Welcome to the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club

aspenWelcome, and thanks for visiting our website. The Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club (SBARC) was established in 1920 and has operated continuously ever since. If you are a licensed amateur radio operator and not yet a member, we hope you will consider joining our club. If you are not yet licensed but have an interest in amateur radio, contact us and we’ll help you get started! Better yet come meet our friendly members at one of our monthly club meetings or at the Red Cross Club Station on Saturday mornings.

Photo caption: Repeaters are the backbone of our local communication systems. SBARC operates numerous repeaters that are open and free to use, including one on Diablo Peak on Santa Cruz Island, which our team accesses with the help of Aspen Helicopters.​

Buy, Sell or Trade Radio Gear NEW! Radio Equipment Auctions

Member Weather Stations

No current announcements

The Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club is a 501(c)(3) non-profit public benefit corporation. Our public service efforts and emergency communications infrastructure are supported by donations from our members and the community. Your tax deductible contributions help ensure our continued success

SBARC Designated Emergency Frequencies

  • SBARC Main Repeater Output 146.79 / Input 146.19 PL 131.8
  • In the event the repeater is not working, use 146.79 SIMPLEX
  • Also monitor 146.52 SIMPLEX

We also maintain a list of local frequencies used by first responders and emergency services. These are useful for programming consumer grade scanners. Please click here.

 


Field Day Update

By | | ,
Leave a comment

With just over a month until the Field Day, excitement is growing. Not only does SBARC have an excellent site at Chase Palm Field, but the solar cycle is surely approaching its peak! And, over twenty five people have expressed interest in attending Field Day in some capacity. It is sure to be a fun event!

Since the last Field Day update, several individuals have graciously volunteered to prepare food and beverages for the event. JoAnne – KA6RPN, has kindly agreed to prepare a special treat for Sunday breakfast, Steve – AK6CE, has volunteered to grill burgers & hotdogs for a club picnic on Sunday and Les – W6CGE will arrange a variety of non-alcoholic beverages. Donations for food & beverage will be gratefully accepted at the time of the event.

To aid in final preparations, we need your input once again. Please complete the survey via the link below indicating your participation preferences. This will enable us to purchase the right amount of food & beverages, and also to be prepared from a radio operations perspective. We realize that plans change, and so your response here will not preclude you from adjusting your plans to suit your needs as Field Day draws near.

Survey Link:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VV3CC8S

If you haven’t subscribed to the special SBARC Field Day mailing list, simply send a blank email to fieldday24+subscribe@sbarc.org  No subject or message is necessary, and you can unsubscribe any time you want.

73s from the SBARC Field Day Team

Post expires at 2:27pm on Friday May 31st, 2024 but will still be available in the archives.

We need your help!

By | | ,
Leave a comment

As we all know, we are losing our primary repeater site on the Mesa. We have received no help from the city thus far in finding a new location. It’s time to show support for SBARC and let the Mayor and City Council members know how we feel. We would like to get SBARC members and friends of SBARC to send an email to the City Council so we show them how we feel.

I prepared a sample email that you can copy and paste or you can write your own. Emails need to be sent to the following email address: sbcitycouncil@santabarbaraca.gov

The sample email is below:

Dear Council members,

I am writing in support of the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club. Over the years, they have provided communications support for dozens of parades, marathons and bicycle races, entirely on a voluntary basis. They have made their availability a priority in many of our worst disasters and have been instrumental in helping many neighborhood groups develop emergency communications programs.

I am aware that the City has ordered them to vacate the location they have used for 50 years for their primary communications systems. I would urge City officials to do everything possible to help this non-profit organization find an alternate suitable communications site so the community can continue to depend on this valuable resource.

Field Day Mailing List

By | | ,
Leave a comment

As Field Day nears, Warren KN6ZZI and Mike K6QD have been hard at work checking out different sites and getting the necessary approvals. They are getting ready to share information with everyone interested in participating..

We set up a dedicated mail list group for everyone that wants to stay informed about the ongoing planning, and this format will allow you to ask questions or share your own thoughts as well.

To subscribe to the Field Day mailing list, simply send a blank email to fieldday24+subscribe@sbarc.org

No subject or message is necessary, and you can unsubscribe any time you want.

You will receive a return email with instructions to verify that you want to subscribe. Just reply to that and that’s all there is to it. The process takes less than a minute.

This information will also be on the website if you want to join the list later.

Post expires at 7:27am on Friday June 21st, 2024 but will still be available in the archives.

Amateur Videos on Amateur Radio: YouTube

By | | , ,
1 Comment

Amateur videos on amateur radio are becoming the go-to sources for current news. (Image created by DALL-E AI engine in ChatGPT 4)

In recent years, there has been a notable shift in the landscape of amateur radio journalism. Traditional print magazines and journals, once the cornerstone of the ham radio community, are increasingly becoming a rarity. This decline is part of a broader trend seen across many fields, where digital media is supplanting print media.

As a result, much of the latest news, technological updates, and exciting new projects in the amateur radio world are moving to more contemporary platforms like YouTube. This shift has given rise to a number of popular YouTube channels that have become the new go-to sources for amateur radio enthusiasts. These channels offer a diverse range of content, from in-depth tutorials and product reviews to real-world applications and community interactions.

Here is a list of some prominent YouTube channels that are leading this digital transformation in amateur radio journalism.

If you have others you like, please leave them in the comments!

  1. Ham Radio Crash Course: Basics to advanced ham radio topics, tutorials, reviews, and discussions.
  2. Ham Radio 2.0: Product reviews, interviews, event coverage.
  3. KB9VBR Antennas: Antenna performance improvement, DIY projects, tips.
  4. K8MRD Radio Stuff: Educational content, real-life ham radio experiences.
  5. HamRadioConcepts: Equipment reviews, tutorials, experiments.
  6. Temporarily Offline: Mix of educational content and personal experiences.
  7. K0PIR: Software, hardware, digital modes in ham radio.
  8. Ham Radio DX: Reviews, tutorials, interviews, propagation and DXing.
  9. Dave Casler KE0OG: Educational content on amateur radio topics.
  10. KM4ACK: Ham radio technology, DIY builds, software solutions and RaspberryPi projects.

New Packet Capabilities at TCF

By | | , ,
Leave a comment

We have just installed a new VHF packet node at the Talanian Communications Facility on the Mesa. The new station has a Winlink gateway that can gate mail between RF and the internet (perfect for emergencies), as well as a few other features, including a local keyboard chat room!

Check it out if you have a TNC or sound card modem for VHF packet on 145.050.

The main node is K6TZ-2 but the following aliases will connect you directly to the various services: MESA (main node), TZPBBS, TZCHAT, TZRMS (Winlink)

Note that BPQ is a little different than Kantronics. Commands like MHEARD and CONNECT (to hop) require a port number (in this case the port number to use is 2). More details in the welcome message.

Thanks to Doc, W6EW for donating the Kenwood TM-D700 to the club and to Bill, W1UUQ for leaping into action when I said I needed help tracing out the coax at his namesake TCF.

This is the first of a couple major planned packet upgrades. We expect to install an updated digipeater at the La Cumbre West Site in the coming weeks which will expand the reach of this node.

If you are interested in learning more about VHF packet radio and other digital modes, join us on Tuesday nights for the Digital Communications & Technology Net and consider joining our group mailing list.

-Levi, K6LCM
K6TZ Trustee