WICHITA FALLS MAN

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03-26-2026 - Good Morning! I'll let Morse code and Folgers Black Silk coffee bring me to life this morning. Politics is a popular topic on the Amateur (ham) Radio bands. I've heard about every opinion possible, so it's time to seek a different subject. Or, maybe no subject at all. Morse code usually gives me a break from politics. At least I haven't heard politics via Morse. You'd probably wear out your fist and key arguing politics via that mode.

03-25-2024 - FEMA National Current Ops / Monitoring for March 23-25, 2024

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

Hazard Monitoring:
• Heavy snow/freezing rain - Central Plains to the Great Lakes
• Severe thunderstorms - Lower Mississippi Valley
• Critical fire weather - South Texas

Disaster Declaration Activity:
• Major Disaster Declaration Request: California

Event Monitoring:
• No significant events

03-25-2024 - Amateur (ham) Radio "aeronautical mobile" operations are a fairly common event. I have never heard, or heard about, anyone using GMRS, MURS, or even FRS aboard an aircraft. I'm sure it has happened, I just haven't heard about it. I did hear one CB Radio aero event about 15 years ago.

03-25-2024 - NWS Forecast - Today: Partly sunny, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 63. South southwest wind 10 to 15 mph becoming west 16 to 21 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 31 mph. Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 36. Northwest wind 11 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.

03-25-2024 - Good Morning! Our local Amateur (ham) Radio Skywarn® storm spotters were activated last evening and were dispatched to their various assigned posts. As usual, they did a great job keeping the public and the National Weather Service informed of events "on the ground." One local "ham" reports that he got 1½ inches of rain yesterday. My coffee is ready, and I think I'll tune in to 1947 kHz and see what those guys are doing.

03-24-2024 - At 4:45 PM, Wichita Falls area Skywarn® storm spotters have activated a net and taking check-ins in preparation for approaching storms. Tune in with your scanner radio at 146.940 MHz.

03-24-2024 - Wichita Falls city parks would be a good place for residents to meet following a disaster to exchange information and various necessities. The parks would also make good locations to set up emergency VHF-UHF radio communications points. Operators could exchange information with stations in other parks and provide relevant information to local residents. A Net Cotrol Station could be established either at a centrally-located park or one with a high elevation. Once the NCS is satisfied that contact can be made with all participating parks, the individual parks can make sure they can contact each other. For Wichita Falls, a simple VHF-UHF ground plane antenna on a 20-foot pole (painter's push-up pole?) and 5 - 10 watts of power should be sufficient.

03-24-2024 - At 8:35 AM, the Wichita Falls area Skywarn® storm spotters issued a weather update on 146.940 MHz. The news is that we're at moderate risk for severe weather. Make sure you have this frequency in your scanner radio.

03-24-2024 - FEMA National Current Ops / Monitoring – March 23–24, 2024

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

Hazard Monitoring:
• Heavy Snow – Southwest to the Great Lakes
• Freezing Rain – Central Plains to the Great Lakes
• Severe Thunderstorms – Southern and Central Plains
• Critical Fire Weather – Southern and Central Plains

Disaster Declaration Activity:
• No new declaration activity

Event Monitoring:
• No significant events

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03-24-2024 - National Weather Service - Mostly Clear - When the 1/8th to 2/8ths of the sky is covered by with opaque (not transparent) clouds. Sometimes referred to as Mostly Sunny if this condition is present during daylight hours. Mostly Cloudy - When the 6/8th to 7/8ths of the sky is covered by with opaque (not transparent) clouds. Same as Considerable Cloudiness. Mostly Sunny - When the 1/8th to 2/8ths of the sky is covered by with opaque (not transparent) clouds Same as Mostly Clear, except only applicable during daylight hours.

03-24-2024 - NWS Forecast - Today: A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 4pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 70. Windy, with a south wind 16 to 21 mph increasing to 25 to 30 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 44 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Tonight: Showers and thunderstorms likely before 10pm, then a slight chance of showers between 10pm and 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 51. Windy, with a south southwest wind 24 to 29 mph decreasing to 14 to 19 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 40 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

03-24-2024 - Good Morning! It's Sunday and weekend Amateur (ham) Radio contests are probably still happening. I'll see if I can snag another Parks on the Air® station, or two, using Morse code. I'm guessing most Parks on the Air® contacts are made using voice on single sideband, but I know I would derive zero enjoyment out of that. I'll stay down in the CW (Morse code) portions of the bands. I find that operators have much better manners on CW because it's too much trouble to be a butthead in Morse code. Too much trouble to be one, and too much trouble to listen to one. That's my opinion, anyway. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready!

03-23-2024 - I made contact with WB0TUA at Victoria Glades State Conservation Area (US-10265) in Missouri on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.

03-23-2024 - FEMA National Current Ops / Monitoring – March 22–23, 2024

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

Hazard Monitoring:
• Freezing Rain – Northeast
• Heavy Rain/Flash Flooding – Mid-Atlantic to the Northeast
• Heavy Snow – California and the Pacific Northwest to the Northern Plains, and Northeast

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

Event Monitoring:
• No significant events

03-23-2024 - NWS Forecast - Today: Sunny, with a high near 66. North northeast wind 6 to 8 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon. Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56. Southeast wind 9 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph.

03-23-2024 - Good Morning! Yesterday evening, I heard KI5LET making contacts on 146.580 MHz FM simplex. There's a net on this frequency on Fridays at 8:00 PM. KI5LET was the only station I heard, and I think he's in Wise County. He sounds like he's the Net Control Station. The North Central Texas Simplex Net is on Friday night, but they show a location of Weatherford. It's all confusing to me. The good news is there is definitely a lot of simplex action going on. How can you know your capabilities if you're relying on repeaters all the time?

03-22-2024 - I made contact with WA0SPG at Lost Dutchman State Park (US-1061) in Arizona on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.

03-22-2024 - FEMA National Current Ops / Monitoring – March 21–22, 2024

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

Hazard Monitoring:
• Freezing Rain – Northeast
• Severe Thunderstorms/Flash Flooding – South Florida
• Heavy Snow – Sierra Nevada, Great Lakes, and Northeast

Disaster Declaration Activity:
• No new declaration activity

Event Monitoring:
• No significant events

03-22-2024 - I turned the CB Radio on a little late - 7:15 AM - to find the band starting to open. I was planning to tune in earlier, hoping to catch some quiet, local communications before the band got noisy. The skip-shooters will think I'm crazy with that attitude! They'll say CB Radio is about the band being wide open and booming signals crisscrossing the globe. Well, there are band conditions to suit everyone. Those conditions, and the times you want them to occur, might not line up perfectly, or at all. Amateur (ham) Radio to the rescue! Some ham frequencies are quiet and some are booming, and they are fairly predictable.