WICHITA FALLS MAN

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09-04-2023 - I wrote about "wardriving" in an earlier post. I might have to do some of that to see who's talking on 462.5625 MHz. I'm getting only scratchy audio, and I can't get enough information to tell if it's a business. This is one of those combined FRS/GMRS frequencies. Or, I could just raise my antenna.

09-04-2023 - Four Air Tractor FireBoss Water Scooper airplanes have been circling the town for a half hour now. It's like a mini-demo. I've been outside watching and taking pictures, and never bothered to listen in on the scanner. These planes might be the future of wildfire-fighting. UPDATE: The four planes stayed in the area, flying the same back-and-forth pattern, for almost two hours because they were actually fighting a fire just north of town! They would depart in the same direction each time because they were going to the same lake to scoop up more water. Awesome.

09-04-2023 - Not long ago, I discovered that "wardriving" meant driving around looking for open WiFi accounts. Back in the 1980s and 90s, wardriving for me was driving around looking for analog cordless phone calls to monitor on my scanner radio. It was a popular activity. Analog made it easy, and FCC rules made it legal. Both conditions have changed.

09-04-2023 - I'm listening to two pilots on 122.750 MHz discussing something or another. This is the authorized frequency for private, fix-wing, air-to-air communications. Helicopters are assigned 123.025 MHz. While these are the two authorized frequencies, you sometimes hear traffic on 123.450 MHz and a few other frequencies. I keep them in the rotation on my scanner.

09-04-2023 - Someone is calling CQ on 14.055 MHz they're announcing the use of a straight key by adding an "SK" following the CQ. It's a holiday, so there's probably a Morse code "straight key" event in progress. Cool! I'm waiting for the weather to cool down so I can do some out-of-the-shack CW work!

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09-04-2023 - I'm listening to half of a contact on 14.030 MHz, in the CW (Morse code) portion of the 20-meter Amateur (ham) Radio band. I say half because I can't hear the other station. The one I do hear is sending at about 25 words per minute, and I'm getting about half of that. That's just beyond the edge of my capability. I'm much more comfortable at 20 words per minute. But that's OK. I need the higher speed practice.

09-04-2023 - Around 1984, I was listening to a gathering of senior citzens on what's commonly called "75 phone", the upper portion of the 80 meter Amateur Radio band. Someone began sending a CW (Morse code) SOS. His signal had a very "chirpy" quality to it. The operator said he was on a small boat that was on fire off the east coast. The Coast Guard was notified. Before long, a Coast Guard plane was in the air. Once the SOS-sender heard this, he started sending "Fools, fools, fools." I wanted to strangle this guy. I can still hear that chirp.

09-04-2023 - Good Morning! It's coffee time once more. It's a holiday so no school bus excitement on the scanner. That leaves the Allred Unit prison, Walmart, the county jail, and local Amateur (ham) Radio repeater or simplex chatter. This morning I also have the Yaesu 857D radio going, focusing on the CW (Morse code) bands. Just for fun, there's a certain "ham" I've been trying to catch as he works from parks in his area. He's a "Parks on the Air®" (POTA) enthusiast. Listening for a specific target is like hunting for an alien signal from another galaxy. You can enjoy Amateur Radio HF (long-distance) communications on a shortwave receiver.

09-03-2023 - I forgot to tune in to the local Amateur (ham) Radio net that started at 2000 hrs. Since 45 minutes have expired, there's a good chance the net is over. They don't have a lot of check-ins, but it's usually interesting. You don't have to be a Ham Radio operator to listen in on local nets. That's why they make scanner radios!

09-03-2023 - It's time for the Briggs & Stratton Q6500's regular exercise run. I keep it ready to go because I don't want to be off the air, and without heat or air, refrigerator, and lights during a power outage.

Get one if you can.