RadioMan763™
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045
05-05-2026 - 5:00 AM - Good Morning! It's Tuesday, and my "I don't plan to do anything today" mood continues. Local Amateur (ham) Radio communications were sparse yesterday. I'm talking about VHF and UHF communications that I can monitor on my Yaesu FT-2980 or my Uniden BC365CRS scanner radio. I did make one Parks on the Air® contact on 20 meters using Morse code, but that was about it, for me. If you remember the "countdown" traffic light at the intersection of East Scott and Hines, you're old! My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready.
--- 5:10 AM - Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 85. Southwest wind 14 to 16 mph becoming north in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 24 mph. Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 52. North northeast wind 10 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.
--- 5:15 AM - ERCOT (Texas) snapshot of grid conditions - ERCOT reports that conditions are normal and there is enough power for current demand with an operating reserve of 14,766 Megawatts.
--- 5:25 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 85.4% Kemp: 95.6% Kickapoo: 87.3%. Monitored Water Supply Reservoirs are 90.1% full. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (86.35%) to determine drought stage.
--- 5:35 AM - We have a slight jaywalking problem on Scott Avenue between 6th and 7th Streets. People going to and coming from the Wichita County Courthouse Annex are crossing Scott at places other than the crosswalk. Unless there has been a change in WFPD regulations, jaywalking is not enforced in Wichita Falls. The reason is that it has not been enforced as long as anyone can remember, and the WFPD leadership doesn't want "Barney Fife" or any other officer enforcing it unless and until a public information announcement is made. But the courthouse jaywalking itself isn't the big problem. The big problem is that drivers are stopping mid-block to let these people cross. No! No! No!. If they're going to jaywalk, make them wait for an opening. That's my opinion. Yours might vary. If the WFPD regulations have changed, please let me know.
5:45 AM - Just a reminder: Wichita Falls needs a new slogan or tagline. Blue Skies and Golden Opportunities won't cut it. Every city has blue skies, and just what are those golden opportunities? Of course, your opinion might vary.
--- 5:50 AM - NWS Short Range Weather Discussion
--- 5:55 AM - NWS Extended Range Weather Discussion
--- 7:20 AM - If you feel the need to "bust a cap", try the High Caliber Gun Range - 7475 Central E Fwy - 940-432-5556. I'm posting this for information purposes only. I have not visited this range.
--- 7:55 AM - FEMA Daily Operations Briefing
9:00 AM - Not long ago, I heard at least three guys, maybe four, chatting it up on Channel 25 as they passed through town. These guys didn't appear to be moving an oversized load, but it could have been a convoy. One of them has been through here before, as evidenced by his giving "proper lane" and other instructions to the others. CB Radio is dead! Long live CB Radio!
9:45 AM - I haven't heard the CB Radio Sultan of Splatter in a few years. He frequently appeared on Channel 6, the "superbowl", but he could also be heard splattering on channels 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10 simultaneously. He didn't understand that power expended on those unintended channels was power he didn't have on 6, his intended channel. Physics. I found out that actor Tom Savini is nicknamed the Sultan of Splatter for his horror effects. I might have to come up with a new name for the CB Sultan. Or maybe Tom can get a CB radio with a splattering, POS amplifier.
--- 6:00 PM - The Local Group is mixing it up on CB Radio Channel 23. I didn’t do much radioing at all today. No particular reason. Now that I think about it, I didn’t do much of anything today. I’m trying to decide whether or not I should feel guilty about it.
7:20 PM - In my old age, I'm getting pretty "choosy" about out-of-town hamfests. I've seen about all there is to see at those events. I don't buy used equipment unless it's a "curiosity" item like the old Heathkit "lunchbox" "Twoer" I purchased about 20 years ago. I've never sold anything at a hamfest. I drove 100 miles to a hamfest about a decade ago, only to find five tables. One table had a few new radios. The other four had what I would classify as absolute trash. Stuff that should have been thrown away. Your appraisal might vary. I wanted to ask for a refund of the entry fee, plus $10 for gas. Some will say hamfests are a great way to see the people you've been talking to on the radio. In other words, the old "eyeball QSO." I don't want to know what they look like. I like the mystery.
--- 8:00 PM - It looks like the data center near Airport Drive will not happen. The Wichita Falls City Council, for several reasons, declined to make the necessary zoning change. The data center planned for Wellington Lane and Kiel Lane is still approved. Are data centers good or bad for Wichita Falls? I do not know. I do know that once they're here, they're here. I haven't detected any organized resistance. Let's see what happens.
--- 8:20 PM - I'm not saying that Multi-Use Radio Service (MURS) clubs don't exist, but I haven't found any evidence of them. Of course, I haven't looked hard for one. But here's what I do know. Once a MURS user finds that there are two more MURS users within range, that person will try to form a MURS Radio club. And, once someone discovers that there are three MURS Radio clubs, they will try to create an association of MURS Radio Clubs. You watch!