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.
The SBARC Telecommunications Services Committee has been hard at work rebuilding the club’s Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) repeater systems. As part of the completion of the second phase of this project, the 70cm repeater VoIP playground is now open!
Both AllStar Link and EchoLink systems are supported for incoming and outgoing link connections on the K6TZ 446.400 repeater. Local amateur stations can control the node over using DTMF commands to link to repeaters around the globe.
Many hams may be familiar with EchoLink and IRLP, two mature ham radio VoIP systems that permit node-to-node and node-to-conference server connections. AllStar Link is a newer and very powerful radio linking system based on the open source telephone PBX software Asterisk. The AllStar network has grown tremendously over the past few years and lends itself very well to experimentation.
There is a new section on this website with a short primer on the new VoIP system including complete documentation of the DTMF commands used to control the 70cm node. Read more and start experimenting in SBARC VoIP playground!
Thanks in particular to Ludo, K6LUD for his work to become our resident AllStar Link and Asterisk guru!
Old Timers Night is an annual event that occurs at our May SBARC Club Meeting on Friday, May 19, 2017. It is a special time where we can once more meet and greet our “most experienced” amateurs. These folks have paid their dues and are entitled to boast about all their experiences in the great hobby of Amateur Radio.
This special Club meeting gives us youngsters a chance to be in the presence of some Amateur Radio operators who helped form our hobby, back when Spark Gaps were fading into history and AM modulation was first being used. Today we take things like repeaters and microphones for granted.
Win a Kenwood TM-281A
We’re also having a special raffle this month. We’re raffling off a brand new Kenwood TM-281A 2m mobile radio. It boasts 65 watts of power, 200 programmable alpha-numeric channels and a front facing speaker. Kenwood radios are well known for their reliability and great audio. These radios are currently selling for $172.00 on Amazon, so come buy a few raffle tickets and you might be the lucky member that takes this home. This radio will be given away at the meeting, so someone will go home with a very nice raffle prize.
SBARC General Club Meetings are held at the Goleta Union School District at 401 N. Fairview Ave. in Goleta, right across the street from the Goleta Library. The meeting begins Friday, May 19, 2017 at 7:30 PM but come early and look at all the old stuff your old friends have brought for you to see.
Post expires at 1:00am on Saturday May 20th, 2017 but will still be available in the archives.
Levi C. Maaia to serve on Amateur Radio on the International Space Station U.S. Education Committee
SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. – The Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club has announced that Levi C. Maaia, a member of its board of directors and a Ph.D. candidate at UC Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, has been named to the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) U.S. Education Committee.
The ARISS program provides learning opportunities by connecting students to astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) through a partnership between NASA, the American Radio Relay League, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation and other Amateur Radio organizations and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe. The program’s goal is to inspire students in the US and worldwide, to pursue interests and careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) through Amateur Radio.
Levi C. Maaia, K6LCM
Maaia is a telecommunications executive and a former K-12 educator. He earned his first Amateur Radio license in 2006 and presently holds an FCC General Class license K6LCM. Maaia’s research at UC Santa Barbara has focused on STEM education in high school settings. He and his students at Anacapa School in Santa Barbara, contacted Astronaut Chris Cassidy during his stay aboard the ISS in 2013 via a scheduled ARISS radio contact (see video).
“I am thrilled to join ARISS’s inspiring team of engineers, educators and innovators which has supported more than 1,100 contacts directly between students and astronauts,” said Maaia. “ARISS provides incredible and inspirational experiences and is an important part of the space program’s educational outreach.”
The ARISS-US Education Committee provides guidance on the educational aspects of the program. A few more educators will be named to the committee; those interested may write to k1sto@arrl.org. Schools and other educational organizations may apply to host a scheduled contact with the ISS by visiting www.ariss.org.
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
Arduino and Raspberry Pi
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. An official Raspberry Pi or Arduino typically sells for about $35, but other options are available for as little as $5!
