WICHITA FALLS MAN
HOME - ABOUT - DIRECTORY
PAGE 141
07-07-2024 - 5:24 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 10,703 Megawatts.
07-07-2024 - Good Morning! For you Amateur (ham) Radio operators out there, you don't have to own an airplane to go "aeronautical" mobile. You can rent a small plane and pilot and split the cost with one or two other hams. You can all take turns making contacts on 146.520 FM simplex. Just don't use repeaters. With thousands of feet of altitude, why would you need a repeater? My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready!
07-06-2024 - Looking at old photos of Mr. Softee trucks, they appear to be about the size of UPS or FedEx trucks. In my childhood memories, they looked like Class A Motorhomes.
07-06-2024 - I made contact with WK4DS at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park (US-0716) in Georgia on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program. This was my second contact using the QRP Labs QCX Mini transceiver.
07-06-2024 - FEMA National Current Ops / Monitoring – July 5-6, 2024
New Significant Incidents / Ongoing Ops:
• Tropical Storm Beryl Preparation – South Texas
Hazard Monitoring:
• Excessive Heat – Western U.S. and Mid-Atlantic
• Heavy Rain / Flash Flooding – Southeast to Mid-Atlantic
• Fire Weather – Northern Intermountain to Central/Southern Rockies
• Tropical Activity:
Atlantic:
• Tropical Storm Beryl
Disaster Declaration Activity:
• One amendment issued
Event Monitoring:
• No significant events
07-06-2024 - I made contact with K2J at Battleship North Carolina State Historic Site (US-6831) in North Carolina on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.
07-06-2024 - NWS Forecast - Today: Sunny, with a high near 93. Calm wind becoming east southeast around 6 mph in the afternoon. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 74. Southeast wind 6 to 8 mph.
07-06-2024 - 6:08 AM - NOAA SPACE WEATHER - Last 24 Hours - Radio Blackouts (None) Solar Radiation Storms (None) Geomagnetic Storms (None) - Solar Wind Speed: 338 km/sec Solar Wind Magnetic Fields: Bt 6 nT, Bz 2 nT Noon 10.7cm Radio Flux: 166 sfu.
07-06-2024 - 6:08 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls water supply reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 75.8 Kemp: 100.0% Kickapoo 79.0%. The City of Wichita Falls uses the combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo to determine drought stage.
07-06-2024 - 6:08 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 9,906 Megawatts.
IF YOU ENJOY MY POSTS, please make your next AMAZON purchase using THIS LINK, or any other affiliate link on this site. If you do, I will earn a small commission but it won't cost you extra. You can buy radio stuff or any stuff but, for me to earn a commission, you have to purchase within 24 hours of adding the item(s) to your shopping cart. I'm thanking you in advance because AMAZON, correctly, doesn't identify you to me.
07-06-2024 - Good Morning! I'm always thinking about reasons to activate an Amateur (Ham) Radio "Special Event" station in Wichita Falls. How about an event to celebrate our two new high schools? Maybe one event to cover both schools or a separate event for each school. I still say someone should activate a Special Event Station at our very own World's Littlest Skyscraper. Why don't I do it? Good question. I get as much enjoyment from writing about radio as I do using radio. I'm more of an idea guy than an action guy. Right now, I have an idea that my coffee is ready!
07-05-2024 - I'm switching from 20 meter CW (Morse code) to CB Radio Channel 19 to see if there's any local trucking action. Surprisingly, Channel 6, the "superbowl" of CB Radio, is dead! It is a little early.
07-05-2024 - FEMA National Current Ops / Monitoring – July 4-5, 2024
New Significant Incidents / Ongoing Ops:
• Hurricane Beryl (CAT 2) Preparation – South Texas
Hazard Monitoring:
• Heavy Rain / Flash Flooding – Northern/Southern Plains, Great Lakes, and Ohio Valley
• Severe Thunderstorms – Southern Plains, Ohio Valley, and Middle Mississippi Valley
• Tropical Activity:
Atlantic:
• Hurricane Beryl (CAT 2)
Eastern Pacific:
• Tropical Depression Aletta
Disaster Declaration Activity:
• FMAG Approval: French Fire – CA
Event Monitoring:
• No significant events
07-05-2024 - The "usual suspects" - minus the schools and school buses - are out in force this morning. Tune in with your scanner radio. (Frequencies in MHz): Amateur (ham) Radio 146.520, 147.140, 146.940, and 146.800, Walmart/Sam's 154.570 & 154.600, Allred Unit 153.815, the County Jail 155.520, State Hospital 154.800, city transit buses 453.5375, school buses 152.360, school handheld radios 151.940, Air Evac Lifeteam 159.900, BNSF Railroad 160.920, Kickapoo Airport 122.700, Wichita Valley Airport 122.800, and the Fort Worth Air Route Traffic Control Center (Wichita Falls remote) 132.925 & 269.250.
07-05-2024 - NWS Forecast - Today: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 87. East northeast wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. Tonight: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 7pm, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 70. East northeast wind 5 to 9 mph becoming light after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
07-05-2024 - 6:13 AM - NOAA SPACE WEATHER - Last 24 Hours - Radio Blackouts (Minor) Solar Radiation Storms (None) Geomagnetic Storms (None) - Solar Wind Speed: 358 km/sec Solar Wind Magnetic Fields: Bt 9 nT, Bz -3 nT Noon 10.7cm Radio Flux: 173 sfu.
07-05-2024 - 5:57 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls water supply reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 75.5 Kemp: 100.0% Kickapoo 79.3%. The City of Wichita Falls uses the combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo to determine drought stage.
07-05-2024 - 5:26 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 10,430 Megawatts.
07-05-2024 - Good Morning! My local area fireworks disturbance was not quite as bad as last year. My nearby neighbor, who I accused of spending $1,000 on fireworks last year, seems to have spent only $750 this year. I hear a station in North Peninsula State Park in Florida for the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program. He's pretty weak, so I'll pass on trying to make contact for now. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready!
07-04-2024 - Two local hams are talking on a repeater. One has booming audio and the other is whispering. I hate it when that happens. They can adjust to each other with one twist of the volume control. I, on the other hand, have to keep a hand on the volume control, moving it up and down. Nope. So, off with the repeater and over to some Morse code on HF!