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04-20-2026 - 5:30 AM - Good Morning! It’s Monday, and the Wichita Amateur Radio Society conducted its weekly informal net last night at 8:00 on the 147.140 MHz repeater. One of the items discussed was their successful Parks on the Air® event at Lake Arrowhead State Park. Were you tuned in? As I write this, I hear activity on the Air Evac Lifeteam (helicopter) company frequency of 159.900 MHz. Activity here means someone is in bad shape somewhere. Of course, the Allred Unit is active 24/7 on 153.815 MHz, and the city transit buses on 453.5375 MHz, and the WFISD school buses at 152.360 MHz will soon come alive. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready.
--- 5:35 AM - NWS Forecast - Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 72. South wind 5 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph. Tonight: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 53. South wind 6 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
--- 5:40 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 83.7% Kemp: 96.0% Kickapoo: 87.5%. Monitored Water Supply Reservoirs are 89.7% full. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (85.6%) to determine drought stage.
--- 5:45 AM - NWS Short Range Weather Discussion
--- 5:50 AM - NWS Extended Range Weather Discussion
--- 5:55 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 12,740 Megawatts.
--- 6:00 AM - AVIATION SNAPSHOT - METAR for: KSPS (Wichita Falls Rgnl, TX, US)
Text: METAR KSPS 201052Z 17003KT 10SM CLR 08/05 A3023 RMK AO2 SLP232 T00830050 $
Conditions at: 1052 UTC 20 Mon Apr 2026
Temperature: 8.3°C (47°F)
Dewpoint: 5°C (41°F) (RH = 80%)
Pressure (altimeter): 30.23 inHg (1023.8 hPa) (sea level pressure 1023.2 hPa)
Winds: from the S (170°) at 3 kt (1.5 m/s, 3.5 mph)
Visibility: 10+ mi (16+ km)
Clouds: sky clear below 12,000 feet AGL
Ceiling: at least 12,000 feet AGL
QC flag: SOME DATA ABOVE MAY BE INACCURATE!!!
--- 6:15 AM - The CB Radio band was very quiet every time I checked it yesterday. Some would say that if I monitored "space weather" forecasts, I would know when certain bands would be quiet. This would be true if that information were important to me. It is not. It's just Hobby Radio. I tune the radio to a certain band, and it's either open or it's not. Either condition is acceptable to me. It's just a hobby.
--- 6:30 AM - The 40-meter Amateur (ham) Radio band is alive and well this morning. Well, at least the CW (Morse code) portion of the band is alive.
--- 7:17 AM - I've switched to CB Radio for a while. Band conditions are quiet right now (no skip shooters), and that means it's a good time for local communications. And that means it's a good time to call for more people to invest in a CB Radio, form local groups, pick a "home" channel, and start having fun. If it ever "hits the fan," you'll already be ready!
--- 7:50 AM - FEMA Daily Operations Briefing
--- 9:20 AM - An oversized load is passing through town on U.S. 287, and communications are being conducted on CB Radio Channel 19. We're still in a very quiet period for DX (skip shooters), which provides excellent conditions for local communications.
--- 10:10 AM - According to a story on Texoma’s Home Page (KFDX), plans are underway for a monthly marketplace called Sheppard Market, to be located on Burkburnett Road, in the same parking lot as Domino's Pizza. This location has historically been known as Beacon Plaza. This is a fantastic idea since that area is highly visible to our international guests at Sheppard Air Force Base. Just a few decades ago, that area was an embarrassing eyesore with empty buildings and junk cars. It got so bad that it had to be fenced off. That’s my opinion, anyway.
--- 1:00 PM - Imagine my surprise when, as a young man at the pistol range during Basic Training at Fort Polk (now Johnson), I first dropped the hammer on a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol and could see the bullet traveling to the target. But did I really see the bullet? The second shot confirmed it, and I saw every bullet after that. Of course I saw it - it's a big, slow round. But what did I know back then?