WICHITA FALLS MAN

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04-03-2024 - The Wichita Amateur Radio Society meets every third Thursday at 6:30 PM in the Professor Jackson Building behind the American Red Cross at 1809 5th Street in Wichita Falls. I can't speak for the club, but I'm guessing they would be happy to see you if you're interested in Amateur (ham) Radio.

04-03-2024 - FEMA National Current Ops / Monitoring

New Significant Incidents / Ongoing Ops
• Severe Weather – Southeast to the Ohio Valley

Disaster Declaration Activity
• No new declaration activity

Hazard Monitoring
• Severe thunderstorms – Southeast to the Mid-Atlantic
• Heavy rain/flash flooding – Mid-Atlantic to the Northeast
• Heavy snow – Upper Mississippi Valley to the Great Lakes, and Northeast
• Freezing rain – Northeast

Event Monitoring
• No significant events

04-03-2024 - I made contact with W8MND at Sonoran Desert National Monument(US-4435) in Arizona on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.

04-03-2024 - I made contact with KM4JTE at Manhattan Project National Historical Park (US-4376) in Tennessee on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.

04-03-2024 - Railroad fans, the local BNSF frequency of 160.920 MHz has been busy all morning. Tune in to the action on your scanner radio.

04-03-2024 - At 6:15 AM, I'm hearing a strong signal on 151.835 MHz. Frequency databases show this to be used locally by Rolling Meadows. What I hear sounds like a repeater in use, and I don't think Rolling Meadows is using a repeater. I could be wrong but I don't think they have that much property to cover. Maybe we have a band opening (inversion) happening. More listening is required.

04-03-2024 - NWS Forecast - Today: Sunny, with a high near 71. West wind 7 to 14 mph becoming north in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph. Tonight: Clear, with a low around 44. North northwest wind 5 to 9 mph becoming light and variable in the evening.

04-03-2024 - Good Morning! Last night, I fell asleep to Morse code on the 40-meter Amateur (ham) Radio band. I have a set of headphones - connected to my 25-year-old Realistic (Radio Shack) DX-394 shortwave radio - hanging on the headboard above my head. I don't wear the headphones but use them as a speaker at low volume. I've been listening to the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) code practice sessions. When the session is over, there's only "white noise" unless someone else comes on frequency. I usually wake up soon after, turn off the radio, and go back to sleep. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready.

04-02-2024 - I stopped by Tommy's Donuts & Fried Rice on Old Iowa Park Road today and picked up some egg rolls and chicken fried rice. Both were good.

04-02-2024 - The Clay County Amateur Radio Club conducts a weekly Skywarn practice net on Tuesdays at 8:00 PM on the 146.800 MHz repeater. Tune in with your scanner radio.

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04-02-2024 - FEMA National Current Ops / Monitoring – April 1–2, 2024

New Significant Incidents / Ongoing Ops:
• Severe Weather - Southern Plains & Ohio/Tenn valleys

Hazard Monitoring:
• Severe Thunderstorms – Lower Mississippi Valley, Southeast to the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic
• Heavy Rain/Flash Flooding – Tennessee Valley to the Central Appalachians
• Heavy Snow – Upper Mississippi Valley and the Great Lakes

Disaster Declaration Activity:
• Major Disaster Declaration Request – Ohio

Event Monitoring:
• No significant events

04-02-2024 - From my corrections consultant - Whenever I worked one of the gun towers, I would sometimes imagine what I would do if someone attempted to land a helicopter inside the fence for the purpose of extracting an inmate. Would I wait for the helicopter to take off and cross over the fence before firing? There would probably be other inmates on the ground to consider. What about buildings and cars in the area? Would I aim for the pilot? Would the tail (anti-torque) rotor be better? Disable the tail rotor and that flight is over. I think I'd just aim for the inmate since deadly force is authorized to prevent an escape. The pilot would be collateral damage. You know, the old "play stupid games, win stupid prizes" theory. If you're familiar with the skin on small aircraft, you'd know that it's not stopping an AR-15 round at close range. No sparking bullets like in the movies! Tune in to Allred daily operations at 153.815 MHz on your scanner radio.

04-02-2024 - NWS Forecast - Today: Increasing clouds, with a high near 61. Light west northwest wind becoming north 15 to 20 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. Tonight: Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming clear, with a low around 42. North northwest wind 6 to 14 mph becoming west after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph.

04-02-2024 - Good Morning! We dodged the dangerous weather last night, but we got a little rain out of it. It was probably not much. We need our lakes charged up before the Summer heat sets in. I'm afraid to check the forecast for April 8, the Total Eclipse day! Speaking of charged up, my coffee is ready!

04-01-2024 - International Space Station over Wichita Falls - Time: Tue Apr 02 8:53 PM, Visible: 6 min, Max Height: 41°, Appears: 10° above WNW, Disappears: 13° above SSE. Listen on 145.800 & 437.800 MHz for possible Amateur (ham) Radio communications.

04-01-2024 - At 6:35 PM, I received a series of data bursts on 145.825 MHz. I'm assuming this is APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System) from the International Space Station's Digipeater (145.825 MHz is the downlink frequency of the ISS Digipeater) but I have no hardware/software to decode it. APRS is used to transmit location and other information. It's not a mode that interests me, but it's popular among Amateur (ham) Radio operators.

04-01-2024 - At 5:00 PM it looks like the serious storms might go around Wichita Falls as they track to the northeast. The Skywarn Storm Spotters are keeping an eye on the situation but a full-blown radio net has not been activated at this time.

04-01-2024 - 4:00 PM - With severe weather heading toward Wichita Falls, there's some intense pre-launch discussion happening on 147.570 MHz by our Wichita County Skywarn® storm spotters. The actual net, if and when activated, will be conducted on 146.940 MHz. Tune in on your scanner radio.

04-01-2024 - I heard one transmission on 462.700 MHz this afternoon - just one short sentence that revealed no clue as to who it was or what they were talking about. This is a frequency shared by the Family Radio Service and the General Mobile Radio Service. Usually, when I hear something on one of those frequencies, it's accompanied by a "roger beep" indicating that a "bubble pack" radio might be involved. I didn't hear one this time.

04-01-2024 - At 2:00 PM, our local Skywarn® storm spotter Net Control Station - WX5SPS - conducted a radio check on the storm spotter repeater - 146.940 MHz - in advance of possible severe weather headed our way. Tune in with your scanner radio.