WICHITA FALLS MAN

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10-13-2023 - Have you seen that Texas Department of Criminal Justice (prison system) recruiting ad on TV with the Captain of Correctional Officers sporting an unbuttoned shirt pocket? He'll be taking heat over that for a long time! Tune in to the Allred Unit at 153.815 MHz on your scanner.

10-13-2023 - My high school summer job was running the vending machine candy route - for Houston Vending Company - on Sheppard Air Force Base. So, there I was, driving on one of Sheppard's main streets. A short but heavy rain had just ended. A large puddle near the curb had formed, and I was headed straight for it. I hit it without slowing down. Just as the wall of water went up, I noticed a woman, on the sidewalk, walking toward me in her Class A dress uniform. In a split second, she was gone, behind a rising wall of water. She reappeared a second later, drenched. With the damage done, I saw no point in stopping. Besides, she shared some responsibility since she should have known the risks of walking near roadside puddles.

10-13-2023 - Good morning, and Happy Friday the 13th! It's coffee time, and my scanner radio just locked on to a scratchy signal on 155.000 MHz. I don't find a reference for that frequency, so I must have found it during a "band scan" and saved it. This is one more reason why I need to raise my scanner antenna another 10 feet!

10-12-2023 - I had dreams of winning the lottery, buying the old Sears building in downtown Wichita Falls, and converting it to a restaurant mall exclusively for locally-owned eateries. There would be rooftop parking and dining. Oh, and probably a antenna tower or two. It would have been fun!

10-12-2023 - From my corrections consultant - A sergeant at the Allred Unit was busted by a captain for taking a sandwich out of the Officer's Dining Room or ODR. He was made to write, 100 times, "I will not take food out of the ODR". The document, or a portion thereof, was posted on the wall in the ODR for all to see. Officers at the Allred Unit work a 12½ shift with a 30-minute lunch break. There are no coffee breaks at the Allred Unit. Your lunch period may come as early as one hour into your shift or closer to quitting time, depending on staffing. Who wouldn't want to take a sandwich back to their duty station if they have more than half of their shift ahead of them? Tune in at 153.815 MHz on your scanner.

10-12-2023 - Another of many ICS drills is underway at the James V. Allred Unit (153.815 MHz). These drills help officers maintain skills needed for real events such as the time two offenders (cooks) got into a fight over who made the best biscuits! Tune in to the daily action with your scanner.

10-12-2023 - Wichita Falls Walmart stores use handheld radios on 154.570 and 154.600 MHz. These are Multi Use Radio Service frequencies. I'm not sure, but I think the 154.600 MHz frequency is used by supervisors. I base this on the interesting topics I hear discussed there. Tune in with your scanner.

10-12-2023 - Good morning. The local school buses (152.360 MHz) are rolling and CB Radio Channel 19 is coming alive with local traffic. I'm guessing DX (long-distance) CB Radio channels will be busy again today. After all, we are at or near the peak of Solar Cycle 25. On Ham Radio, I found a nice Morse code contact on 40 meters to follow while I enjoy my first cup of coffee.

10-11-2023 - I checked CB Radio Channel 23 at about 1830, and either the local group shut down early, or they didn't appear at all. That happens sometimes. Meanwhile, Channel 38 LSB is loaded with strong signals this evening.

10-11-2023 - The next time you're in the main parking lot of the Wichita Falls Public Library, take a look south down the alley by the auto radiator shop. There you'll see a very high-tech power distribution system. I'm told that it was fun watching Nikola Tesla wire it up!

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10-11-2023 - I see a lot of people online making and selling Morse code bracelets. Many I see cannot be translated because there is no spacing between characters. The makers don't understand what they are making and the buyers don't understand what they are buying.

10-11-2023 - Back in my "substitute teaching" days, I ran across two kids who stood out in the "I need sugar" category. One ate a pint of Blue Bell Ice Cream every day during lunch. If you saw him, you'd believe it. Another kid was very hyper and ran just about everywhere. Teachers were constantly slowing him down. One day I saw him run to a vending machine, deposit his coins, drop to his knees, and say "Come on, sugar!"

10-11-2023 - Good Morning! It is coffee time once again. The CB Radio is still mostly asleep, with Channel 6 - the "superbowl" of CB Radio - showing any signs of life. Conditions will improve within an hour and the whole band will be booming. We are near the peak of Solar Cycle 25.

10-10-2023 - As social unrest increases, so does the online talk about investing in CB Radio and Amateur (ham) Radio technology. I wonder how much of that talk converts to actual radio purchases. Inquiring minds want to know.

10-10-2023 - According to an old newspaper report, in 1966 the Faith City Five Watters CB Radio Club held a Coffee Break and Jamboree in Burkburnett. A parade was part of the festivities. Prizes given away during the event included a Johnson Messenger 3 CB Radio, a Johnson Messenger 2 CB Radio, a beam antenna, and a Turner Plus 2 microphone.

10-10-2023 - Years ago, around 1982, to be more precise, an employee of Gibson's Discount Center at 605 12th Street would "super glue" a quarter coin to the sidewalk in front of the building and watch customers try to pry it up. One man wanted that quarter so bad he went to his car and brought back the necessary tools to get the job done. By the way, Weatherford, Texas sill has a Gibson's.

10-10-2023 - From my law enforcement consultant - It was the mid to late 1970s, at the Piggly Wiggly store at 7th & Eastside (now MLK). An off-duty police officer, working security, had posted himself in an elevated position behind the back wall where he could watch the floor through several peepholes. For reasons known only to the officer, he decided to check his revolver, and BOOM!, a round went through the wall. No one was hurt and the officer said no one appeared to connect the noise with a gunshot. Fast-forward a few years to the Gibson's Discount Center on Kell. An off-duty officer working security had to take a restroom break, a break that required a seated position. While seated, and for reasons known only to the officer, he checked his revolver and BOOM!, there was a hole in the door. Again, no injuries and no one reported even hearing the shot. The shot did shorten the officer's potty break in an unexpected way.

10-10-2023 - There's a DX station hidden in the pile-up at 7.005 MHz. I hear everybody but him! It's time for more coffee, that's all that matters right now!

10-10-2023 - At 0545, someone with a local waste management company (463.300 MHz) called 10-41. That's interesting. A minute later, the Iowa Park school bus frequency (153.305 MHz) came alive. WFISD is off again today, but I guess Iowa Park is back to school. Or, maybe it's just staff using the frequency. Time will tell.