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.
T
he Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club has secured a site for the 2024 ARRL Field Day. After considering a long list of sites and speaking with administrators of five of them, we obtained permission to operate from Girsch Park and Ellwood School, both of which are in Goleta.
We selected Ellwood School for our Field Day site given that the Goleta Valley School District granted permission to operate over night, and the space available to us there is larger and quieter than at Girsch Park. Recognizing that Ellwood School is not as visible to the public as Girsch Park, and that our survey revealed a desire to make Field Day accessible to the public, we are working
on a communication plan to raise awareness of our event. Importantly, the planning team felt that conducting the 2024 Field Day in a quieter location will give us experience that we can apply to future field day events while allowing time to evaluate and negotiate with other, more public sites.
We are now working hard on operations planning. We will be in touch soon with those of you that expressed interest in getting involved. And, we will communicate what to expect if you intend to operate your own station or a club station, or to attend socially.
If you would like to help with or have questions about field day feel free to get in touch with either Warren Myers (KN6ZZI) or Mike Wapner (K6QD).
Post expires at 7:35pm on Wednesday May 1st, 2024 but will still be available in the archives.
We didn’t get time last month to talk about home weather stations, so we’ll doing that this month. Several club members have them, and more and more are installing them. Come learn how they work and how they can make rainy days (and the Cuckoo Net) more fun!
We’ll also be bringing you up-to-date on the TCF move and what progress we’re making. We may also have an update on field Day preparations.
SBARC General Club Meeting
Friday, April 19, 2024 at 7:30 PM (Doors open at 7pm)
Goleta Union School District Board Room
401 North Fairview Avenue in Goleta
Zoom Details:
Topic: SBARC General Club Meeting
Time: Apr 19, 2024 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85433056653?pwd=ZkhXYllRNE1kVGNOclBPbzdES3Yxdz09
Meeting ID: 854 3305 6653
Passcode: 815505
Our February meeting notice is a little late, but not to worry! There is a lot going on, but the meeting will be held as scheduled. At this months meeting we’ll be bringing everyone up-to-date on the La Vigia/Vic Trace saga and what we’re doing to make sure we stay up on the air – somewhere. We’ve been working on finding alternate sites for our repeater assets as well as the various other services we maintain.
We’re also going to be talking about home weather stations. Several club members have them, and more and more are installing them. Come learn how they work and how they can make rainy days (and the Cuckoo Net) more fun!
We’re also going to be talking about little about this years Field Day and getting started with planning.
SBARC General Club Meeting
Friday, February 16, 2024 at 7:30 PM (Doors open at 7pm)
Goleta Union School District Board Room
401 North Fairview Avenue in Goleta
Zoom Details:
Topic: SBARC General Club Meeting – February 16, 2024
Time: Feb 16, 2024 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89034781686?pwd=UDVPeE5kSmwzdWdhWnRrY0JFWFd5QT09
Meeting ID: 890 3478 1686
Passcode: 409030
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!
November meetings are always election night meetings, so members who did not vote online will be able to vote in person. Of course we’ll all be tallying up the votes and announcing the winners, so plan on being there, even if you already voted.
November meetings have traditionally also been Home-brew Night! We invite everyone to bring a something you have built, or a project in progress, to show, demonstrate, and tell your ham friends about. Home-brew is what being a ham is all about! Anyone can go buy a radio, antenna or other accessory, but to many hams, building their own gear is much more fun and rewarding. So bring something (or a lot of things) because we’re all interested in seeing what you’re up to!
We will also be hosting this meeting on Zoom, if you can’t attend in person, but please try to be there if you can to congratulate the new board members, whoever they are!
SBARC General Club Meeting
Friday, November 17 at 7:30 PM
Goleta Union School District Board Room
401 North Fairview Avenue in Goleta
Zoom Details
Topic: SBARC November Club Meeting
Time: Nov 17, 2023 07:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86560422518?pwd=VzNua1F5WUxwcVhUTWUwRFM1SGlDQT09
Meeting ID: 865 6042 2518
Passcode: 241358
We hope to see you all at the meeting!
Post expires at 8:01pm on Saturday November 18th, 2023 but will still be available in the archives.
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
