WICHITA FALLS MAN
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07-04-2024 - There's not much on the Parks on the Air® scene this afternoon. I see a handful of stations on the POTA spotter page, but their signals are weak. Of course, having a ground plane antenna instead of a yagi is part of the issue, but that's fine with me. I'll never own another Yagi. They work too well! It's like shooting fish in a barrel. Where's the challenge if you're running an amplifier and a yagi? I'm here for the challenge!
07-04-2024 - At 1:20 PM, the Wichita Falls area Skywarn Storm Spotters - WX5SPS - broadcast a weather update on the 146.940 MHz repeater. There is a small chance of thunderstorms tonight.
07-04-2024 - FEMA National Current Ops / Monitoring – July 3-4, 2024
New Significant Incidents / Ongoing Ops:
• Hurricane Beryl (CAT 3) Preparation – South Texas
Hazard Monitoring:
• Heavy Rain/Flash Flooding – Central/Northern Plains to the Ohio Valley and the Great Lakes
• Severe Thunderstorms – Southern Plains to the Middle Mississippi Valley
• Tropical Activity:
Atlantic:
• Hurricane Beryl (CAT 3); Disturbance 1: Low (20%)
Eastern Pacific:
• Disturbance 1: Medium (60%)
Disaster Declaration Activity:
• One amendment issued
Event Monitoring:
• No significant events
07-04-2024 - NWS Forecast - Today: Sunny and hot, with a high near 105. Heat index values as high as 110. South southwest wind 9 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Tonight: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Increasing clouds, with a low around 74. South southeast wind 7 to 9 mph becoming northeast after midnight.
07-04-2024 - 6:13 AM - NOAA SPACE WEATHER - Last 24 Hours - Radio Blackouts (Minor) Solar Radiation Storms (None) Geomagnetic Storms (None) - Solar Wind Speed: 340 km/sec Solar Wind Magnetic Fields: Bt 9 nT, Bz -7 nT Noon 10.7cm Radio Flux: 167 sfu.
07-04-2024 - 5:57 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls water supply reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 75.6 Kemp: 100.0% Kickapoo 79.3%. The City of Wichita Falls uses the combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo to determine drought stage.
07-04-2024 - 6:30 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 10,241 Megawatts.
07-04-2024 - Good Morning! Allow me to begin with a story from my WFPD consultant - "I was working Second Shift - from 3 PM to 11 PM. At the start of the shift, I was assigned to escort a parade float from Memorial Stadium to Sheppard Air Force Base. I don't remember what the parade was about, but it had ended and it was time to get the float back to the base. The problem? My patrol car "idled" faster than the float could travel. I was behind the float to keep traffic from slamming into it, and I was continuously tapping the brake to keep myself from running over it! I suggested to supervisors that SAFB needed to load this thing on a trailer, but no such luck for me. It took the whole shift to get the job done." With that, I'll pour my first cup of Folgers Black Silk coffee!
07-03-2024 - I made contact with K2A at Highland Lakes State Park (US-2074) in New York on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.
07-03-2024 - There's activity on 151.820 MHz on the north side of town this morning. It sould like a business of some sort. This is a Multi-Use Radio Service (MURS) frequency. Tune in with your scanner radio for action in your part of town!
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07-03-2024 - A few weeks ago I was shopping at the United Supermarket at Southwest Parkway and Kemp. I noticed a young man by the door sporting a shirt with "Loss Prevention" on it. He also had handcuffs prominently hanging from his waistband in the front. That's a lot of unnecessary flex, in my opinion.
07-03-2024 - FEMA National Current Ops / Monitoring – July 2-3, 2024
New Significant Incidents / Ongoing Ops:
• Hurricane Beryl (CAT 4) Preparation – Puerto Rico/USVI
Hazard Monitoring:
• Severe Weather – Northern Plains to the Ohio Valley
• Heavy Rain/Flash Flooding – Central Plains to the Ohio Valley
• Fire Weather – Southern Idaho
• Tropical Activity:
Atlantic:
• Hurricane Beryl (CAT 4); Disturbance 1: Low (20%)
Eastern Pacific:
• Disturbance 1: Medium (50%)
Disaster Declaration Activity:
• FMAG Approval: Thompson Fire – CA
Event Monitoring:
• No significant events
07-03-2024 - I made contact with AC4BT at Glen Echo National Heritage Site (US-7975) in Maryland on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.
07-03-2024 - It just occurred to me that, at my age, when my "warning light" comes on and stays on, I'll probably end up with doctors who missed half their classes due to the Covid shutdown!
07-03-2024 - NWS Forecast - Today: Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 103. Heat index values as high as 106. South wind 10 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 82. South southeast wind around 14 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.
07-03-2024 - 6:13 AM - NOAA SPACE WEATHER - Last 24 Hours - Radio Blackouts (Minor) Solar Radiation Storms (None) Geomagnetic Storms (None) - Solar Wind Speed: 467 km/sec Solar Wind Magnetic Fields: Bt 5 nT, Bz 2 nT Noon 10.7cm Radio Flux: 164 sfu.
07-03-2024 - 5:57 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls water supply reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 76.0 Kemp: 100.0% Kickapoo 79.7%. The City of Wichita Falls uses the combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo to determine drought stage.
07-03-2024 - 5:57 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 9,898 Megawatts.
07-03-2024 - Good Morning! Yesterday, I ordered another QCX Mini Amateur (ham) Radio CW (Morse code) QRP (low power) transceiver from QRP Labs. This one is for the 40-meter band, and I'm ordering the assembled model, not the kit. As I might have said before, my construction days are over. I'm not building anything more complicated than a dipole antenna! My current QCX Mini is the 20-meter model. I might give the 40-meter model nightstand duty so I can Morse code myself to sleep. Right now, my Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready!
07-02-2024 - It's time for someone, somewhere, to do a parachute aeronautical mobile Amateur Radio contact. I never got around to it during my skydiving days. If you do it, send me the details!