RadioMan763™
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05-18-2026 - Good Morning! It’s Monday, and it looks like we have rain in the forecast for the next several days. Now, I have to decide whether to mow the yard before the rain or wait until the rainy spell is over. I just don’t know. The local Wichita Amateur Radio Society will conduct a “swap net” on the club’s 147.140 MHz repeater at 7:00 PM this Wednesday. The net is for those who have Ham Radio equipment to buy, sell, or trade. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready.
--- 5:05 AM - NWS Forecast - Today: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms between 1pm and 4pm. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 92. Heat index values as high as 98. South wind 15 to 23 mph, with gusts as high as 34 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Tonight: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Mostly clear, with a low around 69. South wind 14 to 22 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
--- 5:20 AM - NWS Short Range Weather Discussion
--- 5:15 AM - NWS Extended Range Weather Discussion
--- 5:20 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 84.6% Kemp: 94.3% Kickapoo: 86.4%. Monitored Water Supply Reservoirs are 89.2% full. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (85.5%) to determine drought stage.
--- 5:25 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 14,420 Megawatts.
--- 5:35 AM - I've been getting my money's worth listening to our local WFISD school buses, and that's all I'm going to say about that. Well, other than encourage you to tune in at 152.360 MHz on your scanner radio.
--- 5:40 AM - The next time you find yourself at the north end of Ohio Avenue, cross over to the other side of the railroad tracks and walk across the long-closed Ohio Street Bridge. By the time you get to the north end, you'll realize that it's made of asphalt-covered wood!
--- 8:40 AM - FEMA Daily Operations Briefing
--- 8:45 AM - I haven't given it much thought, but a "tap code", as opposed to Morse code, would work quite well at the Allred Unit, our local maximum security prison, or any similar installation. All you have to do is circulate the cheat sheet to "selected" recipients and you're in business. Check Wikipedia for information on tap codes. See more Allred Unit Snippets.
--- 11:15 AM - In the 1977 Wichita Falls City Directory, there are 94 listings under the heading "Beauty Shops." I don't know how many there are in 2026, but it sounds like Wichita Falls has no excuse for a "bad hair" day. By the way, according to Wikipedia, in July 2023, Afghanistan mandated the closure of beauty salons nationwide within a month.
--- 3:00 PM - No radioing so far today. I mowed the lawn this morning in anticipation of any rain we might get. I've had the radios in the receive mode, but I have nothing earth-shattering to report on that front.
--- 5:35 PM - I sometimes wonder why Wichita Falls doesn't have, and never really has had, a Main Street. I'm not saying the street had to be named Main Street, but it would have been the focal point of downtown. Scott Avenue could have been a Main Street, but it's just a way to get through downtown as fast as possible. Indiana Avenue is probably the closest we'll ever get to a real Main Street, so maybe we should work to develop it.
--- 6:10 PM - In the early days of the Internet, a common saying directed at website designers and owners was: “If you have nothing to say, use Flash.” For Amateur (ham) Radio nets, if you have nothing to say, play Amateur Radio Newsline! I have nothing against Amateur Radio Newsline, but I can listen to that program anytime I want. What I want out of the net is original, need-to-know information related to the purpose of the net. I’m not saying anyone in the area is doing the newsline thing, but it has been done locally before, on a long-defunct net. As alway, opinions vary on this. Put yours on your journal (not social media) and I'll read it.
--- 6:15 PM - I hear a few members of what I call the "Local Group" "chewing the rag" on CB Radio Channel 23. Get a CB Radio and Tune in or join in. We need a few more groups like this. There are plenty of channels left!
--- 7:00 PM - In 2020, the Comanche County (Oklahoma) deputies, upon finding a man not on his best behavior in Lawton, drove him to our I-44 Walmart, where his bad behavior continued. There, he used a baseball bat to break the glass in a gun display case. He was arrested by Wichita Falls police. Question: Have we returned the favor? Also, did Walmart send the good sheriff a bill for damages? Also, did people in Lawton who expressed a desire to go to Texas line up at the Comanche County Sheriff's Office for a free ride? That would have been funny.
--- 9:00 PM - Do you remember the "He Ain't Here" bar in Wichita Falls? The phone rings, and the bartender picks up and says, "He ain't here". I don't remember if it was in that cluster of bars near Iowa Park Road and Sheppard Access Road, or on North Scott near the river. Either way, he wasn't there.