WICHITA FALLS MAN

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04-20-2024 - I contacted W1FMR at Withlacoochee State Trail (US-3667) in Florida on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.

04-20-2024 - FEMA National Current Ops / Monitoring for April 19-20, 2024

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

Hazard Monitoring:
• Heavy Rain/Flash Flooding – Southern Plains to the Lower Mississippi Valley
Disaster Declaration Activity:
• Approvals: Major Disaster Declaration – VT, NH, Hoopa Valley Tribe (HVT), and Morongo Band of Mission Indians (MBMI)

Event Monitoring:
• No significant events

04-20-2024 - You didn't ask, but I'll tell you anyway. When I see people talking on their cell phones while driving, it's usually a 50/50 male-female mix. When it comes to texting while driving, the violators I see are 95% women. Your observations might be just the opposite.

04-20-2024 - International Space Station over Wichita Falls - Time: Sun Apr 21, 5:29 AM, Visible: 4 min, Max Height: 87°, Appears: 59° above SW, Disappears: 10° above NE. Listen on 145.800 & 437.800 MHz for possible Amateur (ham) Radio communications.

04-20-2024 - NWS Forecast - Today: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. High near 56. Northeast wind 13 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between three quarters and one inch possible. Tonight: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 4am, then a slight chance of showers. Cloudy, with a low around 46. Northeast wind 7 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

04-20-2024 - Good Morning! We got rain overnight. I hope a good portion of it reaches the appropriate lakes to bolster our water supply in advance of summer. I mowed my yard a few days ago so no worries in that department. I haven't worked a Parks on the Air® station in a few days. The stations I've heard have been very "light" in signal strength. I'll see if conditions improve today. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready!

04-19-2024 - At 8:45 PM I hear the weekly simplex net on 146.580 MHz. I can only hear the Net Cotrol Station and a few others. Most are out of range for me.

04-19-2024 - FEMA National Current Ops / Monitoring for April 18-19, 2024

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

Hazard Monitoring:
• Rain/thunderstorms – Southern and Central Plains to the Mid-Atlantic
• Mixed precipitation – California to the Central Plains, Upper MississippiValley, and Great Lakes

Disaster Declaration Activity:
• No new declaration activity

Event Monitoring:
• No significant events

04-19-2024 - I learned a new Amateur (ham) Radio term today - Shack Sloth. If you're into the Summits on the Air program, you're either a Goat (activator) or a Shack Sloth (hunter). I'll never be a real Goat, but I might be a Shack Sloth one day. I might drive to the top of nearby Mount Scott with a handie talkie, but that's as close to Goat status as I'll ever get.

04-19-2024 - International Space Station over Wichita Falls - Time: Sat Apr 20 6:16 AM, Visible: 6 min, Max Height: 43°, Appears: 13° above WSW, Disappears: 10° above NE. Listen on 145.800 & 437.800 MHz for possible Amateur (ham) Radio communications.

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04-19-2024 - NWS Forecast - Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 69. Northeast wind 6 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Tonight: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 2am. Increasing clouds, with a low around 51. Northeast wind 7 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

04-19-2024 - Good Morning! Our local Air Evac Lifeteam (159.900 MHz) is active early this morning. I hear the helicopter passing overhead as I pour my first cup of Folgers Black Silk coffee. The State Hospital is involved in its regular routine on 154.800 Mhz. You can listen to these and more on your scanner radio.

04-18-2024 - From the Federal Communications Commission - Requests for Waiver Of 5.9 Ghz Band Rules to Permit Initial Deployment of Cellular Vehicle-To-Everything Technology. Granted each of the Applicants' waiver requests to deploy Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) technology within the 5.895–5.925 GHz band. (Dkt No 19-138). by LETTER. (DA No. 24-363). WTB PSHSB OET.

04-18-2024 - This morning I made another trip to Mount Murphy in Lake Wichita Park. I wanted to make a few calls on the handheld Icom 2-meter (VHF) radio. The parking lot is now open, by the way. About 1 third of the way up, I encountered a swarm of gnats. There seemed to be mosquitos in the mix. I forgot my mosquito repellent. Not wanting to take any chances, I walked back down and drove to United Market Street on Fairway and bought some. Back at the mountain-like hill, I made it to the top with only three stops for naps along the way. I'm old! At the top, after catching my breath, I made a couple of calls on 146.520 MHz FM simplex. No answers this time. At least I got some exercise.

04-18-2024 - FEMA National Current Ops / Monitoring for Apr 17 – 18, 2024

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

Hazard Monitoring:
• Severe Thunderstorms – Southern Plains to Ohio Valley

Disaster Declaration Activity:
• No new declaration requests

Event Monitoring:
• No new significant events

04-18-2024 - NWS Forecast - Today: Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, partly sunny, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 82. South wind 10 to 15 mph becoming north 16 to 21 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 31 mph. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 51. North northeast wind 10 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.

04-18-2024 - Good Morning! After my first cup of Folgers Black Silk coffee, I stepped outside to watch the International Space Station pass over the city. I guess it passed over a heck of a lot of cities! I've never tried to contact the ISS via Amateur (ham) Radio. One of these days, I might give it a try. For non-hams who might not know, there is Ham Radio equipment on the ISS, and there are always licensed "Astro Hams" on board. Radio contacts with middle- and high-schools are a regular happening across the globe. Listen on 145.800 MHz.

04-07-2024 - From the U.S. Federal Communications Commission Daily Digest 2024-04-17 - Notification Of Suspected Illegal Traffic - DigitalIPvoice, Inc. FCC Enforcement Bureau issues cease-and-desist letter to DigitalIPvoice, Inc for apparently transmitting illegal robocall traffic.

04-17-2024 - I contacted KC5F at Smithgall Woods State Park (US-2199) in Georgia on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.

04-17-2024 - Checking the Parks on the Air® spotter page, I see action in the elusive state of Oklahoma. I need Oklahoma but I can barely hear the station's signal. It's too far for a decent ground wave at my power level, and too close for a sky wave (skip). I'll just have to keep watching and waiting.