WICHITA FALLS MAN

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04-09-2024 - Good Morning! I sometimes post some of our regular scanner radio targets and here they are again: Amateur (ham) Radio (146.520, 147.140, 146.940. and 146.800 MHz), Walmart (154.570 MHz), Allred Unit (153.815 MHz), the County Jail (155.520 MHz), State Hospital (154.800 MHz) city transit buses (453.5375 MHz), school buses (152.360 MHz), school handheld radios (151.940 MHz), Air Evac Lifeteam (159.900 MHz), BNSF Railroad (160.920 MHz), Kickapoo Airport (122.700 MHz), and Wichita Valley Airpport (122.800 MHz). Tune in with your scanner radio. And now, it's coffee time!

04-08-2024 - Our local Amateur (ham) Radio Skywarn® storm spotters issued a weather briefing at 9:15 PM on the 146.940 MHz repeater. It seems that a storm producing high winds and hail is on the radar and tracking in this direction. Maybe it will fizzle out or change direction. Or, maybe it will pay us a visit. It's still a little early. Let's see what develops. Meanwhile, tune in with your scanner radio.

04-08-2024 - The trip to Paris, Texas was worth it to see a 100% total eclipse. Clouds threatened to dampen it all but magically departed just in time. The difference between 95%, as experienced in Wichita Falls, and 100% is like night and day. I didn't take pics of the eclipse, but I did get a pic of little eclipses on the car hood caused by light filtering through a tree. I also bought a 24-hour clock from Main Trading Co - an Amateur (ham) radio store - in Paris! Also, there was activity on 146.520 FM simplex (Ham Radio) on the way. Two van-loads of eclipse-seekers were driving east into the Sherman area when I heard them. A ham in Ada, Oklahoma broke in and offered his greetings. I made a pit stop, and when I got back on the road they were out of range.

04-08-2024 - FEMA National Current Ops / Monitoring – April 7–8, 2024

New Significant Incidents / Ongoing Ops:
• No new significant incidents / Ongoing operations

Hazard Monitoring:
• Heavy Snow – Northern Plains
• Severe Thunderstorms – Southern Plains
• Heavy Rain/Flash Flooding – Southern Plain to the Lower Mississippi Valley
• Elevated Fire Weather – New Mexico and Texas

Disaster Declaration Activity:
• No new declaration activity

Event Monitoring:
• Solar Eclipse

04-08-2024 - I decided not to do any work around the house and, instead, drive to Paris, Texas to get in the eclipse path of totality. Wichita Falls will get a 95% blackout, but that's not good enough. My wife and I experienced 100% in the 2017 eclipse - by driving to the St. Louis area - so we're kind of spoiled. I know Paris should have some cloud cover, but dark is dark during a 100% total eclipse. Besides, I like to drive!

04-08-2024 - NWS Forecast - Today: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 4pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 83. South southwest wind 6 to 9 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon. Tonight: Showers and thunderstorms before 4am, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm, mainly after 4am. Low around 56. North northeast wind 8 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

04-08-2024 - Good Morning. There might not be a lot of posting today as I have a lot of work to do around the house. But, who knows? Anything can happen. Right now, my coffee is ready!

04-07-2024 - In an earlier post, I mentioned flying to Graham, Lawton, and other places for a burger. I checked the Graham Airport on Google Earth and I see some changes. Over 40 years ago, you could park your plane at the edge of the airport and walk across the street to the Dairy Queen. Now, there are hangars where I don't remember hangars, and now there's a fence sealing off the airport. To get to the DQ, you have to go to the nearest gate, which looks like 1/4 mile away. That's a half-mile to the DQ, both ways. What fun is that?

04-07-2024 - The Wichita Amateur Radio Society holds a weekly informal net on Sundays at 8:00 PM on the club's 147.140 MHz repeater. All licensed Amateur (ham) Radio operators are invited to check in. Scanner radio enthusiasts are also invited to listen in.

04-07-2024 - I made contact with KD7LX at Conboy Lake National Wildlife Refuge (US-0576) in Washington on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) as part of the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program

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04-07-2024 - From my law enforcement consultant - Before the shift, I checked the shift mailbox for any relevant news. There was a note from the Information Desk that an officer had called in sick. The reason: sore testicles. When I finished the first round of laughing, I checked with the desk to verify the note. The desk officer, a female, verified the note. I called the officer because, well, because I just had to make sure he was OK. Upon learning that his testicles were sore, he assured me that he said he had a sore throat and nothing close to sore testicles. How the desk officer came up with testicles, I don't know. I don't want to know.

04-07-2024 - Do you remember when the Nissan Xterra came out? The tagline was "Everything you need, nothing you don't". I know a guy who bought one and ordered, pre-delivery, every accessory you can imagine. Maybe he should have chosen a Land Rover or something similar.

04-07-2024 - There is activity on the Air Evac Lifeteam frequency of 159.900 MHz this morning. Tune in to the action with your scanner radio.

04-07-2024 - I'm on my third cup of coffee, and I see that General Coffee State Park is on the air in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program. While I can barely hear that station, I can still make out the Morse code characters. That's the good thing about Morse code - when "voice" is nothing but a mumble, Morse can usually get through the noise. I'll wait a while to try to make contact. Hopefully, General Coffee will still be brewing a little later.

04-07-2024 - From my law enforcement consultant - It was a surprise for me to learn, early in my law enforcement career, about the number of people who had and may still have licensed full-automatic weapons. No, I didn't have exact numbers, but I got the feeling over the years that it was certainly more than a handful.

04-07-2024 - National Current Ops / Monitoring – April 6–7, 2024

New Significant Incidents / Ongoing Ops:
• No new significant incidents / Ongoing operations

Hazard Monitoring:
• Heavy Snow – Wyoming and Montana
• Rain/Thunderstorms – Lower to Upper Mississippi Valley, Great Lakes, and Northern Plains
• Extremely Critical Fire Weather – Southern Plains

Disaster Declaration Activity:
• Approval: Major Disaster Declaration – AK
• FMAG Approval – 57 Fire, OK

Event Monitoring:
• No significant events

04-07-2024 - NWS Forecast - Today: Sunny, with a high near 77. West southwest wind 10 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 48. South southwest wind 7 to 9 mph becoming southeast in the evening.

04-07-2024 - Good Morning! You're getting a little advanced in age if you remember the Icee available at the Jiffy convenience stores in Wichita Falls. They were the equivalent of the 7-Eleven Slurpee. There are 15 Jiffy stores listed in the 1977 Wichita Falls City Directory. I don't know how many we had before they ceased operation. Some of the buildings are still standing.

04-06-2024 - I made contact with NA4A at Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge (US-0161) in Alabama on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) as part of the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program

04-06-2024 - From Omar from OMARC, The One-Man Amateur Radio Club: I had a fund-raising car wash yesterday. I washed my car in the driveway and paid myself in Whataburgers.