WICHITA FALLS MAN

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01-01-2024 - My first Ham Radio contact of the New Year was a CW (Morse code) contact, using an old straight key, with K2JVB on 14.052 MHz in Hempstead Lake State Park in New York. It was a short exchange as he is working "Parks on the Air®" and he's really racking up the contacts!

01-01-2024 - There was, and might still be, a lot of hate for the FT8 mode. I have no real interest in digital modes (other than CW) at this point in my life, but I don't understand the hate that any communications mode generates. Some hams act as if money is being sucked out of their pockets each time someone participates in a Ham Radio mode they don't approve of. This reminds me, once again, of the advice given by one ham, "If you want to complain about hams not knowing CW (Morse code), do it using CW in the CW bands", or words to that effect.

01-01-2024 - NWS forecast - Today: Cloudy through mid morning, then gradual clearing, with a high near 44. North northeast wind 5 to 9 mph. Tonight: Increasing clouds, with a low around 29. East northeast wind around 5 mph becoming light and variable after midnight.

01-01-2024 - Good Morning and Happy New Year! I started my New Year with a 30-minute spin on the exercise bike, along with a big cup of Folgers Black Silk Coffee. I also had the headphones on listening to the 1947 kHz crew talking about old radios, among other stuff.

12-31-2023 - I drove to Lake Wichita Park to check on the parking lot construction near Mount Murphy. It is still under construction. I had planned to climb the huge 80-foot hill and make some 2-meter FM radio contacts. Yes, I could have parked a quarter-mile away in one of the other park lots, but I'm just too lazy. I'll check back in a few weeks. On the way home, I stopped at Long John Silvers on Kemp. I haven't had LJS in 25 years or more. I think I can go another 25.

12-31-2023 - I heard an Amateur (ham) Radio operator, set up at the log cabin in Lucy Park, making a few local contacts on the 147.140 MHz repeater. This guy is visiting from Oklahoma, and says he also has a 20-meter station set up to work state and national parks under the Parks on the Air® program. Lucy Park itself doesn't qualify as a POTA park, but that doesn't mean you can't contact POTA parks from there. I turned down the TV, broke out the old CW (Morse code) straight key, and searched the 20-meter band for POTA operators calling CQ.

12-31-2023 - If you're in Texas, you remember the Big Texas Freeze of February 2021. We, at the Wichita Falls Man HQ, survived nicely due to the Briggs & Stratton Q6500 generator. I'm going to call it a mid-size unit. It kept the furnace, refrigerator, and plenty of lights/TV/radios going during the 15 hours we were without commercial power. A smaller generator will get the job done by running one appliance at a time. You can run the refrigerator for an hour or so, the furnace for an hour or so, etc. If it's summertime, you don't have to run the central AC unit. We keep a window unit on standby for summertime power outages. Having to alternate appliances is a lot better than having no appliances up and running. This is especially true for those who were without power for days at a time.

12-31-2023 - NWS forecast - Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 54. West wind 7 to 15 mph becoming northeast in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 23 mph. TonightMostly clear, with a low around 27. North northeast wind 9 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

12-31-2023 - Good Morning! It's 5:45 AM on the last day of the year. That means that if you have anything you plan to do in 2023, you only have a few hours to get it done. Me? I think I got it all done. The Cowboys squeaked by with a win last night. They were lucky. A loss would have been extra bad, considering the nice halftime Ring of Honor induction ceremony for Jimmy Johnson. The 1947 kHz crew is on the air and my coffee is ready. Years ago, a local instructor said to his students: "If you don't believe women live longer than men, go to Luby's at lunchtime and count all the widows".

12-30-2023 - Just as the 1970s was a sad time for men's fashion, the 1980s and 1990s were a sad time for the appearance of the area just outside the Sheppard Air Force Base Main Gate. If you drove just one-half mile north and south of the Main Gate, you might have a hard time believing that this was the area we presented to our national and international visitors stationed at the base. One of the biggest eyesores was Beacon Plaza with its abandoned bar, adult book store, junk cars, and other unsightly debris. The chain-link fence around the mess just called more attention to it. We've pretty much recovered from that, but we can never let it happen again.

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12-30-2023 - At 7:15 AM 151.820 MHz (Multi-Use Radio Service) is active. It sounds like they might be hunting since they're always chasing something. Could it be deer? I'm not a hunter so I don't have a clue. By the signal strength, these folks are closer to me than they have been in the past. I'm guessing they're the same folks.

12-30-2023 - 6:30 AM - I continued listening to the 1947 kHz guys as I transitioned to the stationary bike for a 20-minute leisurely spin. I'll do two more of those sessions today. No need to break a sweat. As you might guess, I don't care what those "experts" say. I'll make a pass through Walmart later today to pick up a couple of 2024 calendars and other goodies. And, the Cowboys have a Saturday night game! I switched over the President McKinley CB Radio just in time to hear a station in Puerto Rico break the band open.

12-30-2023 - NWS forecast - Today: Sunny, with a high near 63. West southwest wind 5 to 8 mph. Tonight: Increasing clouds, with a low around 35. South wind 6 to 8 mph.

12-30-2023 - Good Morning! It's 5:00 AM, and the Amateur (ham) Radio 1947 kHz crew is coming alive. It sounds like a few of them need some coffee to get going. I know I do, and it's brewing as I write.

12-29-2023 - It's 7:00 PM and some type of interference is getting into the 147.140 MHz repeater this evening, keying it up every few seconds. I have no idea what it is but, since I don't use repeaters, it's not inconveniencing me at all. I'll just lock it out of scan on my scanner for a while. Also, I checked CB Radio Channel 23 but I didn't hear the Local Group. That's unusual. Maybe they all took a restroom break at the same time, or maybe they took the night off.

12-29-2023 - From the Federal Emergency Management Administration - Since 2013, FEMA has conducted the National Household Survey on Disaster Preparedness. This survey of people from across the United States gauges the nation's disaster preparedness actions, attitudes, and motivations. The 2023 survey conducted from February 1 through March 14, 2023 included over 7,600 responses. Results from the 2023 survey indicate that slightly more than half (51%) of Americans believe they are prepared for a disaster and 57% took three or more actions to prepare for a disaster within the last year. The most common actions people took to prepare for a disaster were assembling or updating disaster supplies (48%) and making a plan (37%); the least common actions were planning with neighbors (12%) and getting involved in their community (14%).

12-29-2023 - From the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics - There were 5,486 fatal work injuries recorded in the United States in 2022, a 5.7-percent increase from 5,190 in 2021. A worker died every 96 minutes from a work-related injury in 2022.

12-29-2023 - Tuning the CB Radio band, I hear that well-known Caribbean operator on Channel 6, the "superbowl" of CB Radio, who says "I'm gone" a dozen times but he never leaves!

12-29-2023 - At 7:15 AM, I hear a scratchy signal on 147.420 MHz, a common Amateur (ham) Radio simplex frequency. I'm also hearing a weak signal on 151.820 MHz, a Multi-Use Radio Service frequency. On the CB Radio, all is quiet so far since the band has yet to open. It'll be screaming before long. I like CB Radio, but I don't like the idiots on CB Radio. Unfortunately, it's part of the deal. Low barriers to entry will cause problems in any hobby or activity. It has been creeping into Amateur (ham) Radio for years. It's not about technical knowledge, it's about manners. When you have little invested, you have little to lose.