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03-28-2026 - 5:45 AM - Good Morning! It’s Saturday, and there is a “hamfest” (swapfest) in Altus, Oklahoma, this morning that I forgot about. I didn’t plan to attend, but I know several local Amateur (ham) Radio Operators are going. I did attend last year. That might have been the last hamfest I'll ever attend. I never have anything to sell, and I’m usually not looking for new equipment. Or, used equipment, for that matter. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready!
--- 5:50 AM - NWS Forecast - Today: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 59. Northeast wind 7 to 9 mph becoming south in the afternoon. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 45. South wind 8 to 10 mph.
--- 5:55 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 80.6% Kemp: 94.0% Kickapoo: 82.3%. Monitored Water Supply Reservoirs are 86.7% full. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (81.45%) to determine drought stage.
--- 6:00 AM - ERCOT (Texas) snapshot of grid conditions - ERCOT reports that conditions are normal and there is enough power for current demand with an operating reserve of 14.290 Megawatts.
--- 6:05 AM - NWS Short Range Weather Discussion
--- 6:10 AM - NWS Extended Range Weather Discussion
--- 6:25 AM - Some local weekend radio scanning targets: Walmart (154.570 MHz), Allred Unit (153.815 MHz), Wichita County Jail (155.520 MHz), State Hospital (154.800 MHz) city transit buses (453.5375 MHz), Wichita Valley Airport (122.800 MHz), Kickapoo Airport (122.700 MHz), Wichita Falls Regional Airports / SAFB (119.750 & 122.950 MHz), FAA ATC Fort Worth Center (132.925 MHz), and the BNSF Railroad (160.920 MHz). MORE!
--- 6:30 AM - I’m not what you would call a “gun nut”, since my armory consists of two handguns. I am proficient with handguns, and I’ve been “packing heat” since I was 19 years old. A few years ago, on a “spur of the moment” thing, my wife and I travelled to Mr. Guns in Plano, Texas, where we fired the M240 machine gun. My intention was to fire the M60, since I had fired it in the Army, but it malfunctioned after just three rounds. That’s when we moved to the M240. They have many weapons in their rental inventory if you’re looking for a fun day trip!
--- 6:55 AM - Now is the time to get your Hobby Radio station up and running. These days, it’s not unreasonable to imagine being the “information center” on your block, or an even larger area, when there are cell phone and Internet “difficulties” due to a “SHTF” event.
--- 7;13 AM - Someone just "kerchunked" (keyed up) the 147.140, 146.940, and 444.000 MHz repeaters. Well, I guess their radio, and the repeaters, and functioning normally.
--- 7:15 AM - I have the President McKinley CB Radio on 40-channel scan, and the band is coming alive with traffic on - you guessed it - Channel 6, the "superbowl" of CB Radio. And who is opening Channel 6? You guessed it - "147" in Jamaica! I don't know how much power this guy is running, but I've heard him "cut the lips" off stations here in Wichita Falls.
--- 9:00 AM - When I look at an Amateur (ham) Radio club's list of officers, I often see President, Vice President, Treasurer, Parliamentarian, and Secretary. What I've never seen is a position called Director of Marketing, and that's all I have to say about that.
--- 10:30 AM - I have just returned from a trip to United Market Street for some House Smoked Turkey Breast, and some Manchego Sheep Cheese, Pecan Shed for some "Pawnee" pecans, and United on Old Iowa Park Road, where I gassed up the car at $3.899/gallon for whatever the mid-grade selection is called.
---12:46 PM - I contacted a station in Terry Badlands BLM Wilderness Area (US-12631) in Montana on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program. The contact was made in spite of the jammer's best efforts! Yes, it happens in Ham Radio, too!
--- 4:20 PM - Someone is retransmitting the Maritime Mobile Service Net (14.300 MHz USB) on 146.580 FM simplex. I don’t know who is doing this, or why. I’m not complaining, just a little puzzled. Maybe they’ll give a call sign before long. Also, someone is either jamming the net or rudely tuning up over the net.
--- 8:00 PM - I have yet to hear any Hobby Radio traffic that I can positively say came from the semi-new Crossroads Luxury RV Park at U.S. 287 and Loop 11, the loop that doesn’t loop. It’ll happen one of these days. The radio traffic, not Loop 11 looping. That'll never happen.
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03-27-2027 - 6:15 AM - Good Morning! It’s Friday, and the weather forecast calls for a teaser amount of rainfall. We need more than that to get us in good shape for the long, hot summer. Our local school bus drivers are preparing to pick up and deliver kids. This afternoon, they’ll pick up those kids who will be all wound up in anticipation of the weekend. Good luck, drivers! Tune in to the school buses at 152.360 MHz on your scanner radio. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready!
--- 6:20 AM - NWS Forecast - Today: A chance of sprinkles with a slight chance of showers before 1pm, then a chance of sprinkles between 1pm and 4pm. Increasing clouds, with a high near 64. Windy, with a north northeast wind 10 to 15 mph increasing to 21 to 26 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 40 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Tonight: Cloudy, with a low around 48. Northeast wind 17 to 22 mph decreasing to 10 to 15 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 33 mph.
--- 6:25 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 80.8% Kemp: 95.0% Kickapoo: 83.0%. Monitored Water Supply Reservoirs are 86.2% full. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (81.90%) to determine drought stage.
--- 6:30 AM - ERCOT (Texas) snapshot of grid conditions - ERCOT reports that conditions are normal and there is enough power for current demand with an operating reserve of 12,372 Megawatts.
--- 6:40 AM - NWS Short Range Weather Discussion
--- 6:45 AM - NWS Extended Range Weather Discussion
--- 7:00 AM - Some Wichita Falls radio scanning targets: Walmart (154.570 MHz), Allred Unit (153.815 MHz), Wichita County Jail (155.520 MHz), State Hospital (154.800 MHz) city transit buses (453.5375 MHz), WFISD school buses (152.360 MHz), school handheld radios (151.940 MHz), Wichita Valley Airport (122.800 MHz), Kickapoo Airport (122.700 MHz), Wichita Falls Regional Airport / SAFB (119.750 & 122.950 MHz), FAA ATC Fort Worth Center (132.925 MHz), and the BNSF Railroad (160.920 MHz). MORE!
---8:00 AM - FEMA Daily Operations Briefing
--- 8:55 AM - I've had the President McKinley CB Radio on a 40-channel scan, and it's been mostly quiet for the last hour. The only station I've heard is that loud guy in Jamaica on Channel 6, the "superbowl" of CB Radio. If you're a CBer, you know who I'm talking about. The band will be busy this afternoon, depending on the Sun's mood. While the CB Radio band is making up its mind, I’ll go back to the CW (Morse code) portion of the 20-meter Amateur (ham) Radio band.
--- 4:50 PM - What I believe are workers at a nearby construction site are using some Roger Beep-infected Family Radio Service handheld radios. I will admit that I'm not a fan of roger beeps. I know some say they help identify the end of a transmission, and that could be helpful under some circumstances. My issue is that "some circumstances" are too few to justify the annoyance during "everyday" use. Your opinion on roger beeps might be the opposite of mine. Some folks might love them.
--- 8:00 PM - There was a VHF net on 146.580 FM simplex that might have begun at 7:30 PM. It might have started earlier. I heard a few area Amateur (ham) Radio operators check in, but I could not hear the Net Control Station. At this time, I won’t be able to add it to the list.