WICHITA FALLS MAN
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06-29-2023 - Back in the 1970s, a local police officer decided to take his CB Radio on patrol. That day he was assigned to escort a funeral procession. Part of the route was on the freeway. When some truckers didn't quite get out of his way fast enough he grabbed the mic to give them some choice instructions. Only it wasn't the CB mic. He had grabbed the police radio mic and this caused quite a bit of ribbing in briefing the next day.
06-29-2023 - The "Evening Crew" is on the air on CB Radio Channel 23. It looks like they might have picked up a few new members since I last tuned in. As mentioned before, they meet every evening from 5:30 to 7:30.
06-29-2023 - When I was a kid, I had this idea that if I touched my walkie-talkie antenna to the leg of a commercial (business) antenna tower I could talk all over town. Adventurous thinking is better than no thinking at all. No, I never tried it.
06-29-2023 - When I was in high school, I went CB Radio "motorcycle mobile" for a short while. It was a simple setup with the radio strapped to the seat behind me and a gutter mount antenna clamped to the license plate. Back then I had no idea that what I thought was an antenna wasn't even a good dummy load at CB frequencies. It was fun telling people I was "motorcycle mobile".
06-29-2023 - CB Radio Channel 30 LSB (Lower Sideband) is jam-packed with stations this afternoon. A station in "the islands" is dominating right now. I can see why so many CBers are using Ham Radio gear. The benefit of sideband filters alone might be worth the cost. Yes, it's illegal and I'm not going to do it.
06-29-2023 - If you've searched for CB Radio content online, you might have run across that GIF file of Burt Reynolds screaming into a microphone. I like Burt, but with that one clip he became the poster child for everything that went wrong with CB Radio.
06-29-2023 - The CB Radio band (speakers) is starting to come alive. As for Morse code (headphones), the only thing I'm hearing on 20 meters right now is the ARRL code practice session at 14.047.5 MHz. Of course, I'm still on that un-tuned indoor slinky antenna for the Yaesu 857D. I'm still working on that second ground plane antenna.
06-29-2023 - I'm enjoying my first cup of coffee along with Morse code on the 40-meter ham band. Of course, I'm just listening. Why would I interrupt my coffee trying to ratchet-jaw with someone using Morse? I'll save that for another time! I also have CB Radio Channel 19 on for a little early-morning trucker chatter.
06-28-2023 - As I put the finishing touches on my new Twitter account, I hear a nice rag chew in progress on 7.005 MHz. I didn't catch any call signs, but I wasn't really paying that much attention. The dits and dahs are background music to me.
06-28-2023 - I watched a few minutes of a YouTube video from one of my favorite accounts, @MowerJunkie. He was reviewing a Radioddity QT40 10, 11, and 12 meter CB Radio. He acknowledged right away that it's not really an 11-meter radio but that it can be easily converted to one. That's not my thing but if it's something that interests you, check him out on YouTube. He's easy to find.
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06-28-2023 - The air conditioning in the gun towers at the James V. Allred Unit can barely compete with these 100+ degree days. The real hot spot is the dayroom in the two dorm buildings where temps have been known to climb above 110 degrees. At least that used to be the case. Maybe improvements have been made. I doubt it. Tune in to the Allred Unit at 153.815 MHz on your scanner.
06-28-2023 - The North Texas State Hospital is busy this morning on 154.800 MHz. There's nothing out of the ordinary, just more of it. Tune in to the action with your scanner.
06-28-2023 - I popped awake, so I decided to get up, see what was happening on the radios, then get back in bed. On the scanner, there was local traffic at the county jail and the Allred Unit prison. These I expected, but I didn't expect to hear two truckers talking on CB Radio Channel 19 as they passed through town. On the HF bands, I couldn't find any Morse code strong enough to get the attention of my indoor Slinky antenna. What I need is a second ground plane antenna. Back in my early radio days, I had a Cushcraft A4 yagi on a 60-foot tower. These days I prefer the challenge of the ground plane antenna.
06-27-2023 - Some years ago, the James V. Allred unit used 4-digit radio callsigns for security personnel. You had to have a cheat sheet for all but the few most frequently used. It was, to me, a nightmare. Then someone came up with the only real solution to this silliness and that was to call the officer by name. What could be easier? "Sgt. Sharp to Capt. Crotchpheasant." And they lived happily ever after. Monitor the Allred Unit on your scanner at 153.815 MHz for General Population and 155.7225 MHz for the Expansion Cellblock, aka High Security. The General Population frequency is considered the main frequency.
06-27-2023 - There are 179 Texas ARRL-affiliated Amateur (ham) Radio clubs listed on the American Radio Relay League website. Unknown how many non-ARRL clubs exist across the state
06-27-2023 - It was 1965/6 and I was in the 8th grade. It was library day so I was also in the library. There, I happened upon the book "SOS at Midnight" by Walker A. Tompkins. It was about a young Amateur (ham) Radio operator, Tommy, K6ATX, and how he and his friends use ham radio to bust up a crime ring. The book was written in 1957. I think I read the first chapter as I walked home that day. Fast forward to post 2000 and I wanted to find a copy to keep. I did find one on eBay and I bought it. I should have looked closer at the description because the one I received was a 1985 paperback update with more modern ham radio gear, repeaters, etc. I tossed it in the trash. Eventually, I found a 1957 copy for a reasonable price. Translation: the price was a little high but I wanted the book. It was the real deal and it even smelled like a 1957 model. I have yet to find old copies of CQ Ghost Ship, Death Valley QTH, DX Brings Danger, and Grand Canyon QSO, all by Tompkins, that I read back in 1966. Well, there are updated versions but I don't want those. K6ATX was Tompkins's actual call sign. Meanwhile, it's time to read SOS at Midnight again.
06-27-2023 - Some local nursing homes use FRS or MURS radios. This is another group with apparently no idea that scanner radio enthusiasts exist. I heard one such employee tell another, "Go get Mrs. XYZ and bring her crap with her." I'm sure Mrs XYZ and her family don't regard her belongings as crap. I won't identify the business. Keep these frequencies in rotation on your scanner!
06-27-2023 - A challenge for Wichita Falls Amateur (ham) Radio Operators: Except for emergencies and scheduled nets, do not use a repeater on Sundays. Instead, use simplex! It's Wichita Falls - you can see from one side of town to the other! The maximum distance from one side of town to the other - not counting uninhabited prairie - is 10 miles. It's 13 miles if you add the prairie. Yes, there are dead spots. Work around them. That's what makes it fun!
06-27-2023 - I hear an unusually large number of truckers on the CB Radio these days who sound a lot like Festus from the old TV show "Gunsmoke". There's no way that large a percentage of people could sound like that in their normal day-to-day speech. These truckers are from all parts of the USA. I sometimes think there's a "Talk Like Festus" class in truck driving schools. I'm serious, something's going on here and I'm going to get to the bottom of it.
06-27-2023 - I'm getting an early start this morning. It's coffee and CB Radio Channel 19. I scanned for Morse code on the Yaesu 857D, but found nothing of interest. I'll mow the backyard around 8 this morning, giving the neighbors a chance to wake up first. I just want to get it done before the temperature hits the forecasted 109 degrees today. UPDATE: It made it to 110 today and the forecast for tomorrow is 112!