WICHITA FALLS MAN
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06-24-2023 - The forecast for Wednesday in Wichita Falls is 109 degrees. That's going to melt my coax faster than a cheap, band-splattering amplifier! No, it's not a "linear". Check the definition of "linear" and you will not see the word amplifier.
06-24-2023 - Wichita Falls had its share of Radio & Television repair shops back in the day. Now, they're all but gone. These days, radios and TVs last a long time. When they break, you don't replace parts, you replace boards. But by the time they break, a new one with the latest bells, whistles, and features was probably long overdue.
06-24-2023 - Back in the 1970s, Radio Shack wasn't the only place to find "electronics" goodies in Wichita Falls. Trice Electronics was located at 2100 9th Street and Wholesale Electronics was located at 1508 11th Street.
06-24-2023 - The new Wichita Falls Hotel & Convention Center is scheduled to open on August 8. This means we might get a whopping 1 or 2 more scanner frequencies. Yes, folks, this is a big deal for local scanner enthusiasts! It's not like we're overloaded with scanner targets!
06-24-2023 – Back in the 1960s and 70s, Wichita Falls was home to three CB Radio clubs: Red River Valley CB Radio Club, Faith City Five Watters CB Radio Club, and the Skip Shooters QSL - CB Club, Inc. I just thought I’d throw that out there. The Skip Shooters were located at 206 7th Street in the late 1970s.
06-24-2023 - I currently have only one ground plane antenna and today it's connected to the President McKinley CB Radio. Right now I have the Yaesu 857D listening to Morse through the indoor slinky dipole. It works fine for this purpose.
06-24-2023 - The 20-meter CW band was dead quiet until 1300 then, BOOM - Field Day was up and running with dots and dashes were flying like crazy!
06-24-2023 - It was code practice time a few days ago. I was trying to decide if I like the straight key or the iambic key better. I got the old straight key out, plugged it into the Yaesu 857D, put it in the "code practice mode" (sidetone but not transmitting), and proceeded to hammer away. I practiced my call sign for a minute, then started sending random words I was reading online, or just making up. I just happened to glance at the radio and discovered that it was not in the code practice mode. I had been transmitting! I shut the radio down, closed the curtains, and hid under the bed. That's a lie, I can't fit under the bed!
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06-24-2023 - Back in Texas from Savanna, Illinois, and off to the Presidio of San Francisco. Along the way, on I-40, was a plywood sign on a hill in the trees that read QTH of (ham radio call sign). I don't remember the call but I think it was a "7" call. I was probably in Arizona and not New Mexico, but there's no guarantee of that. This was in late 1975. Lots of traffic on Channel 19 in those days.
06-24-2023 - Back in Texas from Germany, and off to Savanna Army Depot in Illinois. For the trip, I bought a used, oil-burning POS Chevy Vega. Of course, I didn't know it was an oil-burning POS but I was just a few miles on the odometer from finding out. Anyway, for some reason I put a 103-inch fiberglass whip antenna on the trunk so as to be in constant contact on Channel 19. On the trip, and after being ridiculed by several truckers, I knew that particular antenna was a bad choice. Did I really look like a carnival bumper car? At Savanna, I replaced the big whip with two 4-foot antennas. They were not phased. One was just for looks, and it was a better look indeed.
06-24-2023 - From Wikipedia: "Field Day is an annual amateur radio contest, widely sponsored by IARU regions and member organizations, encouraging emergency communications." In the U.S., Field Day begins this afternoon and runs for 24 hours. I don't know where the Wichita Falls area hams are holding the event this year. The local club no longer updates its website and has moved to other online media I can't access. The "Wichita Falls Area Hams" have a Facebook page but I find no Field Day information there before being prompted to log in. I can't log in because I don't have a Facebook account. In the past, the event has been held in various public parks. UPDATE: I heard - on the air - that the location is in Archer City. Too far just to take a few photos.
06-24-2023 - I'm up early this morning, and I see that CW (Morse code) contests are in full swing on 40 meters. I have to clarify that in Ham Radio-speak, CW (continuous wave) generally means Morse code. If I say CW around here, line dancing might break out!
06-23-2023 - Do you remember the wireless baby monitors that operated around 49 MHz? They could be - and were - monitored with even the cheapest Radio Shack scanners. These monitors were usually placed in the bedroom. Sometimes they were left on all night. What happens in bedrooms? Scanner users with tower-mounted antennas could listen in from blocks away.
06-23-2023 - Have you noticed that 99% of "the trouble with Ham Radio" involves a microphone? I don't know about you but I've never heard someone talking crap using Morse code. For one thing, it takes too much time and it wouldn't have the impact that voice has. How do you yell using Morse code?
06-23-2023 - Our City transit buses always active throughout the day on 453.5375 MHz. You can monitor the action on your scanner radio. Search for the relevant frequency in your city and join the fun!
06-23-2023 - CB Radio Channel 38 is busy this morning. I think I need a SSB filter on the President McKinley radio. I'll check back later and maybe jot down a few call signs/handles.
06-23-2023 - I was in the waiting area of a local auto repair facility when my phone rang. The ringtone is "CQ" in Morse code. That turned a few heads. Some years ago, it went off in Walmart and an older gentleman near me smiled. He knew what it was.
06-23-2023 - The Titanic sub ordeal ended with the implosion of the little sub and the deaths of the 5 occupants. I have never seen so much talk about Morse code on Twitter as I have over the last few days. Many people were wondering why no one on board the sub was using Morse code. One person thought Morse code consisted entirely of "taps" with dashes created by the spacing of those taps. I wanted to post this but I didn't - Morse code challenge: Have two or more people, using Morse code "cheat sheets", one person sending, others receiving, tap out "Send Help", or "We're alive" using a hammer. Let me know how that works out. The only reason S-O-S works by tapping is because many people are familiar with the sound. Who is familiar with the Morse code sound of "We're alive"?