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I'm here to play with radios and have fun. I'm too old to argue
with anyone about anything. Whatever you believe is fine with me.
Posts concern Wichita Falls, Texas unless otherwise noted.
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04-13-2026 - 6:05 AM - Good Morning! It’s Monday again! My painting job is taking longer than planned, but that’s okay because I want to get it right. It’s back-to-school for the WFISD, and you can join the fun by monitoring school bus radio traffic on 152.360 MHz with your scanner radio. The BNSF Railroad is active at the moment on 160.920 MHz. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready!
--- 6:10 AM - NWS Forecast - Today: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 4pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 87. South wind 13 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Tonight: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 10pm, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 69. South wind 14 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
--- 6:15 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 82.9% Kemp: 96.2% Kickapoo: 87.1%. Monitored Water Supply Reservoirs are 89.3% full. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (85%) to determine drought stage.
--- 6:20 AM - NWS Short Range Weather Discussion
--- 6:25 AM - NWS Extended Range Weather Discussion
--- 6:30 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 13, 538 Megawatts.
6:35 AM - AVIATION SNAPSHOT - SPECI for: KSPS (Wichita Falls Rgnl, TX, US)
Text: SPECI KSPS 131059Z 20016G24KT 10SM BKN014 21/18 A2995 RMK AO2 T02060183
Conditions at: 1059 UTC 13 Mon Apr 2026
Temperature: 20.6°C (69°F)
Dewpoint: 18.3°C (65°F) (RH = 87%)
Pressure (altimeter): 29.95 inHg (1014.3 hPa)
Winds: from the SSW (200°) at 16 kt (8.2 m/s, 18.4 mph) gusting to 24 (12.3 m/s, 27.6 mph)
Visibility: 10+ mi (16+ km)
Clouds: broken clouds at 1,400 ft
Ceiling: 1,400 ft
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04-12-2026 - 6:10 AM - Good Morning! It's Sunday, and the Wichita Amateur Radio Society holds its weekly informal net tonight at 8:00 PM on the club's 147.140 MHz repeater. As far as I know, all licensed Amateur (ham) Radio operators are invited to check in. Of course, scanner radio enthusiasts can also tune in. We got a little rain overnight. From the water data below, it looks like our supply lakes got some of it. We have a chance for more over the next few days. Luckily, I mowed my yard yesterday. Right now, my Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready. I’ll have a cup while I enjoy some Morse code on the 40-meter Amateur (ham) Radio band, and local radio traffic on the scanner radio.
--- 6:15 AM - NWS Forecast - Today: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 10am, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 10am. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. High near 83. South southwest wind 14 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. Tonight: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 10pm. Mostly clear, with a low around 66. South wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.
--- 6:20 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 82.6% Kemp: 96.0% Kickapoo: 85.1%. Monitored Water Supply Reservoirs are 88.9% full. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (83.85%) to determine drought stage.
--- 6:25 AM - NWS Short Range Weather Discussion
--- 6:30 AM - NWS Extended Range Weather Discussion
7:20 AM - AVIATION SNAPSHOT - SPECI for: KSPS (Wichita Falls Rgnl, TX, US)
Text: SPECI KSPS 121200Z AUTO 22011KT 10SM SCT010 BKN024 OVC029 18/17 A2993 RMK AO2 T01830172
Conditions at: 1200 UTC 12 Sun Apr 2026
Temperature: 18.3°C (65°F)
Dewpoint: 17.2°C (63°F) (RH = 93%)
Pressure (altimeter): 29.93 inHg (1013.6 hPa)
Winds: from the SW (220°) at 11 kt (5.7 m/s, 12.7 mph)
Visibility: 10+ mi (16+ km)
Clouds: scattered clouds at 1,000 ft, broken clouds at 2,400 ft, overcast at 2,900 ft
Ceiling: 2,400 ft
--- 8:45 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 11,214 Megawatts.
--- 9:25 AM - The CB Radio band has yet to come alive. I hear occasional bits and pieces on various channels, but nothing solid yet. I hear local comms on Channel 5, but it sounds like they’re passing through town. They’ll probably have second thoughts about choosing Channel 5 when the band opens, and they get splattered from Channel 6, the “superbowl” of CB Radio.
--- 12:15 PM - The CB Radio band is still a little flat. I hear steady traffic on some of the AM channels, but they are all weak, including Channel 6. I’ll switch over to 20 meters on Amateur (ham) Radio to see if I can snag a Parks on the Air® contact on CW (Morse code), of course!
