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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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 553 contacts. Last year our score was heavily influenced by all the bonus points we achieved including attendance by our ARRL Section Manager, GOTA station, National Traffic System message completion, and many more, while this year we also achieved the natural power, 100% emergency power, and media publicity bonus, the real points driver was Steve Merchant’s 412 CW contacts. We get DOUBLE points for morse code contacts, so this created a big boost to our points total. We also get double points for digital modes, so we may want to strive to use all three modes next year.
Click here to check out the statistics that I compiled from our log file. After clicking on the above link, you can simply click “Next” (in the top right corner) multiple times to get an overview of the various statistics, but you’ll find a WEALTH of info if you spend some time digging (many of the pages have buried links to fun things that you won’t stumble across simply by clicking “Next”). You can go down very long rabbit holes in almost every one of the 48 menu items (it isn’t just a flat file). For instance, click on the various MAP links under SUMMARY for a map showing contacts on ALL bands or any one band. There are even KMZ files you can download if you are into Google Earth.
For more about ARRL Field Day click here. For last year’s results (this year is still being tallied), click here. If you’d like to join the SBARC Field-Day Mailing List for future Field Days, click here.
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.
On July 3, 2019, with the help of the Santa Barbara Amatuer Radio Club volunteers including satellite station operators Ken N6KTH and Calli KD6OVS, children at the Santa Barbara Public Library talked to Astronaut Nick Hague on the International Space Station as part of the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program.
SBARC is supporting the Santa Barbara Public Library’s participation in the ARISS program as part of the library’s comprehensive STEAM programming for upper elementary and junior high students. The ARISS event ties into the Summer Reading Program theme: Choose Adventure in Outer Space. The Santa Barbara Public Library endeavors to provide equal opportunities to all community members to learn about science, space travel, and careers in many fields that utilize these technologies, particularly in light of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing this summer.
As part of the space-themed program, SBARC will host a special licensing event on Saturday, July 20, 2019:
Amateur Radio Technician Class License “Cram ‘n’ Exam”
Saturday, July 20, 2019 – 10:30 AM – 3:30 PM @ Santa Barbara Public Library
Join us to prepare for the amateur radio Technician Class license exam and then stick around after lunch for a specially scheduled test session. Cram is free and open to all ages. There is a $15 fee (check or cash) to sit for the exam.
IMPORTANT: The “Cram ‘n’ Exam” session is not intended to replace advance preparation for the Technician Class amateur radio license exam. During the cram portion, we will spend a couple hours in the morning (10:30am – 12:30pm) answering questions about the material and helping folks with trouble areas in the material before the test begins at 1:30pm. However, one morning of cramming can’t replace studying the test material in depth. We can assist you with strategies for passing the exam but you’ll need to prepare and study for the exam in advance.
Please consider reviewing the exam preparation resources and information and taking a few practice tests online before we meet on Saturday.
Also, be sure you come with everything you need to sit for the exam.
Here are the items that you are required to have with you in order to take the exam.
If you are missing any of these items you may not be able to sit for the test.
