Ra7dio3™
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A Hobby Radio Communications Adventure
03-22-2026 - 5:30 AM - Good Morning! It’s Simplex Sunday, a day to give those repeaters a rest and use direct, antenna-to-antenna communications. It’s curious that some Amateur (ham) Radio clubs advertise “emergency communications,” but don’t add a disclaimer such as “If our repeater is up and running.” I say this because there is no evidence that they conduct simplex (direct, no repeater) practice nets. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready.
--- 6:00 AM - The 40-meter Amateur (ham) Radio band is quite dead this morning, refusing to give me my usual Morse code serenade with my morning coffee. The sub has been really acting up the last few days.
--- 10:30 AM - As one might expect, there is a lot of chatter on the Amateur (ham) Radio bands about the Iran conflict. There's also much general political discussion to be heard daily across the bands. All you need is a decent shortwave radio and an outside wire antenna - dipole or longwire - to tune in. These conversations can be quite informative and entertaining. No, they don't all involve boomer medical issues, but there is indeed some of that!
--- 12:40 PM - On the license-free Multi-Use Radio Service frequency of 151.820 MHz, I hear two vehicles on the highway, with one driver giving directions to the other as they go. It sounds like one is familiar with the town and the other is not. I don't know what they’re looking for. I'm glad they're not using those roger-beep infected Family Radio Service units! Does this constitute disclosure of electronic communications? I think not because disclosure requires identification, and I have not identified anyone. That’s my opinion, anyway.
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03-21-2026 - 6:30 AM - Good Morning! It’s Saturday, and there are Amateur (ham) Radio nets (on the air meetings), contests, and just plain “rag chewing” happening all across the bands and the globe! You can listen in with a shortwave radio and an outside wire antenna! My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready.
--- 6:45 AM - I’m looking for reports of Hobby Radio maritime mobile contacts. The contacts can be from a cruise ship or a canoe on a small lake or river. You can tag @Ra7dio3 on X, formerly known as Twitter, or you can email it to me.
--- 7:00 AM - Thunderstorm season is upon us. Many Amateur (ham) Radio operators have attended new or recurrent storm spotter training offered by National Weather Service offices across the country. Free online training is also available. Google the subject if you’re interested.
--- 7:30 AM - A couple of hams are chatting on one of the local repeaters about various issues. A handful of them usually meet for breakfast on Saturdays at a popular restaurant. Strange antennas and "radio operator" license plates in the parking lot are one way to advertise the hobby.
--- 8:10 AM - It sounds like an oversized load is making its way through town with communications being handled on CB Radio Channel 12. I didn't realize how much local and transient radio traffic I was missing until I got a CB radio with scanning capability.
--- 8:50 AM - I just heard someone on 146.580 MHz FM simplex say that he was about 25 miles south of Dallas. That’s about 150 miles from me. There must be a nice band opening in progress because the operator told the station he was talking to that they were 500 miles apart. That operator said he doesn’t usually log two-meter contacts, but he’s logging this one because it was quite a haul.
--- 9:20 AM - While there may be a VHF band opening in progress, the CB Radio band remains flat as a pancake. As far as DX goes, I heard one “peep” on Channel 6 about an hour ago. Some of you might say that if I looked at “space weather” forecasts, I’d know ahead of time about such things. This is true, but it wouldn’t change anything I do. So, rather than worry about “space weather”, I just turn the radio on. Either the band is open, or it’s not.
--- 12:30 PM - Visiting Radio Hobbyists: I don’t know why you’d be in downtown Wichita Falls, Texas, but if you are, avoid 10th Street between Scott & Indiana Ave. That block will rattle your radios to pieces. It’s an abomination of a travesty.
--- 6:15 AM - The Local Group is on the air, as scheduled, on CB Radio Channel 23. Do you have a group of CB Radio "regulars" in your part of the world? I think there are a lot more than we know about, but they’re not getting publicity.