This month we’re going to try to take some of the mystery out of using these devices and Brian K6BPM is going to explain how these devices work, what you can do with them, and how easy it is to get started. We’ll show you many of the boards currently available and even some that are not yet available to the general public. We’ll also show you how we use these with our mesh network and infrastructure. You’ll find out how to take your home brew projects to an entirely new level. We hope you can make it!
We hold SBARC Club Meetings at the Goleta Union School District, 401 N. Fairview Ave. in Goleta, right across the street from the Goleta Library. Doors open at 7:00 PM and the meeting starts at 7:30 PM. Bring a guest and put the date on your calendar.
Post expires at 1:00am on Saturday April 22nd, 2017 but will still be available in the archives.
We’re going to try a little something different this meeting. Rather than have a speaker, we are going to to have a Town Hall style meeting. Members of the Board of Directors will be there and we’ll answer your questions about what goes on under the hood.
The club is doing a lot of interesting things, especially in the telecommunications area. We’ll do a couple of real-time demos and show you what we’re up to and how this work benefits the club.
So bring your questions, ideas and concerns, and we’ll have an old fashioned meeting.
We hold SBARC Club Meetings at the Goleta Union School District, 401 N. Fairview Ave. in Goleta, right across the street from the Goleta Library. Doors open at 7:00 PM and the meeting starts at 7:30 PM. Bring a guest and put the date on your calendar.
Post expires at 11:59pm on Friday March 17th, 2017 but will still be available in the archives.
Not only will this be the first club meeting for 2017, this will also be Inauguration Day! Whether you are celebrating or lamenting the day, you have something decidedly non-partisan and non-political to look forward to in the evening, the SBARC Monthly General Meeting.
Our guest speaker, Cecilia “Cici” Johnson of Sun Pacific Solar Electric here in Santa Barbara, is going to explain just how easy it is go get yourself that brand new, state-of-the-art solar system of your very own. No more brown-outs or black-outs. In past presentations we have been honored to have others from her company tell us about how solar has been evolving over the years — and what is available now is so much superior than it was even a few years ago. Don’t miss this exciting and worthwhile presentation. Don’t miss out on the hand-out flyers and other information. You will be glad you were there!
We hold SBARC Club Meetings at the Goleta Union School District, 401 N. Fairview Ave. in Goleta, right across the street from the Goleta Library. Doors open at 7:00 PM and the meeting starts at 7:30 PM. Bring a guest and put the date on your calendar.
Post expires at 11:00pm on Friday January 20th, 2017 but will still be available in the archives.
Presentation of the SBARC Lifetime Achievement Award to Jug WA6MBZ (right) by Brian K6BPM (left) at the October 2015 General Club Meeting.
Our old friend Jug – WA6MBZ passed away on Friday January 7, 2017 after a long illness. Jug was a long time member of SBARC and had his hands in project after project over the years. Jug also served on the SBARC Board of Directors and on various committees. He was instrumental in getting the club station activated several years ago, and was frequently the first in line to try new modes and radio technologies.
For many years Jug was known as the “Trivia Master” on the morning Cuckoo Net. He dutifully read a trivia question every morning. He had a special computer where he stored trivia questions – prepared years in advance – on every topic from radios to thimbles and drink coasters. Jug was also an officer in the 220 MHz Spectrum Management Association (220SMA), the 220 MHz frequency coordination group for Southern California.
Anyone that ever visited his house knew of Jug’s commitment to amateur radio. Radios and computers were packed into every available square inch of space he could find. His roof bristled with every form of antenna. He also had a few vehicles completely outfitted with everything from HF radios to GHz equipment along with solar panels to keep the batteries charged. He was the consummate “ham” and could build anything – and did! Amateur radio has lost one of the last of the “real hams”. You can read this post here if you need solar panel installation services.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held for Jug on Thursday, January 12 at 10:00 am at Our Lady of Sorrows Church.
Please leave your stories and remembrances in the comments.
Post expires at 7:15am on Thursday February 9th, 2017 but will still be available in the archives.
