I'm just curious how many people here graduated from Cal Poly? For myself, I graduated in 1971 in ME. Does SBARC have any similar goals for getting people involved? I raise the question because I have not heard of any similar activities through SBARC.
I think one of the outside spark plugs for doing this was alumnis Marcel Stieber, AI6MS who was also partly responsible for the Campus ARDF hunts myself and others used to put on for a number of years through the CalPoly ARC.
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Cal Poly Amateur Radio Club Achieves 2,000th License Milestone
In a computer science classroom on the California Polytechnic State University campus in San Luis Obispo, iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens, KO6ABA, became the 2,000th licensee of the Cal Poly Amateur Radio Club (CPARC), W6BHZ, on May 23, 2023. CPARC provides a straightforward way for students and community members to take their FCC amateur radio license exam, thereby giving access to the amateur radio frequencies. This milestone reflects the club's commitment to introducing people to the hobby since the licensing team's formation in 2009.
Kyle, a Cal Poly alumnus, was joined by various members of the iFixit staff for the exam. The collaboration originated from a community repair cafe hosted at iFixit HQ a few weeks prior. After learning of the approaching landmark, Kyle expressed immediate interest in being the 2,000th licensee.
CPARC officers Mathew Shaham, KM6WIU, and Hunter Herring-Alderate, KN6RJA, provided a lightning review session for the members of the iFixit team before the exam. In short form, this mimicked the comprehensive Ham-Cram review session offered by CPARC at the start of the fall quarter. The crash course speeds applicants through the question pool, offering connections and explanations for the material.
As the culminating session of the year, the push to reach 2,000 licensees was at a peak. Abbi Outcalt, KN6SOT, Lab Manager for the Cal Poly CubeSat Laboratory, played an instrumental role in recruitment. CubeSat uses the amateur radio band to communicate with satellites developed by the group on campus. In conjunction with an expansion to the ground station team, CubeSat members expanded the test manifest to 28 prospective applications.
The session marked the largest group of the year and was proctored by seven of CPARC's Volunteer Examiners. Volunteer Examiners are certified radio operators who volunteer their time to help license others into the hobby. Alumnus Marcel Stieber, AI6MS, served as session liaison, working closely with student lead Andrew Fahey, KN6FIJ, to coordinate the exam.
CPARC's licensing powerhouse exploded with Dr. Dennis Derickson's, AC0P, Freshman Licensing Initiative that was started in 2011. Up until 2022, when the FCC began issuing a fee for new licenses, the initiative provided class credit in the introductory course, Electrical Engineering E-111, for obtaining an amateur radio license. The effort gave new electrical engineering students a preview of topics covered in further classes. It also afforded students a practical outlet for skills, participating in things from radio contesting to volunteer communications support for events. At the peak of the initiative, CPARC licensed more than 100 operators in one 50-minute class period.
The licensing team traces origins back to Marcel; John Chen, KI6QDF, and Garrett Dong, KI6YML, in 2009. Noticing the difficulty at the time to get licensed as a student, they reached out to community members John Portune, W6NBC, and Milton Davis, AI6MD. Since that point, CPARC has provided over 55 exam sessions to the campus and San Luis Obispo communities.
"It's a big milestone," Marcel said. "Most exam teams do not make it to license number 2,000. I am proud to support the students running these exam sessions." As the last papers were graded, the scores came in: most students passed, in addition to every member of the iFixit crew.
About CPARC
Founded in 1947, the Cal Poly Amateur Radio Club has a long tradition of communications service on campus and in the San Luis Obispo community. The club maintains Emergency Communications Center No. 16 on the Cal Poly Campus for the San Luis Obispo Emergency Communications Council (SLOECC.org), which is equipped with emergency power and radio equipment to support various public safety agencies in the event of a disaster. More information about the club can be found at www.w6bhz.org.
For more information, contact calpolyradioclub@gmail.com.
By Michael Mazzola, KN6RJK