Category Archives: Club News

The big news is that we will be having an in-person meeting for the first time in well over 2 years. And, for our first meeting, we will be celebrating Old Timers Night. Old Timers Night is an annual event that occurs at our May SBARC Club Meeting. It is a special time where we can once more meet and greet our “most experienced” amateurs. These folks have paid their dues and are entitled to boast about all their experiences in the great hobby of Amateur Radio. Since it has been so long since we last had a “real” meeting, we’re not having a formal program this month. It will be more of an open house style so old friends can visit and catch up. Hopefully everyone will have a good time. We are not going to require masks or proof of vaccination. Please keep in mind that many of our members have health concerns and manage their risks very carefully. So please use your best judgement with regard to masking, distancing, personal contact and be considerate of others.   SBARC General Club Meeting Friday, May 20, 2022 at 7:30 PM Goleta Union School District Board Room 401 North Fairview Avenue in Goleta We hope to see you all at the meeting! Post expires at 1:13am on Saturday May 21st, 2022 but will still be available on Club News page.

Most of us have expensive and sensitive electronic equipment such as radios, power supplies, amplifiers, antenna tuners, and various other pieces of amateur radio gear. Hopefully, most of us also use some sort of surge protection on any of these devices that are exposed to normal AC house power. Of course, most of us also have computers and we have long been aware that these need surge protection to protect precious data. Unfortunately, for a lot of us, this is about as far as our surge protection efforts go. Over the past couple of years, we have experienced numerous “planned service interruptions” by Southern California Edison. At last count, mine have totaled 12 since January 2020. Don’t even mention the number of unexpected outages! On more than one occasion voltage surges when power is restored on have damaged my electronics. I have a “smart home” with about 60 remote controlled switches and outlets that are especially vulnerable. Usually when I experience a problem after an outage, it involves reprogramming the switch or outlet. Unfortunately, sometimes the device gets fried and replacements are generally $50+. Just about everything has some sort of “computer” in it. Last year, after a planned power outage, the main computer board in my Sub Zero refrigerator got fried and a lot of our food spoiled. Luckily I was able to troubleshoot the problem and buy a replacement main board for around $200 and replace it myself. Had it been necessary to call in a Sub Zero trained technician, the cost would have been more than $1200! After this event, I bought a surge protector specifically designed for refrigerators. I started taking an inventory of everything in my house that used sensitive electronics and realized there were many more items potentially exposed to surge related failure. These include washers and dryers, water softeners, dishwashers, clocks, televisions, stereo components, furnaces, and the list goes on and on. Many of these devices are hard wired and it would be difficult to provide surge protection for each one. The obvious solution would be some sort of whole-house surge protection. After some research, I found that whole house surge protection would be much easier and far less expensive than I anticipated. What I decided to go with is a simple 2 pole circuit breaker installed in my main electrical panel. I have Eaton Panels and sub-panels, so I purchased the above… Continue reading →

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.

*** 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