Slate of Candidates for 2023

This year I appointed 3 members to serve on the nominating committee. The 3 members were Dave – AI6VX, Doc – W6EW, and Tom – N6YX. They completed their mission and presented a slate of nominees at the last board meeting. I want to thank Dave, Doc and Tom for volunteering for this important function. The slate of nominees for 2023 are as follows: Brian Milburn K6BPM President / CEO Larry Martinez WA6MVJ Secretary Tom Saunders N6YX Treasurer / CFO Levi Maaia K6LCM Director at Large Dave Schmidt AI6VX Director at Large Wayne Beckman AF6GX Director at Large Mike Wapner K6QD Director at Large Matt Lechliter W6XC Director at Large We will officially be opening additional nominations for all positions at the October 21 2022 meeting. Any member in good standing can nominate another member in good standing for any elected position above. A member in good standing is any member who is paid up on their dues. Additionally, a nominee must be a member in good standing for the period of 28 days prior to the election. This year, that day is October 21, 2022. This year we will be allowing on-line voting, mail in voting, and in-person voting. As such, there are various cutoff dates we need to set so that we can do all our work behind the scenes. Here is the schedule: October 21 – Open nominations from the floor at meeting. November 6 – Nominations from the floor close at midnight. November 10 – Mail-in and online voting begins at midnight. November 16 – Mail-in and Online ballots close at midnight. November 18 – Election night – In-person voting, tallying, etc. There is also a bylaws change proposal on the ballot this year. The bylaw changes mostly involve the way we now handle the membership system, and the way we pay bills and expenses. Normal procedures such as auto-pay, credit card and debit card purchases, were never addressed in the current Bylaws, however it is the way we pay most bills and expenses. The proposed changes merely bring the Bylaws up-to-date with the times. You can view the proposed changes here: https://sbarc.org/Downloads/BylawEdits_10-2022.pdf Brian – K6BPM President, Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club Post expires at 7:51pm on Sunday November 20th, 2022 but will still be available in the archives.

2027 Board of Directors Nominees

As most of you know, November is election time for SBARC and The whole country. If you haven’t had enough election stuff already, here are the details about our SBWF/SBARC annual Board of Directors election. The election will be held in person at the November 20th General Club Meeting. Our proposed slate of directors and officers is shown below. Our current board of directors all agreed to serve again in 2027. So our slate looks just like last years slate. The period of accepting nominations from the floor is now officially open. If you would like to run for a position on The Board of Directors, all you need to do is have someone nominate you and let us know. The nomination period will close at midnight on November 12, 2026 to give us time to prepare the ballots. As we have done in past years, you will be able to vote on-line. On-line voting will be available beginning Sunday November 16th and will close at midnight on Thursday November 19th. Of course, you will still be able to vote in person at the November 20th meeting. SBWF/SBARC 2026 Slate of Board of Directors Nominees Position Officer President and CEO Brian Milburn, K6BPM Treasurer and CFO Dorothy Oksner K6DSO Secretary Larry Martinez, WA6MVJ Director At Large Levi Maaia, K6LCM Director At Large Wayne Beckman, AF6GX Director At Large Michael Taylor, K6RQV Director At Large Mike Wapner, K6QD   Post expires at 1:16am on Saturday November 21st, 2026 but will still be available in the archives.

Annual SBARC Pot Luck BBQ

We’re getting geared up for our annual pot luck BBQ coming up on October 4, 2026. We are changing locations this year. We will be having the event at Tuckers Grove Area 4. It is a really nice spot with lots of shade. Dave, AI6VX has once again volunteered to to the cooking! As we have done for the last few years, SBARC will provide the hamburgers and hotdogs with all the trimmings. Members can bring a side dish, salad, desert, chips, drinks or anything they like. If you can’t bring anything, that’s OK too. Spouses and families are welcome or bring a friend to meet the nice people in amateur radio. When: Sunday October 4th, 2026 Time: 10:30am until 3:00pm Where: Tuckers Grove Park Space 4 Tuckers Grove is at the mountain end of Turnpike Road We hope to see you there! Post expires at 3:49pm on Monday October 5th, 2026 but will still be available in the archives.

SBARC General Club Meeting September 18, 2026

This month’s meeting we will have an in-person presentation by Kent Olsen N6WT. He will be introducing the DX Marathon.  This is a DXCC and Worked All Zone chase that runs all year, every year. Scores are calculated and awards presented after the year ends on December 31. Then a new year begins. Participation is easy and since it runs all year, you can work DX when it is convenient. You can participate even if you are a casual DX’er.  Zoom Link https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81329247684?pwd=UEWLEpXKnKIl751zP4qhCWzYboAr9U.1 Please join us this Friday! SBARC General Club Meeting Friday, September 18, 2026 at 7:30 PM (Doors open at 7pm) Goleta Union School District Board Room 401 North Fairview Avenue in Goleta Post expires at 4:24pm on Saturday September 19th, 2026 but will still be available in the archives.

