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A Hobby Radio Communications Adventure
03-11-2026 - 5:30 AM - Good Morning! It’s Wednesday, and I have a lunch date with a former co-worker. This local burger joint has license plates on the walls and the ceiling. I’m thinking of donating one of my no-longer-used Radio Operator tags to their collection. In my local world of radio scanning, I usually wake to Walmart, a nearby maximum-security prison, the county jail, school buses, city transit buses, a mental hospital, a private waste-collection company, three airports, various FRS, MURS, and GMRS users, and local Amateur (ham) Radio simplex and repeater traffic. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready!
--- 5:45 AM - I usually begin the day with CW (Morse code) on the 40-meter Amateur (ham) Radio band, but that band is a little quiet right now. So, I’ve put the President McKinley CB Radio on 40-channel scan to await the opening of that band. There will already be local radio trucking traffic to enjoy.
--- 6:30 AM - There are several new users of the Family Radio Service - complete with "roger beeps" - near me, but their short, clipped communications are making it hard to figure out who they are. The comms seem to be business-related. I’m not complaining. This “radio detective” stuff is fun!
--- 8:00 AM - The CB Radio band is up and running! A few Jamaican stations kicked it off on Channel 6, the "superbowl." At least in my part of the world. The ionosphere may have served up a different reality for you. It's all good, though. More channels are coming alive as the world turns.
--- 9:04 AM - I contacted a station in Dames Ferry Campground State Park (US-7858) in Georgia on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.
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03-10-2026 - 5:30 AM - Good Morning! It's Tuesday, and I’ll finish a home maintenance project I started yesterday. It shouldn’t take long, and I should have more radio time than I did yesterday. Last night, I read myself to sleep with a few pages from The Complete DX'er by Bob Locher (W9KNI). It’s one of the few books I keep near the bed. Right now, my Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready!
--- 5:45 AM - In my town, it’s Spring Break time. The only thing that means to me is the lack of radio traffic from school buses and handheld radios used by the school staff. The school buses can be a hoot sometimes, and I will welcome their return to the local airwaves.
--- 6:00 AM - A few years ago, a trucker issued a "smokey report" on CB Radio Channel 19: "Northbound, you got an Evil Knievel up ahead on the grassy knoll." Another trucker responsed: "He better not mess with me cuz I've got a sack of donuts and I'm not afraid to use 'em.
--- 6:15 AM - Railroad radio traffic has been heavy in my area this morning. They're not the most interesting scanner radio target (unless you're a railfan), but they can sometimes fill a quiet void. My busiest frequency is 160.920 MHz.
--- 7:00 AM - A few days ago, two guys were chatting on a local repeater about some non-radio stuff. I don’t remember the topic. One said to the other that they should get back to talking about radios. It was as if they had committed a mortal sin. I have zero problem with non-radio subject matter. Your opinion on the subject might vary.
--- 8:45 AM - On an earlier blog, I would post "space weather" forecasts. I found it tedious because I had no interest in the subject. I don't cover it here because I still have no interest in the subject. I do understand its importance to many Radio Hobbyists. I have a simplified method that does everything I need: I turn the radio on. Either the band is open, or it's not.
--- 9:44 AM - I contacted a station in Rocky Point Pine Barrens State Forest (US-8627) in New York on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.
--- 4:00 PM - The home maintenance item I started yesterday, and planned to finish today, didn’t go as planned. I’ll finish it tomorrow. Not much radio play today, other than the one Parks on the Air® contact I mentioned above.
--- 5:00 PM - Area Amateur (ham) Radio Skywarn® storm spotters are being notified of a possible activation due to approaching thunderstorms. Are you monitoring your area storm spotters on a scanner radio?
--- 8:00 PM - The Amateur (ham) Radio Skywarn® storm spotters were activated, but the thunderstorms split and went around the city. I think our water supply lakes did get some rain, and that's the important news.
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MUCH MORE TO COME!