Welcome to the Benicia Amateur Radio Club Website

The Benicia Amateur Radio Club (BARC) is a very active group of Ham Radio operators with emphasis on Emergency Communications.

The Club conducts classes and accredited exams throughout the year. If you’re interested in taking a beginning Ham Radio Class, please sign up by contacting info@BeniciaARC.com.

BARC also participates in Field Day every June and conducts communications training and Emergency Radio exercises throughout the year.

Located in Benicia, California, on the north side of the Carquinez Straits by the San Francisco Bay, BARC operates the EOC Ham Radio station KB6EOC in the Emergency Operations Center in the main Fire Station.

BARC’s two UHF repeaters (KR6BEN) are at an elevation of 600 feet above Benicia.

Frequencies:
Primary: 442.750 MHz (PL 100 HZ)
Secondary: 441.250 MHz (PL 100 HZ)

The BARC has a weekly Net at 7:30 PM local time every Monday evening usually on the Primary repeater. On the last Monday of the month, the net is conducted on the secondary repeater.

The Club meets the Second Tuesday of the Month in the downtown Fire Station at 150 West Military St, Benicia, at 7:30 PM. Enter via the West 2nd Street side door. Guests are welcomed.

Who and What We Are

The Benicia Amateur Radio Club (BARC) is a very active group of Ham Radio operators based in the City of Benicia, CA, with a slant towards Emergency Communications. BARC partners with the Benicia Fire Department and the Benicia Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). Our members are quite diversified, with interests in HF, Contesting, CW, Satellites, DFing, Antenna building, USS Hornet, Scout training, IRLP/Echolink, Conducting Classes & Exams, Nets, Emcomm, Packet, Raspberry Pi, HSMM MESH, and much more.

Working under the umbrella of the Benicia Fire Department and the Solano County Sheriff Office’s Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS) organization, many of our members possess Sheriff Dept issued ACS identification cards and/or Fire Department issued Disaster Service Worker (DSW) ID cards.

Net Operations

BARC has a weekly Net at 7:30 PM local time every Monday evening generally on the Primary repeater (442.750, PL:100). The net shifts to the Secondary repeater (441.250, PL:100) on the last Monday of the month. Members of our Club participate in the California Emergency Rescue HF net on 7250 kHz weekday mornings.

Meetings

The Club meets on the Second Tuesday of the Month in the downtown Fire Station at 150 Military West, Benicia, at 7:00 PM. Entry is via the West 2nd Street side door. Each meeting consists of a business meeting and either a guest speaker presentation, a training session, mini-drill or even a transmitter hunt has popped up time to time. The Club does not meet in December as the annual party is held in its place.

Repeaters

BARC’s two UHF repeaters (KR6BEN) are at an elevation of 600 feet above Benicia and can operate for days on the diesel powered generator at the repeater site during power outages.

Frequencies

• Primary: 442.750 MHz (PL 100 Hz) + Offset
• Secondary: 441.250 MHz (PL 100 Hz) + Offset
• FM Simplex: 146.550 MHz (No PL)

Should both repeaters be inoperative, use Simplex on the Primary Repeater’s output frequency: 442.750 MHz (PL 100 Hz).

Packet Digipeater, KR6BEN

• 145.730 MHz
• Connect via: BENNOD

Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Ham Station (KB6EOC)

BARC operates the EOC Ham Radio station KB6EOC in the Emergency Operations Center in the downtown Fire Station. This station has multiple VHF/UHF operator positions, a packet station on 145.730 MHz (KB6EOC-1), D-Star digital and D-Star and FM on 1.2 GHz.

Echolink and IRLP Nodes

Internet connectivity is available via the secondary repeater, KR6BEN, on 441.250, PL:100.

• IRLP node # 7405
• Echolink node # 809965

Deployable Stations

The Club also has four deployable GoKits on wheels. Three are VHF/UHF stations and one is HF/VHF/UHF. Tripod mounted antennas are easily deployable, including an 18 foot tall All-Band Buddipole Deluxe HF antenna system and DXCC and G5RV dipoles. All GoKits are operable “off the grid” using high capacity gel cell batteries, solar chargers or a 6KW gasoline powered generator. These GoKits can be quickly configured to operate as “Cross-band Repeaters” should the Primary and Secondary repeaters be lost in a disaster.

The Club also has an Icom HF Station and Fan Dipole Antenna available as a loaner to any Club member (upon Board approval).

Elmers

BARC is proud of its Mentoring program. Mentors, called “Elmers” by Ham Operators, are ready to provide guidance to its members. Whether it’s solving antenna challenges, programming an HT, studying to upgrade, or maybe simply learning how to solder, just drop a request to elmer@BeniciaARC.com for assistance. With the combined years of experience of our veterans well into the hundreds, BARC’s Elmers are ready to help.

Exams and Licensing Classes

Teams of BARC Accredited Volunteer Examiners (VE) are certified by both the ARRL and W5YI VEC’s. Ham Radio Exam sessions are conducted quarterly. An email to info@BeniciaARC.com will advise you of upcoming Exams or Licensing Classes.

Field Day and Drills & Exercises

The Club also participates annually in Field Day, generally at the Benicia State Recreation Area, where multiple HF portable stations participate in the ARRL’s 24 hour emergency test and contest. Amateurs of any license class are invited to operate under the supervision of an Extra Class control operator. Unlicensed guests are also welcome and given the opportunity to operate one of the radios under these same guidelines.

BARC also conducts Emergency Radio drills throughout the year. These training exercises allow our members to test their communications equipment and practice their skills and procedures.

Membership and Elections

Dues are $25 annually. Membership runs from April 1st through March 31. New members joining between Jan 1 and March 31st will receive membership through March 31st of the following year. Family membership is included so those with multiple Hams in the family only need to pay a single $25 fee. Membership is not a requirement for participation but is encouraged.

BARC Contact Information

Email: info@BeniciaARC.com
Mailing address: PO Box 561, Benicia, CA 94510, USA