspberry Pi and Arduino and other similar development boards. These capable little devices can do all kinds of interesting things that you can use in amateur radio, home automation, environmental monitoring, or just for general learning.
This month we’re going to look at how to get started experimenting with Arduino and compatible Microcontroller boards, from getting the things you need, to writing your first program.
Of course, it is a Zoom meeting again and here are the details. We will use a waiting room again this time. Check-ins start at 7pm and the meeting will start at 7;30pm.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1meW9pR74Y
Topic: February 2021 SBARC General Meeting
Time: Feb 19, 2021 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89983037848
Meeting ID: 899 8303 7848
Post expires at 1:00am on Saturday February 20th, 2021 but will still be available in the archives.
I thought this was a nice, simple presentation of 2021 radiosport activities. I’m not a huge contester myself but this might inspire me to tune in!
-K6LCM
Cottage Health is in need of volunteers to assist with its drive-though community vaccination clinics. Volunteers who assist with the effort may be eligible to receive the vaccine.
There are openings for SBARC members to assist with event support, logistics and registration. This is a great opportunity for us to continue our mission to provide public service to the community, particularly during this disaster.
Clinics are ongoing and will be scheduled in the weeks ahead as vaccine availability permits. Volunteers are asked to sign up for either full-days 07:30-16:30 or half-days mornings or afternoons.
If you are interested in assisting, please complete the Eventbrite volunteer signup form at the link below. When you are contacted, please be sure to identify yourself as an SBARC member.
Register to volunteer (updated link)
After you register, keep an eye out in your SPAM or Junk folder for a reply from @sbch.org in the next few days. Cottage emails have a tendency to be captured by filtering.
*** DO NOT SHOW UP AT THE CLINIC UNTIL YOU HAVE BEEN CONTACTED BY COTTAGE STAFF DIRECTLY ***
Happy New Year everyone!
We will be having our general club meeting on Zoom and YouTube again this month and we are going to have an “Open House” / “Town Hall” style meeting. We hope to have several non-ham visitors and we are going to focus on talking about resources for learning about amateur radio and getting licensed to operate. We will be opening up the floor for questions and suggestions from current members and prospective members alike. So bring your questions and suggestions and we’ll talk about them.
Zoom information is shown below. Checkins will open at 7pm and the meeting will start at 7:30pm.
SBARC K6TZ is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: January 2021 General Club Meeting
Time: Jan 15, 2021 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83374517664
Meeting ID: 833 7451 7664
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxygBPHnL0E
Hope to see you there!
Post expires at 9:00pm on Friday January 15th, 2021 but will still be available in the archives.
Are you new to amateur radio or already an experienced licensed operator?
We have set up a new discussion group, the Elmering Discussion Group list server. If you are a new ham, or just considering getting into the hobby, then this group is for you! We’ll do our best to answer your questions and get you headed in the right direction. And because this is a group email list, you may get multiple responses from experienced hams who have all volunteered to help.
We are also encouraging all interested SBARC members to join the group as volunteer Elmers. The only requirement is that you are a licensed ham, and can contribute to helping new and prospective hams with occasional questions about getting licensed, getting their stations set up, and all the other things new hams typically need help with.
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 interesting net tonight with 9 check-ins plus net control Brian, K6BPM. Tonight’s topics included:
Tune in to the SBARC TM&E Net every Thursday at 8:00 PM local (2000 Hrs) and see what interesting ham radio questions might arise or ask some of your own! All club members and visitors are encouraged to check in to the net each week.
