WICHITA FALLS MAN

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01-19-2024 - NWS forecast - Today: Sunny, with a high near 33. North wind 10 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 17. Northeast wind 5 to 8 mph.

01-19-2024 - Good morning! I was late - 6:15 AM - getting up this morning! It seems like the day is already shot! The coffee is ready but I've missed most of the 1947 kHz crew. Oh well, I'll catch them tomorrow.

01-18-2024 - From the U.S. Federal Communications Commission - FCC begins proceeding to empower consumers during cable & satellite tv blackouts . Proposal Seeks Comment on Rebates for Consumers During TV Blackouts //// FCC adopts proposal to support local journalism. Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Proposes to Prioritize License Application Review for Broadcasters that Provide Locally Originated Programming.

01-18-2024 - The Wichita Amateur Radio Society meets every third Thursday at 6:30 PM in the Professor Jackson Building behind the American Red Cross at 1809 5th Street in Wichita Falls. I can't speak for the club, but I'm guessing they would be happy to see you if you're interested in Amateur (ham) Radio.

01-18-2024 - Somewhere among my journal scribblings is the story of a local Amateur (ham) Radio operator and I and our attempt to dine at all Wichita Falls restaurants. This was 40 years ago. He passed on (Silent Key) early in our dining adventure. But, before that, he was an avid DX'er. That is, he enjoyed contacting foreign Amateur Radio stations and collecting their QSL cards - postcards confirming the contact. I was a casual DX'er. I didn't spend much time hunting DX stations, but if I heard one, I might make the contact. And, I might not. Early one morning, hours before I planned to leave the bed, my dining buddy called me to alert me that a rare or semi-rare DX station was down in the "Extra Class" portion of one of the bands. He, having only a General Class license, could not legally make that contact but he wanted to see someone in the area snag that station. I mumbled a sleepy "OK" and went back to sleep. That disappointment might have been what put him in his grave. I still feel bad about that.

01-18-2024 - Good Morning! I'm listening to the 1947 kHz group as I sip my Folgers Black Silk coffee. Here's the NWS forecast - Today: Sunny, with a high near 55. West wind 8 to 13 mph becoming north in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 20. Windy, with a north wind 8 to 18 mph increasing to 19 to 29 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 44 mph.

01-17-2024 - Have any local Amateur (ham) Radio operators made a Mount Murphy to Mount Scott radio contact? Probably not. As you might know, Mount Murphy is that big dirt mound at the south end of Lake Wichita Park. Mount Scott, of course, is in the Wichita Mountains near Lawton, OK. For this exercise, the contact must be VHF or UHF simplex. Working a Wichita Falls repeater from Mount Scott is so easy a caveman could do it, so that won't count. It has to be direct, mountain to mountain. I'm not sure any local hams have made even local contacts from Mount Murphy. If so, I missed it. A Lawton group used to run a 2-meter simplex net from Mount Scott, but I don't know if that's still a thing.

01-17-2024 - NWS forecast - Today: Sunny, with a high near 47. South wind 8 to 13 mph increasing to 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 31. South wind 13 to 17 mph becoming west after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 26 mph.

01-17-2024 - Good Morning! At 6:00 AM the temperature is 19 degrees and will hopefully climb throughout the day. Some of the guys on 1947 kHz are making horrible noises this morning. Yes, it happens on Amateur (ham) Radio too! Just not as much as you might find on the more free-spirited CB Radio band.

01-16-2024 - These 5- and 6-degree mornings have stressed my 6-year old car battery. It could barely gather enough energy to start the car, so I made my way to Walmart and got a new one.

01-16-2024 - The Clay County Amateur Radio Club conducts a weekly Skywarn practice net on Tuesdays at 8:00 PM on the club's 146.680 MHz repeater. All licensed Amateur Radio Operators are invited to check in. Scanner listeners are also encouraged to tune in.

01-16-2024 - From the U.S. Federal Communications Commission - FCC Enforcement Bureau issued notice of illegal pirate radio broadcasting (niprb) to two entities for allowing illegal broadcasting from their property. Wichita Falls Man Tip: Don't allow illegal broadcasting from your area!

01-16-2024 - Walmart (154.570 MHz), the Allred Unit (153.815 MHz), the County Jail (155.520 MHz), the State Hospital (154.800 MHz) the city transit buses (453.5375 MHz), school handheld radios (151.940 MHz), and the school buses (152.360 MHz) are all active this morning. Tune in with your scanner.

01-16-2024 - NWS forecast - Today: Sunny, with a high near 29. Wind chill values as low as -2. North northwest wind 5 to 8 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon. Tonight: Clear, with a low around 17. South wind 5 to 9 mph.

01-16-2024 - Good Morning! It's 6 degrees outside 6:00 AM, the coffee is ready, I've got the Amateur (ham) Radio 1947 kHz crew in the headphones, and I'm taking advantage of the semi-new program where you can check your Equifax, Experian, and Transunion credit reports once a week at no charge. This is a permanent offer. Check Annual Credit Report dot com for information.

01-15-2024 - The Bills beat the Steelers this evening, then the Buccaneers beat the Eagles. I'm ending the evening with the Texas CW (Morse code) Traffic Net on 3541 kHz. That means I'll probably be hearing dits and dahs in my sleep.

01-15-2024 - This evening, it was the old high-low volume problem. I was listening to two stations on the local Amateur (ham) Radio 147.140 Mhz repeater. One station had booming audio and the other had relatively low audio. I had to crank up my receive audio to hear the low-audio guy. Then, the high-audio guy comes on and I have to quickly turn mine down to save my speakers and my ears. Okay, that's an exaggeration, but not by much.