What is S.I.G. Night? by Darryl Widman, KF6DI

OK, what is a S.I.G? Funny you should ask. A S.I.G. simply is a Special Interest Group. And what might that be? Well, in Amateur Radio, it is just a bunch of hams who enjoy a particular part of this great hobby.

Some are CW hounds. Others love operating QRP (very low power). Transmitter Hunting attracts thousands of hams all over the world. There is Mountain Topping -- climbing up to the highest point you can in order to make distant VHF or UHF contacts -- even by microwaves. Others keep trying to gain yet one more grid square -- a radio contact with someone in a rectangular area of the world described by its longitudinal and latitudinal boundaries.

There are circuit designers and "tinkerers" who are happiest working in their "design labs." There are kit builders out there. Lots of these folks have built the Heathkits of years gone by just to sell them to others. They love building. There are those who are up to speed in the digital world, when it comes to Amateur Radio. Then there are those who actually bounce signals off the face of the moon. Amateur Television or ATV is for those who want to see each other on the radio. The Amateur Radio Emergency Service attracts a great many hams who want to help out with emergency communications.

What is your favorite part of Amateur Radio? Well, if you come to the November club meeting of the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club on the 17th, you might see some of these guys (and gals) and what they find most interesting. S.I.G. Night is where they bring their favorite stuff to our club meeting and show it off to you. Want to see what is going on out there? Want to find something interesting to do in this great hobby of ours? Come to our club meeting. It starts at 7:30 PM, but come earlier and get a look at things as they're being set up.

If you are one of these lucky hams who has a particular favorite part of Amateur Radio, come to this meeting and bring along some of your stuff and show it off. Many will be interested to see it. I know I will.

We meet at the Goleta Union School District, 401 N. Fairview Ave., right across the street from the Goleta Library.

This will be our last meeting of the year and in addition to S.I.G. Night, we will be electing our new board of directors for 2007. There will be a "Free to Good Home" table, too. This would be the perfect time for you to come and join the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club and get ready for a great year of fun.