Tag Archives: Events

Field Day Report From Ken KA6KEN

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Dear SBARC Members, I would like to thank all those who attended Field Day this year.  The turn-out was fantastic. Elings Park was a bit cold and we never did see the sun, but perhaps that was better than hot and dusty (isn’t it amazing how it went from cold and overcast two weeks ago to 107 degrees last week)? We had two stations running (plus the Get-on-the-Air, or GOTA, station).  We used our K6TZ call for the primary two stations and K6SBZ for the GOTA station.  Our class was “2A” and our section was “SB”. We assembled and installed the massive Force-12 antenna on a rotator atop the 50′ pneumatic mast on the Rover along with an 80-meter dipole, we set up the two-element StepIR on a push-up mast (that was a feat) along with a 40/80 meter dipole, and we erected three fiberglass masts with guy ropes to support a G5RV multi-band center-fed di-pole antenna as an inverted-V at about 30′ at its center-point. Our total score was 2,236, comprised of 553 QSO’s (multiplied by 2 since we used less than 150watts for all QSOs) plus 1,130 bonus points.  For more details (like bonus points break-down), click here and download the file called “ARRL Field Day Entry Form as submitted.pdf” (note you must add the Total Bonus Points to the Claimed Score for the final score).  If you want to find out more about comparative scores check out the ARRL web site for last year’s scores; this year’s scores will not be published until November.  Also, check out the ARRL Contest Soapbox by clicking on and selecting “2018 ARRL Field Day” in the Event drop-down for pictures and comments people have posted regarding Field Day – they are still streaming in. The band conditions were not as bad as predicted.  We actually had some pretty solid runs.  In fact, the team of Dennis WB6OBB and Jim N6SXB managed a rate of 128 QSOs per hour, at their peak!  While Dennis is a seasoned contestor, this was Jim’s first; Jim was logging for Dennis.  Congrats to the dynamic duo!  Now if we could only sustain that rate, we would have scored 12,288 points in 24 hours across the two stations (including our 2x multiplier for running on emergency power).  We all have something to work toward next year! We made 273 QSOs on 20 meters, 214 on 40 meters, and… Continue reading →

Field Day 2018 – Saturday June 23 thru Sunday June 24

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This year we’re putting the “Field” back in Field Day!  We will be operating from Elings Park up on the hill where the hang gliders take off. We will be operating from 11:00am Saturday until 11:00am Sunday, and we still have several time slots to fill, so we would really appreciate your help. We need two volunteers per time slot, one to operate the station, and one to help with outreach to the public (answering questions, etc). Newly licensed (in the past year) and inactive hams – we’ll teach you how to work the GOTA station (check out the ARRL Field Day intro and the ARRL Field Day Rules for more information); so, if you are new to the hobby or just getting back into it, we have a spot for you too! We also need people to help set up before-hand, and help break-down at the end. Operating/outreach time-slots are four hours long (but if you can only do something less, we’ll still fit you in).  Your club needs you! Let’s make this a fun field day for everyone. We will bring the Rover to just above the hang gliding area at 7:00am on Saturday, June 23.  We will need a crew of four or more to assemble the antenna and put it on the Rover’s mast, but we’ll need more people to help assemble di-poles and erect antenna masts. We need a minimum of TEN volunteers to kick this off – six operators and four people for outreach (fewer for outreach since the public won’t be there during the dark hours). It would be awesome to get twelve operator time-slots filled (two people per time-slot) for a total of SIXTEEN volunteers so we can run two operator stations! You are more than welcome to work a 4-hour operator shift and a 4-hour outreach shift, if you so desire, or even take two operator shifts at different stations and/or times (lowering the need for as many total volunteers). Feel free to mix it up and hang out. If you can help out in any way, please contact us immediately, and let us know what hours you are available. Ideally, we’ll be filling shifts for these six time slots: 11am-3pm, 3pm-7pm, 7pm-11pm, 11pm-3am, 3am-7am, and 7am-11am, but again, let us know when you can help, and we’ll fit you in! Post expires at 1:00am on Monday June 25th, 2018 but will still be… Continue reading →

