What’s happening at SBARC? Here you will find the latest club news, events, projects, net activities, and news from our special interest groups (SIGS).
Be sure to check in frequently so you don’t miss out on any of the interesting things going on with the club and its members!
We have moved content for the Technical Mentoring and Elmering Net here, and content for the Digital Modes Net here.
Matt Lechliter, W6KGB
We had a packed meeting this month in more ways than one! It was very well attended with a 59% increase in members in attendance compared with our recent averages. On top of that we had three presenters too!
It started off with Jon Kent of the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Aero Squadron. Jon explained what the Aero Squadron does and related some great stories. Jon has been a volunteer for decades and has flown many missions in support of local law enforcement, county government, and emergency services. He is truly a dedicated to public service, and is an inspiration to all of us.
Gear, gear and more gear! The tables were packed with radio equipment that immediately drew interest from our members. Bill Talanian W1UUQ showed off some of his one-of-a-kind creations that help him support a wide variety of services including air observer support, repeater maintenance, and emergency services support.
Also displayed on the main table was a repeater, controller, amplifiers and other gear slated soon for SBARC service. Out third speaker, Matt Lechliter, W6KGB, explained what it all was. Matt treated us to an extremely informative hour explaining how he hand builds our repeater systems for us. Although we seldom hear him on the air, he is nevertheless hard at work repairing our existing equipment and building new things for our future. Matt typically takes Motorola and GE commercial repeaters had hand fabricates new parts and electronics to turn them into top quality amateur radio repeater systems. Calling his creations “home-brew” does not do them justice. They are every bit as professionally constructed – if not more so – that the finest factory made ones. SBARC is extremely lucky to have people like Bill and Matt on our team. There is nothing “amateur” in what they do.
Post expires at 1:50am on Wednesday April 20th, 2016 but will still be available in the archives.
K6TZ Mesa Repeater Complex
Come to our March 18 Club meeting and hear about the forward upgrade plans for the hilltop repeater sites for the Mesa site and about our 220 MHz Repeater Site at Santa Ynez Peak. Matt Lechliter, W6KGB, will brief everyone about these upgrade plans. These upgrades are now underway and should be available for the users by mid-year.
How many of you have had the pleasure of meeting Jon Kent of the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Aero Squadron? Jon holds the rank of Captain in that fine organization. Want to know why the Sheriff would want to get into a smaller aircraft and fly it over residential areas? Why would he fly it over forested areas? Maybe Jon can fill us in. At our meeting, Jon will be ably assisted by our own Bill Talanian, W1UUQ.
If you have no plans for dinner before the meeting, you might like to join Matt, Jon, Bill and us at Cody’s in the Turnpike Shopping Center at 5:30 PM.
We hold our Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club meetings at the Goleta Union School District, 401 N. Fairview Ave. in Goleta, right across the street from the Goleta Library. Doors open at 7:00 PM and the meeting starts at 7:30 PM. Feel free to bring a guest! Join or renew your membership in SBARC while you’re there. Submitted by Darryl, KF6DI
Post expires at 11:40pm on Friday March 18th, 2016 but will still be available in the archives.
SBARC members are launching a new club project to install a multiple node mesh network system in Santa Barbara. In simple terms, a mesh network is a lot like a wide area, long range WiFi network for amateur radio operators. Any licensed ham can participate and all the hardware needed costs less than $100. To get the project off the ground, SBARC needs to install some initial nodes at strategic locations. Participating users will be able to connect from their stations to these nodes.
This will be a tremendous asset to the club and to the community in general in the event of an emergency. To read more about it, and learn how you can help, please click here.
Orville Beach, W6BI spoke at SBARC’s February General Club Meeting. Orville is a member of the Simi Settlers Amateur Radio Club of Simi Valley, Calif. who says he is now All Digital, All the Time! Orville spoke to the group about the success of digital mesh networking in Ventura County and encouraged Santa Barbara-area hams to join in the the fun of using 0ff-the-shelf wireless networking gear to create private IP networks using the exclusive ham allocation in the 2.4 GHz band.
Listen to audio from his presentation below and learn more about the software his is using that is coming out of the Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network (AREDN) Project.
I thought this was a kind of fun and easy hack I did the other afternoon…
I hope the idea can possibly be useful to others.
This is the finished “Weather Information Netbook” mounted on the wall in our living room.
I was told by the Wife I could do this “if there were not cords hanging everywhere”.
Well, they aren’t everywhere…
Our January meeting featured a presentation from Theo, KK6YYZ. Theo’s presentation included a slideshow that illustrated the installation of a home emergency power generator and he went over all the various considerations necessary for proper installation. His presentation was also punctuated by some lively discussion on electrical equipment grounding, electrical codes, and other good questions.
You can listen to the audio part of the presentation below:
Post expires at 11:12am on Friday February 12th, 2016 but will still be available in the archives.
For the first Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club meeting of the year, the January 15, 2016 meeting will be a good one! One of our own members, in fact one of our Board members, Theo Howe, KK6YYZ, a local electrician by trade, will be giving us a wonderful presentation on “Installing a Home Generator system.”
Theo will be explaining:
How to choose a system with features that are right for you
Correctly sizing your Generator
Permitting and Covenants
Can I install this myself or do I need an electrician mckinney texas to sort this out?
Choosing fuel type
Interconnecting with your home electrical system
There will be a Question and Answer period with Theo and Al Soenke, WA6VNN, a Past President of SBARC and one of Theo’s customers, who can speak from experience and will give valuable insight from the owner’s perspective.
Our Club meetings are held at the Goleta Union School District, 401 N. Fairview Ave. in Goleta, right across the street from the Goleta Library. Doors open at 7:00 PM and the meeting starts at 7:30 PM. Bring a guest. Join SBARC or re-join SBARC. If your membership expired at the end of the year, this is the time to renew it for another full year of Amateur Radio fun! You may join or re-join SBARC by downloading the Membership Application or by filling one out at the meeting. Our annual dues are still only $24 per year.
Post expires at 11:51pm on Friday January 15th, 2016 but will still be available in the archives.
