WICHITA FALLS MAN
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CB Radio, Morse code, and Folgers Black Silk coffee. What else could a man need in beautiful Wichita Falls, Texas? Maybe a "Red Draw" at the BAR-L Drive In? As the late Oscar Gamble said, "They don't think it be like it is, but it do!" When you see news reports of "A Wichita Falls man..." that's usually not me.
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02-18-2026 - 5:30 AM - Good Morning! It’s Wednesday. The Clay County Amateur Radio Club net arrived on time last night, but I didn’t monitor the proceedings because an interesting conversation was underway on the local simplex frequency, 146.520 MHz. I have no real plans for today. I can’t find the correct socket I need to remove the anode rod from my water heater, so I had to order one online. When it arrives, I’ll flush the water heater and replace the anode rod. For now, my Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready.
--- 5:45 AM - NWS Forecast - Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 77. West wind 5 to 15 mph becoming south southwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 23 mph. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 52. South wind 11 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.
--- 6:00 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are as follows: Arrowhead: 82.7% Kemp: 98.4 Kickapoo: 84.9%. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (83.8%) to determine drought stage.
--- 6:15 AM - We must have a UHF "band opening" this morning because I'm listening to a conversation on a distant General Mobile Radio Service repeater on 462.5750 MHz. Tune in with your scanner radio. As far as I know, there is no GMRS repeater in or near Wichita Falls. I could be wrong. Either way, this one is distant. A GMRS license is required ($35 for 10 years), but there is no test involved. While we don't have a local repeater, we do have locals using the "simplex" (direct communications) GMRS frequencies. If the world goes dark, radio hobbyists will still be communicating.
--- 6:30 AM - Before our two new high schools opened, my wife and I toured the Legacy High School. We noticed the R.O.T.C. Instructor and asked him about the gun range. He responded that the school's plans did not include a range and that they had to travel to Hirschi to use the range there. I thought that was interesting. Unknown if one will be added to the Legacy location.
--- 6:40 AM - According to a story on Texoma's Home Page (KFDX), a power outage at the Wichita Tower at 7th & Indiana affected the City Planning and Building Inspections, Finance, Utility Collections, and Public Works offices. I guess I’m behind the times, because I didn't know the City had offices there. I'm guessing this began during the renovations of Municipal Auditorium.
--- 7:00 AM - According to Texoma's Home Page, the Circle M Bakery on Old Iowa Park Rd. is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Everyone should stop by and buy 40 donuts! Maybe 4? The article reports that the "M" is for Marilyn, the founder.