Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Station Will Allow Visitors To Experience California’s Unique Coastal Ecosystems

San Diego, California, October 10, 2021 – (PR.com) – California’s coastal islands are unique ecosystems with a rich maritime history, and wireless communications have played an important role in that history for more than a century. To help educate the public about these unique ecosystems, the Santa Cruz Island Foundation (SCIF) invited the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club (SBARC) to build an amateur radio station at the new Chrisman California Islands Center (CCIC) downtown. of Carpinteria, California. .

The station will be highlighted near the main entrance to the center. An interactive exhibit will provide an overview of amateur radio communications and the role amateur radio has played in the history of the islands.

When the station does not have radio operators, visitors to the center can interact with the station using a personalized touchscreen. This screen controls an interactive presentation about amateur radio and wireless technologies and their importance to sailors, aviators, scientists and explorers who visit the rugged islands off the California coast. The presentation includes a demonstration of the station’s AIS (ship), ADS-B (airplane), distress beacon (ELT / EPIRB) and amateur (APRS) stations. Webcams connected to the resort via the SBARC club’s microwave data network will give visitors a real-time snapshot of the island’s terrain. The presentation will also show how club members and researchers use the information and data collected.

Construction of the station was made possible by a grant of $ 35,550 from Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC). According to Levi Maaia, administrator of K6TZ, the station is scheduled to open in 2022.

About SBARC
The Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club (SBARC) is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit public benefit corporation whose mission is to promote the education of those interested in telecommunications, disseminate information about the discoveries science and advances in the field, and to train public service and emergency communications communicators. SBARC also encourages and sponsors experiments in electronics and promotes the highest standards of practice and ethics in the conduct of communications. Learn more about SBARC at https://www.sbarc.org.

About ARDC
Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) is a California-based foundation with roots in amateur radio and Internet communication technology. The organization began by managing the allocations of the AMPRnet address space, which is intended for licensed amateur radio operators worldwide. In addition, ARDC provides grants to projects and organizations that follow the practice and tradition of amateur radio technical experimentation in the area of ​​amateur radio and digital communication science. Such experimentation has led to vast advances for the benefit of the general public, such as mobile telephony and wireless Internet technology. ARDC envisions a world where all of these technologies are available through open source hardware and software, and where everyone has the ability to innovate on them. Learn more about ARDC at https://www.ampr.org.

For more information, contact:
Levi Maaia, K6LCM, Administrator K6TZ
805.604.5384, k6lcm@maaia.com
Dan Romanchik, KB6NU, ARDC Content Manager
734.930.6564, dan@ardc.net