SBARC director joins ARISS Education Committee

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Levi C. Maaia to serve on Amateur Radio on the International Space Station U.S. Education Committee

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SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. – The Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club has announced that Levi C. Maaia, a member of its board of directors and a Ph.D. candidate at UC Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, has been named to the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) U.S. Education Committee.

The ARISS program provides learning opportunities by connecting students to astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) through a partnership between NASA, the American Radio Relay League, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation and other Amateur Radio organizations and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe.  The program’s goal is to inspire students in the US and worldwide, to pursue interests and careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) through Amateur Radio.

Levi C. Maaia, K6LCM

Levi C. Maaia, K6LCM

Maaia is a telecommunications executive and a former K-12 educator.  He earned his first Amateur Radio license in 2006 and presently holds an FCC General Class license K6LCM.  Maaia’s research at UC Santa Barbara has focused on STEM education in high school settings. He and his students at Anacapa School in Santa Barbara, contacted Astronaut Chris Cassidy during his stay aboard the ISS in 2013 via a scheduled ARISS radio contact (see video).

“I am thrilled to join ARISS’s inspiring team of engineers, educators and innovators which has supported more than 1,100 contacts directly between students and astronauts,” said Maaia.  “ARISS provides incredible and inspirational experiences and is an important part of the space program’s educational outreach.”

The ARISS-US Education Committee provides guidance on the educational aspects of the program. A few more educators will be named to the committee; those interested may write to k1sto@arrl.org.  Schools and other educational organizations may apply to host a scheduled contact with the ISS by visiting www.ariss.org.

SBARC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit public benefit corporation organized to promote education for persons interested in radio telecommunications, to disseminate information about scientific discoveries and progress in the field, and to train communicators for public service and emergency communications. SBARC operates a wide-area network of analog and digital communications systems across Santa Barbara County and encourages and sponsors experiments in electronics while promoting the highest standards of practice and ethics in the conduct of communications.

Media Contact:
Levi C. Maaia, Director at Large
Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club

For Sale – Ten Tec Omni VII HF Transceiver

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We have a Ten Tec Omni VII HF transceiver for sale at the club station. These are highly sought after radios and you will seldom see one on eBay or anywhere else. When they are available, they are priced in the $1200 – $1400 range. This is solidly built in the USA and extremely clean. The radio has optional filters installed as well as an upgraded fan.

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Stop by the club station on Saturdays between 9-12 am and take a look. We are offering this at the bargain price of $900 and the proceeds benefit the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club.

You can also send an email to the webmaster or call us at 805-456-K6TZ (456-5689)

 

 

 

For Free – QST Magazine Collection

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The family of a silent key donated a full set of QST magazines dating back to the 1960’s. We have them down at the club station and they are free to a good home. This collection was lovingly maintained by another ham for over 50 years. This is a one of a kind find for anyone wanting to start a collection or supplement their own.

There are six boxes of magazines and we don’t have the room to store them. We will keep them until May 15th and if no one wants them we will have to git rid of them. Don’t let them fade into oblivion!

Post expires at 8:38am on Tuesday May 16th, 2017 but will still be available in the archives.

General Club Meeting – April 21, 2017

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Arduino and Raspberry Pi

Arduino and Raspberry Pi

If you are a regular participant or lurker to the Digital Communications Net on Tuesday evenings, you have probably heard us talk regularly about using micro-computers and micro-controllers like the Raspberry Pi and Arduino and other similar development boards. These capable little devices can do all kinds of interesting things that you can use in amateur radio, home automation, environmental monitoring, or just for general learning. An official Raspberry Pi or Arduino typically sells for about $35, but other options are available for as little as $5!

This month we’re going to try to take some of the mystery out of using these devices and Brian K6BPM is going to explain how these devices work, what you can do with them, and how easy it is to get started. We’ll show you many of the boards currently available and even some that are not yet available to the general public. We’ll also show you how we use these with our mesh network and infrastructure. You’ll find out how to take your home brew projects to an entirely new level. We hope you can make it!

We hold SBARC 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. Bring a guest and put the date on your calendar.

Post expires at 1:00am on Saturday April 22nd, 2017 but will still be available in the archives.

Technical Mentoring and Elmering Net – 3/23/2017

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The audio archive of this net can best be followed by downloading the .mp3 file for the appropriate date here and listening with the media player of your choice. You can move the progress slider forward or backward to the subject of interest to you.

We had another good net tonight with 9 check-ins plus net control, Garrett, AG6RQ and some chat room visitors! Tonight’s subjects included:

  • Why do we have transmit power limits in ham radio and why does it vary by band?
  • RTL/SDR dongles, can you create a true SDR radio using one or would there be limitations? Other uses or RTL/SDR dongles.
  • SDR Play RSP2

Tune in to the SBARC TM&E Net every Thursday at 8:00 PM local (2000 Hrs) and see what interesting questions will arise or ask some of your own! All club members and visitors are encouraged to check in to the net each week and join in with questions and /or answers to and contribute the knowledge of new and seasoned amateur radio operators alike.