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04-18-2026 - 6:00 AM - Good morning! It’s Saturday, and I really plan to do nothing but a little Hobby Radio today. I read myself to sleep last night with the original Jurassic Park novel. Accompanying this effort was my bedside scanner radio with lots of Air Traffic Control chatter. I even heard from our local Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter on 159.900 MHz. The wind preceding a line of thunderstorms woke me up around 1:30 AM. This morning, some local Amateur (ham) Radio Operators might meet informally at the Pioneer #3 Restaurant at Sheppard Access Road and Old Iowa Park Road. And, it's World Amateur Radio Day! Right now, my Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready.
--- 6:05 AM - NWS Forecast - TodayPartly sunny, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 67. North northeast wind 17 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Tonight: Clear, with a low around 40. Northeast wind 9 to 14 mph becoming light and variable after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph.
--- 6:10 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 83.4% Kemp: 96.3% Kickapoo: 87.9%. Monitored Water Supply Reservoirs are 89.7% full. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (85.65%) to determine drought stage.
--- 6:15 AM - NWS Short Range Weather Discussion
--- 6:20 AM - NWS Extended Range Weather Discussion
--- 6:25 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 12,135 Megawatts.
--- 6:37 AM - AVIATION SNAPSHOT - METAR for: KSPS (Wichita Falls Rgnl, TX, US)
Text: METAR KSPS 181052Z AUTO 01014KT 10SM SCT065 10/02 A3007 RMK AO2 PK WND 01030/1021 SLP174 T01000022 $
Conditions at: 1052 UTC 18 Sat Apr 2026
Temperature: 10°C (50°F)
Dewpoint: 2.2°C (36°F) (RH = 58%)
Pressure (altimeter): 30.07 inHg (1018.4 hPa) (sea level pressure 1017.4 hPa)
Winds: from the N (10°) at 14 kt (7.2 m/s, 16.1 mph)
Visibility: 10+ mi (16+ km)
Clouds: scattered clouds at 6,500 ft
QC flag: SOME DATA ABOVE MAY BE INACCURATE!!!
--- 8:00 AM - Listening to 146.520 MHz FM simplex, I hear a couple of hams talking about going to Lake Arrowhead for the in-progress Texas Parks on the Air 2026 Contest, which started yesterday and runs until Sunday, April 19, 6:59 PM CDT. I’ll be listening for any CW (Morse code) emanating from Arrowhead!
--- 8:15 AM - Being Saturday, there’s a good chance visitation will be held at the James V. Allred Unit prison. Tune in to the action at 153.815 MHz on your scanner radio.
--- 8:30 AM - Today is THOR (Texoma’s Hellacious Obstacle Run) Day in Lucy Park and Camp Fillers. This event usually enjoys communications support provided by area Amateur (ham) Radio Operators. It seems this year, there was some confusion about who was in charge of the Ham Radio side of things. Listening to the radio, it sounds like everything is running smoothly. I’m listening on the 444.000 MHz repeater.
--- 9:05 AM - FEMA Daily Operations Briefing
9:20 AM - The year was 1982, and I was sitting in the FCC Field Office exam room in Dallas. The occasion was my first attempt at becoming a licensed Amateur (ham) Radio Operator. My plan was to take the Technician written exam and the five words-per-minute Morse code test. I had been practicing my code diligently in the weeks leading up to the exam. I decided to try the 13 words-per-minute test first. Why not? My headphones were on, and the code test began. I was stunned! Shocked! It sounded like machine gun fire! I sat there, motionless, unable to jot down a single character. The examiner came over, lifted one side of my headphones, listened, and said, "It's there; I hear it." Smart ass! I shook off that defeat and passed the five words-per-minute code test and the Technician Class written exam. Two months later, I passed the 13 words-per-minute code test and the Advanced Class written exam. Two months later, I passed the 20 words-per-minute code test and the Amateur Extra written exam. That was 42 years ago, and I'm glad I got all the testing out of the way in short order.
--- 10:00 AM - On CB Radio Channel 19, what sounded like two truckers, were commenting on the "yard ornaments from Hell" (my description) stored on N. Beverly just south of Old Iowa Park Road. The display will hurt your eyes!
--- 11:50 AM - The local Ham Radio guys at Lake Arrowhead did pop up on the Parks on the Air® spotter page with a 20-meter CW (Morse code) operation. However, I think they had already moved on by the time I saw the listing. I found them again on 40 meters, but on Single Sideband. I don’t want a Single Sideband POTA contact, so I’ll wait for them to do CW again. It’s just a personal preference.
--- 12:11 PM - I contacted a station in Lake Arrowhead State Park (US-3022) in Texas on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.