Technical Mentoring and Elmering Net – June 25, 2015

By | |
Leave a comment

The timestamps below are best followed by downloading the Mp3 file here and listening with Windows Media Player.

The Technical Mentoring and Elmering net on Thursday, June 25th had 10 check-ins plus net control Dave (K6HWN). There were no questions waiting this evening so Shackmaster Dave kicked in his professional net control skills and brought up a discussion regarding circulators which are deployed in repeater systems. In loosely explained terms a circulator keeps unwanted signals from being transmitted over the repeater and are routed to a dummy load where they are dissipated. Please listen here to a very interesting discussion here starting at 12:20 on the Windows Media Player time stamp.

Tune in to the SBARC Technical Mentoring and Elmering Net next Thursday at 8:00 PM or 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 Technical Mentoring and Elmering net each week and join in with questions and /or answers to and contribute the knowledge of new and seasoned amateur radio operators alike.

Quadcopters and Repeaters

By | |
1 Comment
IMG_1222

Haydn – KK6OYV

Haydn KK6OYV might be one of our youngest members, but he is way ahead of the rest of us in bringing the true spirit of “homebrew” to the hobby. Last year, Levi K6LCM launched his DJI quadcopter in the club station parking lot with a small “store and forward” repeater attached. That repeater would hear a transmission, store it and rebroadcast it. It was an interesting experiment and after getting used to the delay, was a lot of fun.

Haydn took this experiment way further. He incorporated a fully functioning lightweight cross-band repeater designed by Bob KK6EYV, and he built the quadcopter from scratch using various components he found afters hours of research. The quad’s frame is strong and and durable and the motors were selected for weight and performance. It lacks the sophisticated electronics and GPS capability that high end quads like those from DJI have, but is more than makes up for that in power. It can climb to 400 feet in just a few seconds and Haydn’s piloting skills more than compensate for the electronics in the DJI that make those machines easy to fly.

IMG_1230Haydn suspends the small repeater from about 8 feet of fishing line below the quadcopter. The repeater dangles a length of wire that acts as the antenna. The repeater itself runs off a 9 volt battery. This is a big improvement over the original 12 volt design from last year. It has squelch and other adjustments on board that allows Haydn to fine tune the circuits, almost literally, on the fly.

It actually works! Speech is clearly audible the repeater performance is just as you would expect from a repeater. We had some issues with interference so work will continue to find frequencies that work best. Haydn’s great ideas don’t sit idle on the workbench. He builds them and makes them work. For him, the sky’s the limit.

Post expires at 5:23pm on Tuesday August 4th, 2015 but will still be available in the archives.

SBARC Participates in Field Day – SB Independent Article

By | |
Leave a comment

IMG_1193_r320x200Story and Photo by Michael Stout -Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Late last month, the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club (SBARC) took part in the annual “Field Day” contest, using their technical skills to make radio contact with stations worldwide.

 Volunteers cycled through different positions inside the club’s station — identified by its Federal Communications Commission (FCC) call sign, K6TZ — in an attempt to establish contact with as many different places as possible. Contacting the maximum number of stations is one of the two main goals of Field Day. In total, SBARC made 91 contacts on 40-, 20-, and 15-meter bands. Read the full article at the Santa Barbara Independent site.

Post expires at 1:35am on Saturday August 15th, 2015 but will still be available in the archives.

Free – Hammarlund SP-600 Receiver

By | |
Leave a comment

This Hammarlund SP-600 is a 1950’s vintage military quality receiver using vacuum tube technology.  This receiver is well know for its sensitivity and covers 55 Khz to 54 Mhz AM and CW (Can receive SSB).

The radio is in very poor condition and will need a lot of TLC to get it working.  A good project for someone who likes to refurbish high quality older gear.

This radio is being offered for free to a good home.

Contact Darryl, KF6DI, kf6di@sbarc.org or by phone at 805-969-2326.

Viva La Fiesta

By | |
Leave a comment

It’s that time again and Rick is looking for interested HAM Operators who wish to participate in the Fiesta Parade and then the ever so famous post parade Bar-B-Que. You have your choice of two tickets to the Rodeo OR the meal at the BBQ.  The parade is on Friday, August 7th and it starts at noon.  If you are interested please let Rick know as soon as you can.  He is running behind on organizing this because of so many events going on in such a short period of time. This has always been the fun event so we hope you can join in the fun.

Contact: Rick Whitaker at rickwhtr@cox.net

Also, the Santa Barbara Triathlon is coming on August 22, so please keep your schedule open to help if you can!

Help Requested for Carpinteria High School Ham Radio Program

By | |
Leave a comment

Cynthia McAlexander – May 1, 2015 – With your help, ham radio may be coming to Carpinteria High School! I met with the Carpinteria High School Principal, Gerardo Cornejo, on April 21, 2015 to propose the introduction of Ham Radio to the students. Mr. Cornejo was supportive of the effort and related that a Ham Radio club or after school program could be established on campus.

To register a group as an official Carpinteria High School club, a presentation must be made to the student body at an all school assembly that is usually held at the end of September. Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club members could introduce our programs and give interested students a tour of the Rover. The Student Council must vote to accept a club.

SBARC may also register to be an after school program. Several classrooms are set aside for the afterschool program, which runs from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM. There is also a teacher coordinator who works with various programs to set hours and use resources.

Mr. Cornejo is interested in ham radio and appreciates the value of a network of radio operators for community service and emergency/disaster situations.

Club members have until September of this year to set goals for the school program, design the program and implementation and plan staffing. Please e-mail or call me with your ideas and a few meeting times in June. Thank you for your help!

Cynthia McAlexander, KK6BZU – hamradios@mail.com – 805-684-1418

Upcoming Ventura County ARES / Public Service Events

By | |
Leave a comment

The Ventura folks are always supportive and help out with Santa Barbara special events. Here’s our opportunity to help them! They have several events coming up later this summer and in the fall, and they have extended the invitation to all of us here to come down and participate!

Upcoming Ventura County ARES / Public Service Events

9 August – Arroyo-Simi Half-Marathon – Steve King KE6WEZ is calling for volunteers;  Aid Station / Check-point communications.  Contact Steve / KE6WEZ at ke6wez@gmail.com

22-23 August – Wings Over Camarillo Airshow – Civil / Private aircraft airshow, WWII Warbirds; we provide safety eyes and ears for the event organizers.  See http://wingsovercamarillo.com/  contact Ted / KI6PTX at ki6ptx@arrl.net

12-13 Sept – Ventura-Hueneme Marathon – 3rd year running of the Pier to Pier Marathon and Bike Ride – see http://www.venturamarathon.com  — contact Stewart / KG6BOV at kg6bov@arrl.net  — Normally need 40 operators for this event

7 Nov – New event – Red Cross fundraiser Bike Ride  Operation: Ride for the Red! This bike ride is a fundraiser and proceeds will go to support Red Cross Services to the Armed Forces.  This ride is a 30 mile (50K) / 50 mile / 100 mile that starts and finishes at the Red Cross in Camarillo with loops through TO; Moorpark, Saticoy, Ventura, Oxnard, Hueneme and Camarillo.  contact Stewart / KG6BOV kg6bov@arrl.net  — Expect to need about 40 operators for this event