WICHITA FALLS MAN
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06-13-2024 - I made contact with AD8HK at Delaware State Park (US-1946) in Ohio on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.
06-13-2024 - FEMA National Current Ops / Monitoring for June 12-13, 2024
New Significant Incidents / Ongoing Ops:
• No significant incidents / operations
Hazard Monitoring:
• Severe thunderstorms – Central Plains to the Great Lakes
• Heavy rain/flash flooding – South FL
• Excessive Heat Warnings – Southwest
• Tropical Activity:
• Atlantic:
• Disturbance 1: Low (20%)
• Disturbance 2: Med (40%)
• Eastern Pacific: Disturbance 1: Low (20%)
Disaster Declaration Activity:
• FMAG Approval: Rose Fire – AZ
• Request: Major Disaster Declaration – Chickasaw Nation
• Three (3) amendments issued
Event Monitoring:
• No new significant events
06-13-2024 - I haven't checked the dates lately, but I think we're at or near the peak of the current 11-year solar cycle. Conditions for CB Radio - 27 MHz - are great and worldwide communication is possible with very little power. In case you didn't know, the FCC dropped the 155-mile limit on CB Radio contacts. They didn't drop the power restriction, but no one seems to care how much power CBers use these days. I believe CB Radio is now the domain of the "skip shooters". The DXers. The long-range contact enthusiasts. When conditions are good, and most of the allotted 40 channels are occupied by skip shooters, it makes local communications hard. People not interested in "skip shooting" don't want to listen to the noise. I've heard a station in Jamaica "cut the lips off" a station here in Wichita Falls! We'll swing back to more calm conditions in a few years but I'm not confident that the skip-shooters will ever loosen their grip on the hobby. If you like local communications, one of the other radio services is probably the way to go.
06-13-2024 - Are you old enough to remember then lawyers couldn't advertise? I'll just leave it at that.
06-13-2024 - I saw an article about increased UFO activity around our nation's nuclear weapons sites. I guarded "nukes" for three years in the Army and I never saw any UFOs. I did imagine seeing terrorists in the woods at night. Maybe I wasn't imagining them.
06-13-2024 - NWS Forecast - Today: Sunny, with a high near 94. Heat index values as high as 99. South wind 6 to 10 mph. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 71. South southeast wind 7 to 11 mph.
06-13-2024 - 5:47 AM - NOAA SPACE WEATHER - Last 24 Hours - Radio Blackouts (Minor) Solar Radiation Storms (None) Geomagnetic Storms (None)
06-13-2024 - 5:47 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls water supply reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 78.3% Kemp: 100.0% Kickapoo 81.1%. The City of Wichita Falls uses the combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo to determine drought stage.
06-13-2024 - 5:47 AM - ERCOT (Texas) snapshot of grid conditions - ERCOT reports that conditions are normal and there is enough power for current demand with an operating reserve of 10,049 Megawatts.
06-13-2024 - Good Morning! At 5:45 AM, The Allred Unit is very busy this morning on 153.815 MHz, and you can tune in with your scanner radio and get the daily happenings first-hand (or ear). Walmart (154.570 MHz) is coming awake, and our local city transit bus drivers (453.5375 MHz) are also alive. My Folgers Black Silk Coffee is ready!
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06-12-2024 - From my law enforcement consultant comes the story of a WFPD patrol car with a defective public address (PA) system. When you turned it on, it emitted a high-pitched squeal. The higher you raised the volume, the more annoying it became. It wasn't very useable as a PA, but it was accidentally found to drive dogs crazy. Some dogs would seemingly writhe in pain while some would chase the car with a vengeance. One hound was so focused on the car that he ran into a tree. It was rumored that officers left a note in the car asking other shifts not to have it repaired. At least not for a few more days.
06-12-2024 - If "it hits the fan" you can rest assured that Wichita Falls radio hobbyists will still communicate by radio using voice, digital modes, or both. We have radios and generators and we're not afraid to use them.
06-12-2024 - The Smoothie King opened today near Hobby Lobby on Southwest Parkway, our very own 6-lane Farm to Market Road. On the north end of town, on I-44 near the City's edge, Panda Biotech Hemp Gin had its grand opening.
06-12-2024 - It's time for some evening Folgers Black Silk coffee and a little CB Radio chatter. Or maybe I need some Jim Beam to go along with that CB Radio chatter. I'll start with the coffee and move to the JB if the CB gets rough!
06-12-2024 - I made contact with N7DZ at Dixie National Forest (US-4395) in Utah on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.
06-12-2024 - Today was vehicle maintenance day. I had the air conditioner recharged at the Goodyear location near the Grand Buffet restaurant, then an oil and filter change at Walmart. I had the A/C recharged last year, so this might mean trouble. Time will tell.
06-12-2024 - I made contact with KE5AKL at Villanueva State Park (US-2720) in New Mexico on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.
06-12-2024 - From the U.S. Federal Communications Commission - Released: 2024-06-11. Commissioner Gomez To Host a Listening Session Concerning Incarcerated People's Communications Services in Phoenix, Arizona. (DA No. 24-552). (Dkt No 23-62 12-375). On June 18, 2024, Commissioner Gomez will host a listening session in Phoenix, Arizona, to hear from formerly incarcerated people and their loved ones about their experiences using incarcerated people's communications services (IPCS).. WCB. Contact: Ahuva Battams.
06-12-2024 - From the U.S. Federal Communications Commission - Schools And Libraries Cybersecurity Pilot Program. The FCC adopts a three-year pilot program within the Universal Service Fund to provide up to $200 million to support cybersecurity services and equipment for eligible schools and libraries.. (Dkt No 23-234). Action by: Commission. Adopted: 2024-06-06 by R&O. (FCC No. 24-63). WCB.