WICHITA FALLS MAN

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03-13-2024 - From my law enforcement consultant - At 2522 Iowa Park Road, now the location of United Supermarket was a small, 4-unit apartment building. In 1983, during the early morning hours, the building caught fire. The smoke was so intense, you couldn't tell what was on fire. When the fire was extinguished, a man was found dead in the bathtub of one of the apartments. He was fully clothed. Was he trapped in that location and intended to get wet as a defense against the flames? It appeared that the smoke got to him before he could take any other action, actions that probably have made no difference in the outcome.

03-13-2024 - FEMA National Current Ops / Monitoring – March 12–13, 2024

New Significant Incidents / Ongoing Ops:
• No significant incidents / operations

Hazard Monitoring:
• Extremely Critical Fire Weather – Southern Plains
• Heavy snow – Central Rockies
• Severe thunderstorms – Central Plains to the Middle Mississippi Valley

Disaster Declaration Activity:
• Request: Major Disaster Declaration – OR

Event Monitoring:
• No significant events

03-13-2024 - Back 30 to 35 years ago, the Fire Chief at that time installed blue reflectors near fire hydrants on the roadways to aid in the location of the hydrants at night. The reflectors were installed near the hydrants and at intersections near hydrants. I thought this was a good idea. The reflectors have disappeared over the years. I don't know if they were removed by later WFFD chiefs or if they came loose and were never replaced.

03-13-2024 - From my corrections consultant: Instead of "10-4", "That's clear" has been the customary reponse to indicate the message was received and understood. I have to wonder how that got started. Is it just the Allred Unit? Do local influences determine some radio procedure or is "that's clear" and statewide mandate? But wait! A rogue officer said "Copy that." Will he be discliplined? Seriously, I'd rather hear "Copy that" over "That's clear." Tune in to Allred Unit at 153.815 MHz on your scanner radio.

03-13-2024 - Our local TV stations didn't pick their antenna locations randomly. The antennas for these two stations sit on high ground relative to the surrounding areas. If you want a VHF-UHF (line of sight) friendly location, you might look in these areas: the area around the Kell Freeway, Johnson Road, and Barnett Road. Also, the area around Allendale, the Kell Freeway, and Southwest Parkway. The area around Santa Fe, East Wenona, Arthur, and Westerly. The area around Rivercrest and Emerson. The area near the intersection of Seymour Road and Seymour Highway (TV 3). The area around Tilden and Hayes where they cross Avenue F. If you can't operate from these areas, that's not a big problem. A good antenna 20 feet in the air will solve your problems. This is Wichita Falls - you can almost see from one side of town to the other.

03-13-2024 - NWS Forecast - Today: Sunny, with a high near 88. South southwest wind 13 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 59. South wind 13 to 16 mph, gusting as high as 24 mph.

03-13-2024 - Good Morning. WFISD Spring Break continues and that means no school bus excitement on 152.360 MHz, or activity from school handheld radios on 151.940 MHz. The City transit buses are in the "relaxed" radio mode as is common in the mornings and evenings. I won't elaborate but get a scanner radio and be entertained. It's coffee time!

03-12-2024 - International Space Station over Wichita Falls - Time: Wed Mar 13, 8:37 PM, Visible: 6 min, Max Height: 89°, Appears: 10° above SW, Disappears: 14° above NE. Listen on 145.800 & 437.800 MHz for possible Amateur (ham) Radio communications.

03-12-2024 - KFDX - Channel 3 - reports that Carney Porter will take over Lauren Linville's job as co-anchor of the evening news. Linville is, according to the report, moving on to pursue a "new adventure" in Fort Worth. Porter is currently a morning anchor. In other news, a Wichita Falls woman has been charged with four incidents involving crimes against children. The total bond set was $250,000. Of course, all suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. In other news, the Uvalde police chief has resigned.