--- 8:00 PM - As expected, the Wichita Amateur Radio Society's weekly informal net is on the air on the club's 147.140 MHz repeater. Tune in or check in. The Net Control Station mentioned the upcoming monthly club meeting held on the third Thursday of the month at 6:30 PM at the Hotter N Hell building at 104 Scott Avenue. Also mentioned was the possibility of Amateur (ham) Radio license testing after the meeting. If you want more information on local Ham Radio activities, search for "Wichita Falls Area Hams (Amateur Radio Operators)," and/or "Wichita Amateur Radio Society (WARS)" and you'll come up with Facebook pages loaded with people with answers.
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04-11-2026 - 5:45 AM - Good Morning! It’s Saturday, and I have more outside painting to do, and painting is not one of my favorite activities. Hopefully, the humidity will drop way down below the current 96% when the sun comes up. I want it below 70%, and a bigger temperature-dewpoint spread, before I start painting. Some local Amateur (ham) Radio Operators might be assembling informally at the Pioneer #3 Restaurant, as they usually do on Saturdays at 8:00 AM. My Folgers Black Silk Coffee is ready.
5:50 AM - NWS Forecast - Today: A slight chance of showers between 7am and 10am, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 10am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 80. South wind 7 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Tonight: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 10pm. Low around 64. South southeast wind 13 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
--- 5:55 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 82.3% Kemp: 95.9% Kickapoo: 84.2%. Monitored Water Supply Reservoirs are 88.6% full. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (83.25%) to determine drought stage.
--- 6:00 AM - NWS Short Range Weather Discussion
--- 6:05 AM - NWS Extended Range Weather Discussion
--- 6:30 AM - The most famous Amateur (ham) Radio operator I ever worked on the air was Roy Neal, K6DUE (Silent Key), an NBC News correspondent. The most famous ham I ever saw was King Hussein of Jordan, JY1 (Silent Key), as he departed the Letterman Army Medical Center at the Presidio of San Francisco in 1976. My most interesting contact was with a Naval aviator in an FA/18 Hornet - on 146.520 FM simplex - as he passed over north Texas headed to the Houston area. He said he was using the aircraft radio.
7:00 AM - Places to get a beer in Wichita Falls in 1977: Astro Lounge, BJ's Lounge, Bar-B-Que Lounge, Big Mary's, Bimbo Club, Carousel Lounge, Dale's Blue Lounge, Downtown Beer Lounge, El Sombrero Bar, Embers Lounge, Esquire Lounge, Frank's Lounge, George's Salt & Pepper, Irene's Bar & Grill, It'll-Do-Bar, Joe's Doll House, La Fiesta Lounge, Latino Ballroom, Lee's Bar, Little Brothers No. II, Lisa's Palace, Lola Wayne Place, Lone Star Saloon, Millie's Lounge, Mister T's Lounge, Nashville Bar, OUI Lounge, Office Lounge, Pokey's Lounge, Pub Lounge, Red Slipper Lounge, Rock Inn, Show & Tell Lounge, Snoopy's Lounge, Some Place Else Lounge, Sonny's Bar, Tank's Bar, Toodles Lounge, The Town Bar, Western Bar, Western Hills Lounge, Wildcatter Club, and the Zoo Bar.
--- 7:10 AM - The Allred Unit is alive at 153.815 MHz, and others will soon make their presence known. If you're headed to Starbucks at Kemp & Kell, don't! Drive across the street to Frank & Joe's Coffee in Parker Square. You can go to Starbucks tomorrow. Check out more scanner radio frequencies here!
--- 10:00 AM - I wonder if Tom Danaher Airport is active in any capacity? It sits on the southwest end of Lake Wichita. Tom passed away in 2014, and I haven’t given the airport much thought since doing several “touch and go” landings there 40 years ago. Carter McGregor is listed as the current owner. I found the Unicom frequency of 123.075 MHz and plugged it into my scanner radio. I’ll see what happens. Tom has four acting credits on the Internet Movie Database: Seaplane pilot in “The Spanish Prisoner, Cessna 172 pilot in “Golden Eye”, Assistant aerial coordinator: aerial unit / pilot in “Cliffhanger”, and pilot in “Air America.”
--- 11:42 AM - I contacted a station in Cannon Creek Floodings Wildlife Management Area (US-6638) in Michigan on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.
--- 6:50 PM - I have attended one professional football game in my life, and that was the St. Louis Cardinals vs. the Somebody at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. It was 1963 or 64. My Grandfather took my younger brother and me to the game. I remember two things about the game. First, a player took off his helmet, and he was bald! I was shocked that a football player was bald! The other was the man in front of me, turning around and saying: “Hey, kiddo, stop kicking my seat!”