AN LJ25 CLIMBING VFR WITH NO TCAS HAD AN NMAC WITH A CITATION AT 13000 FT.

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WE DEPARTED MCC ON RWY 16 VFR USING 122.975 FOR CTAF. AFTER DEP; WHILE CLBING; WE REQUESTED OUR IFR CLRNC TO SBP FROM NORCAL ON 127.4. WE WERE TOLD TO CONTACT NORCAL ON ANOTHER FREQ. WE MADE CONTACT; AND WERE ADVISED 'STAND BY.' WE WERE SQUAWKING 1200. WE CONTINUED OUR VFR CLB AND MAINTAINED A HDG OF APPROX 160 DEGS; WHICH WAS RWY HDG AND CLOSE TO THE ON COURSE HDG FOR SBP. WE HEARD RADIO CONVERSATIONS BTWN NORCAL AND A CITATION AT 13000 FT AS WE WERE BTWN 10000 FT AND 12000 FT; CLBING. FROM THE CTLR'S CALLS TO THE CITATION; WE WERE UNABLE TO CALCULATE OUR RELATIVE POS SINCE WE DID NOT KNOW THE HDG OF THE CITATION. WE SLOWED OUR RATE OF CLB AND BOTH MYSELF AND MY COPLT SCANNED OUTSIDE VISUALLY WITHOUT SUCCESS. FLT CONDITIONS WERE CAVU AT THE TIME. SHORTLY THEREAFTER WE HEARD THE CITATION PLT RPT A NEAR-MISS WITH A LEARJET; WHICH WE REALIZED MUST HAVE BEEN US. THERE WAS NO FURTHER COM WITH NORCAL OTHER THAN ROUTINE IFR CLRNC. WE NEVER SAW THE OTHER ACFT; ALTHOUGH FOR A SHORT TIME PRIOR TO THE CONFLICT WE THOUGHT WE HAD ACQUIRED THE TFC; BUT IT WAS A B737. OUR ACFT IS NOT EQUIPPED WITH TCAS WHICH WOULD HAVE MADE THIS SITUATION MUCH SAFER. THE OTHER ACFT APPARENTLY HAD TCAS AND REPORTEDLY TOOK EVASIVE ACTION. THE OTHER PLT HAS FILED AN NMAC REPORT. WE NEVER RECEIVED A TFC CALL FROM NORCAL; ALTHOUGH WE BELIEVED WE WERE IN RADIO COM WITH THE APPROPRIATE FACILITY AND WERE BEING OBSERVED ON RADAR. IF WE HAD DEPARTED IFR WE WOULD HAVE BEEN CTLED AND CONFLICT WOULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED. HOWEVER; THIS IS NOT ALWAYS POSSIBLE OR DESIRABLE. I WILL BE MORE LIKELY TO DEPART IFR IN THE FUTURE AFTER THIS EVENT EVEN WHEN IT IS 'CLR AND A MILLION.' BUT WHAT DOES THAT SAY ABOUT THE SAFETY OF VFR FLT? THAT WE SHOULDN'T DO IT? SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 732748: WE WERE LEVEL AT 13000 FT FLYING FROM SMF TO MRN TALKING TO NORCAL ON AN IFR FLT PLAN. WE WERE GIVEN DIRECT TO MODESTO. I NOTICED A TARGET ON THE TCAS 1500 FT BELOW AND CLOSING ON OUR POS. I CHANGED THE TCAS RANGE TO ITS LOWEST DISTANCE TO TRACK THIS TARGET. ON MY NEXT SCAN; I SAW THAT HE WAS NOW 500 FT BELOW AND STILL CLOSING ON OUR POS. I INCREASED MY SCAN OUT THE WINDOW WHEN SUDDENLY MY FO YELLED A WARNING AND I SAW A LEARJET ABOUT 100 FT OFF OUR R RING AND CLBING RAPIDLY. I INSTINCTIVELY BROKE OFF L AND DOWN. I TOLD NORCAL ABOUT THE NEAR MISS AND ASKED WHY THEY NEVER TOLD US ABOUT THE ACFT. I THEN HEARD THIS ACFT TALKING TO THEM; BUT DID NOT MENTION THE INCIDENT. I SPOKE TO NORCAL LATER IN THE DAY OVER THE PHONE AND 2 DIFFERENT PEOPLE APOLOGIZED TO ME FOR THE INCIDENT. APPARENTLY; THE LEAR WAS VFR AND TALKING TO THEM FOR ADVISORIES BUT THEY NEVER TOLD THEM ABOUT US NOR US ABOUT THEM. DUE TO THEIR POS BELOW AND BEHIND US THERE WAS NO WAY TO ACQUIRE THE ACFT VISUALLY EVEN IF THEY HAD TOLD US. ONLY THE TCAS WARNED ME OF HIS POS AND SINCE WE ONLY HAVE TCAS 1 THERE WAS NO RA. OBVIOUSLY; THE LEAR CREW WAS NOT LOOKING OUT THE WINDOW NOR WATCHING THEIR TCAS IF THEY HAD IT TURNED ON. THE ERRORS HERE ARE BY THE AIR TFC CTLR NOT TELLING US OF HIS EXISTENCE AND THE LEAR CREW NOT LOOKING OUT HIS WINDOW; ESPECIALLY AT A FAIRLY LOW ALT IN A VERY CONGESTED AIRSPACE.