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 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

March 31, 2022 - Online Auctions

Our new auction feature is now live. This is where you will find the best donations such as radios, test equipment, etc. We will begin adding items as we receive new gear. Just log in normally and you will see an item in the sidebar titled "Members Only Functions". Under this section you will see a link for "Auction Items". You can bid on timed items similar to eBay. Check in frequently and see what shows up!

March 25, 2022 - Website Membership System Upgrade

We have completed an upgrade of our membership system and joining SBARC or renewing your memberships has changed. This is all documented on this page: https://www.sbarc.org/renew-membership/. Pleas take a few minutes and see what's new!

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.

 


General Club Meeting – June 17, 2022

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We’re going to try our first hybrid meeting this month. We will have an in-person meeting broadcast simultaneously on Zoom. For those not able to attend in person, you will be able to check-in on Zoom. Someone at the meeting will be there to help so they can pass on questions and comments from the Zoomers.

This month we’re going to talk about Winlink email for RF and watch a video introduction. Winlink has come a long way in the last few years, and Santa Barbara is way behind other clubs and groups in the tri-county area. With California facing potential blackouts this summer as well as general disaster preparation knowledge, it is time for SBARC to look into this more seriously.

I hope you will be able to attend in person, but if you can’t, check in on Zoom.

In-person Meeting
Goleta Union School District Board Room
401 North Fairview Avenue in Goleta

Door open around 7:00pm

Also on Zoom
Topic: General Club Meeting – June 17, 2022
Time: Jun 17, 2022 07:30pm Pacific Time

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81757418390?pwd=NC9jSlg3RWRYdTQ0dGR6cnZ2dFNQdz09

Meeting ID: 817 5741 8390
Passcode: 394396

Post expires at 11:39pm on Wednesday August 17th, 2022 but will still be available on Club News page.

Bill Talanian, W1UUQ Joins the Ranks of The All Eight Club

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SBARC Trustee Emeritus has set foot on each of the eight California Channel Islands

Talanian visited San Clemente and San Nicolas Islands on Tuesday. (courtesy photo)

Bill Talanian, W1UUQ has set foot on each of the eight California Channel Islands. The SBARC Trustee Emeritus visited San Miguel and San Clemente Islands this week checking off the last two islands on the list in his quest to visit each of the coastal outposts, an accomplishment that few can claim. More people have actually been to the International Space Station than have set foot on all eight Channel Islands.

Marla Daily, a California Channel Islands research historian and president of the Santa Cruz Island Foundation, founded the All Eight Club to recognize those who have achieved the feat. Visiting all eight islands is not a simple task. Each requires different visitation arrangements. Five of the eight islands comprise Channel Islands National Park and are open to the public, while two, San Clemente and San Nicolas Islands are controlled by the U.S. military.

“Soon after passing my 90th birthday, I finally got to join the exclusive All Eight Club,” said Talanian. “Perhaps I am only the second SBARC member after Ken Owen, N6KTH, of Channel Islands Restoration. In actuality I have nine islands after spending two days on the little known Rincon Island.”

Members of the All Eight Club. include biologists anthropologists, botanists, ornithologists, zoologists, educators, helicopter and fixed wing pilots, a retired National Park superintendent and park employees, a museum director, a lichenologist, a photographer, a retired judge, and a sea captain. According to Daily, it is the most exclusive recognized geographic club in the world with membership in the low 200s—a tenth of the famous 7 Summits Club.

Listen to “Little Known Club On South Coast has Unique Admissions Test; You Must Visit All 8 Channel Islands” a 2018 KCLU story on the All Eight Club.

We’re almost halfway to our scholarship fundraising goal!

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Donate Now

*** Be sure to allocate your donation to the “Scholarship Fund” box. ***

In 2021, the Board of Directors created the Santa Barbara Wireless Foundation Scholarship Fund to provide annual support to high school seniors with excellent academic records who plan to study Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) in higher education. Each year, the Scholarship Committee will select one or more high school seniors who will receive up to $1,000 to support their undergraduate studies.

This scholarship is funded entirely through contributions made to the Santa Barbara Wireless Foundation Scholarship Fund. Tax-deductible contributions to the Scholarship Fund may be made by clicking here. Learn more and apply at scholarships.sbwireless.org.

While not requirements, preference is given to applicants who are graduating from a high school in Santa Barbara County and who hold an active FCC amateur radio license.

The SB Wireless Foundation Scholarship Fund supports SBARC and SB Wireless’ missions to develop and support an organized and comprehensive educational program in our local communities.

Thank you for your support,

Levi C. Maaia, K6LCM
Scholarship Committee Chair