General Club Meeting – May 18th, 2018

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Our general club meeting this month will feature a presentation from Gene Nelson Ph.D KE5HXX on converting gas generators to propane. Many of us have generators that don’t get a lot of use but want them to be ready to go when the need arrises. We have all found that storing gas is a pain, you need to add stabilizer and remember to replace gasoline every year or two. Generators also don’t like sitting around with gasoline in them for a long time and we often find that we can’t get them started when we need them. Well, Gene has a solution and will tell us about it step by step. He will also give us an outdoor demonstration. This month’s meeting is also Old-Timers night. Come pay your respects to our old-timers and bring your old radios to show off. We’ll introduce our old-timers at the beginning of the meeting, then we’ll give everyone plenty of time after the presentation to check out members gear from yesteryear. SBARC General Club Meeting Friday, May 18th, 2018 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 8:02pm on Friday May 18th, 2018 but will still be available in the archives.

Annual Hamfest – Sunday August 27, 2017

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Our annual Hamfest will be held at Stow Grove Park on La Patera Lane in Goleta just before it intersects Cathedral Oaks Rd. We will be in Area 2, a smaller and more shady location than last year. This once-a-year SBARC event will run from 9:30 AM until 2:30 PM. We’ll have raffle prizes, bingo clash legit games, fantastic Tri-Tip barbecue, transmitter hunt, and plenty of time to visit with your friends. Order your dinner and raffle tickets online here!   Our raffle prizes will include a Yaesu FT-70DR with System Fusion digital, 2m and 440 and the TYT MD-380 DMR radio. You can purchase raffle tickets online and do not need to be present to win! Get your raffle tickets online here!             Post expires at 11:00pm on Sunday August 27th, 2017 but will still be available in the archives.

Field Day 2017

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SBARC will be holding our Field Day exercise beginning Saturday, June 24th at the Club Station at the Santa Barbara American Red Cross headquarters on the corner of State Street and Alamar. The Club Station will open at 9am and remain open as long as there are Field Day participants. We have various capabilities available including HF and digital modes. If there are enough participants, we may also set up the Rover and add some additional capabilities there too. Please come by, stay awhile and make some contacts. If you haven’t been to the Club Station before, it is on the parking lot level in the rear of the main building. You enter the parking lot on Alamar. Post expires at 12:00pm on Sunday June 25th, 2017 but will still be available in the archives.

General Meeting – May 19, 2017 – Old Timers Night

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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. 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.

Operators Needed for Baker to Vegas Event

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Submitted by Ken – KA6KEN – My wife (Lena – no call sign), is a Deputy DA for Santa Barbara County. Her colleagues at the DA’s office participate in an annual event called “Baker to Vegas”.  As I understand it, this is a relay (foot) race that is 120 miles long, covers about four counties, two states, and 6500 square miles, and elevations from 470′ to 5495′.  There is no cell service on about half of the course. They have a need for radio communications amongst their five “shuttle vehicles” and the “follow vehicle”, and, ideally, their coordinator (home base) in Las Vegas at the end of the run. Communications over this distance is quite a challenge.  There are two closed repeater systems on Potosi (Vegas) and Turquoise (Baker), however, this still doesn’t cover the entire race.  I’m told by the frequency coordinator, Jeff Lee (KF6NXQ), that some ham clubs and RACES/ACS units use the race as their annual “exercise” so they get real fancy with equipment, trailers, temporary repeaters, lots of people, etc. Is this something anyone in the club has had experience with, and is there any interest in trying to support our local DA’s office?  They have to have their frequency coordination in by February 2 and the race is on March 25 and 26 so this is very last-minute, but I’m interested in seeing if there is interest, even if not until next year. Because it is so late, this year they will likely have to rent commercial radios that use the MRA trunking system that probably cover 70-80% of the course.  The group supplying this system has permanent repeaters on Potosi and Turquoise and they bring out temporary repeaters at Ibex Pass and at the California/Nevada state line to support the race.  I have no idea how well this system works, and/or if the hams can do better. Jeff tells me that San Diego County RACES puts out 30 people and supports six teams.  They use a combination of simplex and repeaters and mostly 50-watt mobile radios. Here is a link: bakervegas.net.  I also have a power point that Jeff put together detailing the various means of radio communications (and there are a LOT used in the race… also including ham HF, CB, GMRS, MURS, satellite phones, etc.) which I can supply if anyone wants a copy. As an aside, they also have a full-blown… Continue reading →