SBARC Club Meeting August 21, 2026

This months meeting is going to be a little different than usual. If you attended the last meeting, we talked about getting our members getting set up to do MeshCore communications. So this meeting is going to be a HANDS ON and we will help everyone get set up and on the air. MeshCore is an OFF-THE-GRID messaging system and works whether you have internet/cellular or not. If everything is down, you can still communicate.  THIS IS NOT COMPLICATED. If you can use text messages on your smartphone, you already know how to use this. It also requires repeaters, but SBARC/SBWF has already installed 9 repeaters that blanket most of the area with coverage. You only need 2 things to get set up, a smartphone and a small “Companion” transceiver.  The smartphone app is called MeshCore. It is available for FREE on the iPhone App Store and also on Google Play App Store for Android users. There are a lot of options for companion nodes. There are several models that are ready to go, right out of the box, or you can build one yourself, There are several kits available, or you can buy the individual parts and assemble them yourself. This may not be a good option for many users because you need a little experience choosing and using transceiver boards, batteries, and all the assorted little parts that go along with it. I evaluated some of the off-the-shelf units and found one I particularly like and think would be a good option for a lot of our members. They are called “ThinkNode M1”. Everything is assembled and ready to use. They use a Nordic processor which is very power efficient. They have a built in battery that provides about 2.5 days of use on a charge. They also have built-in GPS which is switchable so you can use it only when needed. This is nice because GPS cuts your battery life in half, GPS is rarely useful, so being able to turn it on and off is very useful. They also use an ePaper display that only uses power when the display changes. These are very small and lightweight, and you can easily put one in a pocket. We purchased a few of these and they will be available to club members for a $63.00 reimbursement at the meeting. Tax and Shipping is included. You can also purchase… Continue reading →

Ameritron and Mirage Amps Get New Life

ITU Corporation has acquired Ameritron and Mirage RF Amplifier brands from MFJ Enterprises. Its has previously acquired HyGain and Cushcraft lines from the now defunct MFJ so some of our favorite brands are getting new life. Read the article here: https://www.lintonnews.com/itu-corporation-acquires-ameritron-and-mirage-rf-amplifier-brands-from-mfj-enterprises-free-article/ Post expires at 7:35am on Saturday August 1st, 2026 but will still be available in the archives.

SBARC Club Meeting July 17, 2026

Part of the attraction to amateur radio is experimenting with new things and learning things you thought you would not be able to understand. A couple of members have suggested we have some sort of group projects that everyone can participate in and learn new things that have been confusing in the past. Some of the fun things our members do seem too complicated or confusing and a lot of us miss out on things they would enjoy. It doesn’t matter what your age is, or what background you have, you studied, passed a test, and have an amateur radio license. This meeting I am going to be introduce a couple of projects you can participate in that will provide you with hours of entertainment after they’re finished. If everyone is interested then we’ll devote next months meeting to providing hands on instruction. We have a couple of projects in mind that anyone can do with minimal expense, and involve no soldering and the only tools you will need is a screwdriver. We’ll have some additional informational handouts at the meeting. Please join us this Friday! SBARC General Club Meeting Friday, July 17, 2026 at 7:30 PM (Doors open at 7pm) Goleta Union School District Board Room 401 North Fairview Avenue in Goleta Zoom Link https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84169511388?pwd=oQFS75Hb6VrOa9oWQ1eHWD5xAfcX7H.1 Post expires at 1:04am on Friday September 18th, 2026 but will still be available in the archives.

General Club Meeting – June 19, 2026

Last month we watched a preview of a video about the Great Santa Barbara earthquake. We ran out of time, so we will show it in its entirety this evening. Do you have plans for Field Day? SBARC is not sponsoring an event this year, so some members may be looking for some way to participate. Let everyone know if you have any activities in mind this year. Last month we also missed playing a video that was passed around by board members. It is called “Is Ham Radio Dying?”. It is worth the time to watch. Many clubs are experiencing the same problems. Low participation, lack of interest in projects, and other symptoms are things we might be able to find a way to address.   Please join us this Friday! SBARC General Club Meeting Friday, June 19, 2026 at 7:30 PM (Doors open at 7pm) Goleta Union School District Board Room 401 North Fairview Avenue in Goleta Zoom Details: Topic: January Club Meeting Time: June 19, 2026 07:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81662893439?pwd=gabpWn58dz8zqvPggslZuwAdN44VU5.1 Meeting ID: 816 6289 3439 Passcode: 806157 Post expires at 1:00am on Saturday June 20th, 2026 but will still be available in the archives.