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.​

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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.

 


Work at the Club Station

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On Monday, December 19, we did a little tower work. We removed some old antennas and did quite a bit of cable removal as well. Part of the work also involved installing a new microwave dish to provide a network link to La Cumbre Peak. As soon as the La Cumbre Peak dish is installed, we’ll have a full time link between the two locations.

Our first installed device will be an ADS-B receiver that will add to our constellation of receivers and provide coverage of the back country below the coastal mountain range. This will help Santa Barbara Search and Rescue obtain real time aircraft location information that is currently unavailable when an aircraft drops below the mountain tops.

Wayne – AF6GX (picture shown) did the tower climbing, Michael – K6RQV provided ground assistance, and Brian – K6BPM programmed and tested the microwave radios.

Airband 121.5 MHz Receiver Wide-Area Deployment

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Wayne, AF6GX servicing the air band equipment.

For several decades SBARC has sponsored monitoring of the emergency beacon channel on 121.5. This was originally prompted and set up with L-Tronics receivers at several locations. Today we have a blend of L-Tronics and FAA 121.5 GRR receivers. The L-Tronics receivers shall in time be replaced by GRR receivers. Presently we have two GRR receivers in service, one at UCSB, and one at Santa Ynez Peak. A third unit shall be installed at the La Vigia TCF facility followed by a fourth unit at either La Cumbre or Diablo. This program is being privately funded by Bill, W1UUQ for as a public service benefit for public safety.

If you are interested in more details, please contact us.