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.​

Member Weather Stations

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.

 


Getting Started with MeshCore

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At our March 20th meeting, we introduced a new mode called MeshCore. MeshCore is an off-the-grid text messaging system and works with the iPhone or Android device you already own. It is an evolution of the popular MeshTastic system and improves many of MeshTastics shortcomings.

We played a good introductory video at the meeting and if you missed it, or want to see it again, it is available here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1qne8uJBAc

To get started you need a MeshCore ‘Companion’ device.  MeshCore devices operate in the unlicensed LoRa ISM bands, specifically on 927.875 MHz in Southern California. Devices are very simple and consist of a small circuit board, power source and antenna. You can purchase pre-made devices or build one yourself. Circuit boards are all inclusive and ready to plug in and work right out of the box. No soldering is necessary and the only assembly necessary is to attach the antenna and power source. Power sources connect with a USB ‘C’ cable and you can use a normal smartphone charger. Batteries plug into the circuit board with a JST connector. Most boards handle battery charging and even solar recharging automatically.


 Left, is the board demonstrated at the meeting. It is a Heltec V4 LoRa board available on Amazon for $30. It included a small coil antenna, battery pigtails and is ready to ‘flash’. Flashing is the procedure used to install the device firmware onto the board. It is easy and just requires a USB C cable to connect to your computer. You just visit the MeshCore website, find your device on a list, and click on ‘Flash’ and it is all handled for you. The rest of the setup is handled through the SmartPhone app using BlueTooth.

You till first need to pair your device with your phone. This is done just like anything else you may have paired in the past.

  1. Before you power up your board for the first time, have a pencil and paper ready. Then power up your board. You will see a number displayed. This is your Bluetooth pairing code. Write it down.
  2. Make sure your devices is powered up, then open up the Bluetooth configuration screen and select it from the list of devices. When you are asked for the pairing code, enter the number you wrote down.

Now open up the MeshCore app on your phone.

  1. Tap on the ‘gear’ icon at the top to open up the ‘Settings’ screen.
  2. Give your device a name. This is what other users will see. You can make this anything you like such as a callsign, nickname, or something else.
  3. The next item is ‘Public Key’. Skip that, it is done automatically.
  4. Next is ‘Longitude’ and ‘Latitude’. This is not required. You can skip this for now.
  5. Next is ‘Share Position in Advert’. An ‘Advert’ is what your device sends to the network to let others know you are connected. No need to check this box.
The ‘Radio Settings’ shown at right will be the same for everyone.

Make sure your ‘Radio Settings’ look like the Radio Settings shown in this screenshot.

Double check everything and when you are satisfied, click on the Check Mark in the upper right corner.

You do not need to be concerned with any other settings. These are all you need to get up and running.

When you are all finished, reboot your device by removing power and applying power again.

Open up your MeshCore app, and tap on the 3 dots in the upper right corner. If you see ‘Connnect’ listed as an option, tap that to connect. If you see ‘Disconnect’ listed as an option, you are already connected. Good!

Tap on the beacon icon on the top row (((*))) and choose ‘Advert – Flood Routed’. This will tell everyone you are now on the system.

Now pay attention to the ‘Contacts’ page. You should see ‘Contacts’ begin to appear on that page.

All further operations will be done through the app.

If you  have questions or problems, check into the Digital and Projects Net on Tuesdays at 8pm. We’ll be happy to help.

Resources:

MeshCore Website:  https://meshcore.co.uk

MeshCore Map:  https://map.meshcore.dev/?zoom=11&lat=34.4791&lon=-119.6459

Heltec ESP32 V4 LoRa Board on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0f0Ymujg

SBARC Members Activate Santa Barbara Island

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On May 19, 2025, Ken, KA6KEN and I joined The Explorers Club expedition to Santa Barbara Island. It’s the smallest and most remote in Channel Islands National Park.

There’s no dock, no cell service, and landings are only possible by skiff when weather and sea conditions cooperate. We brought along a VHF handheld and a directional antenna and made simplex contact with KK6SXA and KN6ZZI from the island’s summit, Signal Peak. It was a quick turnaround. We had less than 90 minutes on shore. But we made it work.

I documented the trip and put together a short film that tells the story, with some help from fellow explorers we met along the way.

📺 Watch the video below:

—Levi, K6LCM

Santa Ynez Peak Repeater Antenna

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Wayne, AF6GX, tilting the 145.18 tower back up into service. Photo: Michael, K6RQV

The antenna for the K6TZ Santa Ynez Peak repeater on 145.18 was replaced today. As a result, its coverage is now vastly improved!

If you haven’t yet, please take a moment to test your signal into this repeater and the new 446.400 repeater on La Cumbre Peak West. Both are standard negative offset, same PL 131.8.

Together, these two repeaters have increased our systemwide coverage tremendously.

Repeater Updates: 446.400 Moved to La Cumbre Peak West

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Wayne, AF6GX and Levi, K6LCM installing the new BridgeCom repeater at La Cumbre Peak West. Photo: Michael, K6RQV

It was a foggy, cool day at La Cumbre Peak when SBARC members Levi, K6LCM; Wayne, AF6GX; and Michael, K6RQV, headed up to the site to install the club’s new BridgeCom FM repeater on 446.400 MHz. Despite the low visibility and brisk weather, the team successfully completed the installation, bringing a significant upgrade to the repeater system.

The new repeater offers excellent coverage and is now linked to the club’s wider system, ensuring even greater range for members and improving communications across the region. This installation is part of SBARC’s ongoing efforts to enhance the reliability and reach of its network for amateur radio operators in Santa Barbara and beyond.

Stay tuned for more updates and make sure to give the new repeater a try on 446.400- PL 131.8.