03-12-2024 - I saw a small private airplane today, I won't say the type, at a low altitude, engaging in maneuvers that I would describe as flirting with a stall-spin accident. I was so sure of that possibilty that I reached for my phone to get it on video for the NTSB crash report. By the time I got the phone out, the plane departed the area. I'll leave it at that.

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03-12-2024 - The Clay County Amateur Radio Club conducts a weekly Skywarn practice net on Tuesdays at 8:00 PM on the club's 146.680 and 146.800 MHz repeaters. All licensed Amateur Radio Operators are invited to check in. Scanner listeners are also welcome.

03-12-2024 - International Space Station over Wichita Falls - Time: Tue Mar 12 9:25 PM, Visible: 3 min, Max Height: 44°, Appears: 10° above WSW, Disappears: 44° above NW. Listen on 145.800 & 437.800 MHz for possible Amateur (ham) Radio communications.

03-12-2024 NWS Forecast - Today: Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 80. South southwest wind 11 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 58. South wind 11 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.

03-12-2024 - Good Morning! It's time to give my Briggs & Stratton generator its regular "exercise" run. I've had to use it only twice, but the peace of mind of having it on stand-by is worth every penny I paid for it. I know the refrigerator and furnace or air conditioning will be working, and my wife knows she will always be able to watch Judge Judy! My coffee is ready, so I'll pour a cup!

03-11-2024 - I made contact with KD9RKG at Mead State Wildlife Area (US-4310) in Wisconsin on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.

03-11-2024 - From the U.S. Federal Communications Commission - Space Exploration Holdings, LLC Request For Orbital Deployment And Operating Authority for the Spacex Gen2 NGSO Satellite System. Grants in part, with conditions, and defers in part, the amended application authorizing communications in the \"E-band \" with the SpaceX Gen2 Starlink satellites, that the Commission previously authorized. Action by: Space Bureau, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, Office of Engineering and Technology. Adopted: 2024-03-08 by Order Authorization. (DA No. 24-222). //// KUIPER SYSTEMS LLC Request For Modification Of The Authorization for the Kuiper NGSO Satellite System . Kuiper's NGSO system license is modified to reduce the number of satellites from 3,236 to 3,232; change the orbital parameters; and allow launch and early-orbit phase operations, payload testing, and deorbit operations on a non-interference basis. . Action by: Space Bureau. Adopted: 2024-03-08 by Order Authorization. (DA No. 24-224). SB.

03-11-2024 - FEMA National Current Ops / Monitoring – March 10–11, 2024

New Significant Incidents / Ongoing Ops:
• No significant incidents / operations

Hazard Monitoring:
• Heavy Snow – Pacific Northwest to California, and the Northeast
• Critical Fire Weather – Northern/Central Plains and the Rockies

Disaster Declaration Activity:
• No new declaration activity

Event Monitoring:
• No significant events

03-11-2024 - I just learned that the Texas prison school system - Windham School District - observes Spring Break, timed with the local school district. So, the James V. Allred Unit - 153.815 MHz - is observing Spring Break this week along with the Wichita Falls ISD. Interesting.

03-11-2024 - NWS Forecast - Today: Partly sunny, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 73. South wind 7 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 52. South wind 11 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.

03-11-2024 - Good Morning! It's 5:45 AM, and I'm listening to the 1947 kHz crew and sipping on - you guessed it - Folgers Black Silk coffee. I didn't make any Parks on the Air® contacts yesterday. Mowing my yard and a NASCAR race got in the way. I'm not a serious NASCAR fan. I don't know much, if anything, about most drivers. I don't want to see any cars destroyed or drivers injured, but I enjoy the minor fender-benders! I'll never attend a race in person. If I did, it would be to listen in on the scanner radio traffic. I could do that from the parking lot of the In-N-Out Burger across the street from the Texas Motor Speedway. Speaking of scanners, It's time to switch from the 1947 kHz crew to local scanner radio traffic. It's WFISD Spring Break, so no school bus - 152.360 MHz - radio traffic the week. Let's see what the Allred Unit - 153.815 MHz - and the city transit buses - 453.5375 MHz - are talking about.