WICHITA FALLS MAN

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10-04-2023 - There are still places in town where you can see streetcar tracks. The intersections of Collins & Harrison and N.9th and N. Brook are two locations.

10-04-2023 - It was three decades ago when a person, in Wichita Falls, who had confidential information consisting of the names and addresses of people on vacation, sold that information to burglars. An arrest was made.

10-04-2023 - From my corrections consultant. It was 4-Chow Hall. Like all Allred chow halls, it's "in one door, eat, out the other door." It's the floor boss's job to keep them moving. By the time the fourth row of tables are full, the first row is highly encouraged to un-ass the building. Three "older" offenders were sitting near the back, seemingly ignoring the boss's efforts to keep the flow going. The boss walked over to their table and asked if they had a "slow eating" pass (issued by a doctor), which was a thing in those days. One of the senior citizen offenders said, "No, just no teeth." Tune in to Allred at 153.815 MHz on your scanner.

10-04-2023 - The Wichita Falls area Amateur (ham) Radio storm spotters were activated this afternoon. There are several strong cells headed our way. UPDATE: We missed the bad stuff, but the radar track shows we may have received rain over the lakes and watershed.

10-04-2023 - There's a nice 20 word-per-minute conversation on 14.055 MHz. That's a perfect speed for me, so I'll just sit back and copy for awhile.

10-04-2023 - The Morse code across the 20-meter Ham Radio band is all high-speed. By the exchanges, there are one or more contests going on. These folks are using keyboards or memory keyers. No skill is required. Very, very few people can send at these speeds by hand. It's Morse in name only! Does that make them MINOS? I don't use Morse decoders of any type so it's time to spin the dial.

10-04-2023 - Are you old enough to remember when smoking was allowed in Wichita Falls high schools? In nice weather, smoking had to be done outside, in a designated area. During inclement weather, students could smoke in a dedicated stairwell. During my first semester at MSU, at least one professor allowed smoking in the classroom.

10-04-2023 - From my law enforcement consultant. Years ago, a WFPD officer pursued a vehicle - speeding at over 100 MPH - into Burkburnett. The driver's excuse was that he was late for traffic court in Burkburnett. On another occasion, WFPD officers stopped two vehicles involved in a "speed contest". Both vehicles were driven by employees of a well-known car dealership. The vehicles belonged to customers of the dealership who had dropped them off to be serviced. Be sure to check your odometer before you drop off!

10-04-2023 - From my corrections consultant. It was the notorious 8-Building and time for offenders to rack up. An older Correctional Officer entered a section dayroom and gave the order to rack up. All offenders but one began picking up their belongings. One offender told the boss, "I'm not racking up." The boss says "Yep, you're gonna rack up like everybody else." The offender says "Nope. You're gonna have to call the goon squad." Boss says "You're looking at the goon squad, with wrinkles." The offender laughs and goes to his house. Tune in to the Allred Unit at 153.815 MHz on your scanner.

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10-04-2023 - I went outside this morning to try to spot the Starlink satellites, but could not see them at the predicted time and location. I did see two other random satellites. The sky is full of those.

10-04-2023 - It's National CB Radio Day - 10-4-2023.

10-03-2023 - From the U.S. Federal Communications Commission - FEMA and FCC Plan Nationwide Emergency Alert Test for Oct. 4; Test Messages Will be Sent to TVs, Radios and Cell Phones - WASHINGTON – FEMA, in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) tomorrow, Oct. 4. The national test will consist of two portions, testing WEA and EAS capabilities. Both tests are scheduled to begin at approximately 2:20 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 4. The WEA portion of the test will be directed to consumer cell phones. This will be the third nationwide test, but the second test to all WEA-compatible cellular devices. The test message will display in either English or in Spanish, depending on the language settings of the wireless handset. The EAS portion of the test will be sent to radios and televisions. This will be the seventh nationwide EAS test. FEMA and the FCC are coordinating with EAS participants, wireless providers, emergency managers and other stakeholders in preparation for this national test to minimize confusion and maximize the public safety value of the test. The purpose of the test is to ensure that the systems continue to be effective means of warning the public about emergencies, particularly those on the national level. In case the Oct. 4 test is postponed, due to widespread severe weather or other significant events, the back-up testing date is Oct. 11. The WEA portion of the test will be initiated using FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), a centralized internet-based system administered by FEMA that enables authorities to send authenticated emergency messages to the public through multiple communications networks. The WEA test will be administered via a code sent to cell phones.

10-03-2023 - I see people making and selling Morse code bracelets with no spacing between the characters. The only way you can tell what it says is by the printed Morse characters and letter accompanying the item. If it's Morse code, I should be able to read it without a cheat sheet. I need to slap myself! I shouldn't be looking at printed (or beaded) Morse characters! What was I thinking!

10-03-2023 - Both Kickapoo Airport (122.700 MHz) and Wichita Valley Airport (122.800 MHz) have traffic this evening. Tune in with your scanner.

10-03-2023 - Wichita Falls Amateur Radio VHF "simplex" operations run hot and cold from year to year. Some years it's popular, some years it's not. Simplex means direct - radio to radio - as opposed to communicating through a repeater. You can listen in by programming 146.520 MHz into your scanner. You'll need an outside antenna to hear all but the very close stations.

10-03-2023 - The Evening Crew is on CB Radio Channel 23, as they are nightly from 1730 - 1930 - and they don't have as much skip to battle tonight. Maybe they want more skip. I don't know.

10-03-2023 - The FCC has fined Dish Network $150,000 for failing to deorbit one of its satellites. According to the FCC, this failure contributes to the growing problem of space junk. Interesting.

10-03-2023 - I mowed the grass at the Wichita Falls Man HQ in anticipation of rain and because it was getting quite shabby. That's my exercise for the day! Texas Rangers begin the playoffs later today!

10-03-2023 - The waste management company on 463.300 MHz stays busy all day. This area must be generating a lot of trash! Tune in with your scanner if you're looking for some real trash talking!

10-03-2023 - In June, I reported finding an online listing for a GMRS repeater in Wichita Falls. I have that frequency - 462.700 MHz - plugged into my scanner, but I haven't heard any activity. It's possible that the machine doesn't yet exist. My research reveals that the FCC does not require frequency coordination for GMRS repeaters. That's interesting. I wonder if there have been any killings in the big cities over this?

10-03-2023 - A big story from Canada is the presumed desire of Justin Trudeau to regulate podcasts by having them register with the government. Not good! However, the upside of this buzz is that it has spurred a lot of talk about going to CB Radio. Talk about clouds having a silver lining!