Ra7dio3 Report
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08-10-2025 - 6:10 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 93.3% Kemp: 100% Kickapoo: 97.4%. Monitored Water Supply Reservoirs are 99.9% full. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (95.35%) to determine drought stage.
08-10-2025 - 6:15 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 10,122 Megawatts.
08-10-2025 - 7:00 AM - An oversized load is moving through town with operations conducted on CB Radio Channel 19. This is an almost-daily event. Tune in!
08-10-2025 - 7:05 AM - Current National Short Range Weather Forecast
08-10-2025 - 7:10 AM - Do you remember the days when there was a deposit on soda bottles? I remember when it was 2¢. To avoid the deposit when you bought soda, you had to bring in an equal number of empty bottles. It was rare to see a soda bottle on the roadside, as people would pick them up and cash them in.
08-10-2025 - 7:20 AM - Mr. Rogers is on CB Radio Channel 38. As I might have mentioned before, he ends every transmission with a "roger" posed as a question. It's like asking "did you get that?" after every sentence when speaking to someone in person. There's nothing wrong with it, but it is amusing.
08-10-2025 - 8:40 AM - FEMA Daily Operations Briefing - National Current Ops / Monitoring for Aug 9-10, 2025
New Significant Incidents / Ongoing Ops:
• Flooding – Upper Midwest
Hazard Monitoring:
• Severe Thunderstorms – Central Plains to the Great Lakes
• Heavy Rain / Flash Flooding – Central Plains to the Great Lakes, Southeast
• Tropical Activity
o Atlantic:
• Disturbance 1: High (80%)
• Disturbance 2: Low (20%)
o Eastern and Central Pacific:
• Tropical Storm Henriette
• Tropical Storm Ivo
Disaster Declaration Activity:
• No new declaration activity
Event Monitoring:
• No significant events
08-10-2025 - 12:45 PM - I stopped by United Supermarket on Old Iowa Park Road and took a few pics of the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. You know you're in a small town when the Big Wiener is "The Activity" for the weekend. I learned that there are six Wienermobiles in service, each driven by two college seniors. I'm way too old to apply for that job. Besides, the Wienermobile doesn't look like a magnet-mount CB or Ham Radio antenna will stick to it.
08-10-2025 - 2:30 PM - I made a switch from listening to Morse code on the 20-meter Amateur (ham) Radio band to CB Radio and found that the CB band is wide open this afternoon. I'm not really paying much attention to either since I'm watching the Texas Rangers on TV.
08-10-2025 - 6:15 PM - The Local Group is on the air with booming signals on CB Radio Channel 23. It sounds like they're having to battle a lot of "skip" this evening. Later tonight, the Wichita Amateur Radio Society holds a weekly informal net 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.
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08-09-2025 - 5:15 AM - Good Morning! It's Saturday, and I hear our local Air Evac Lifeteam on 159.900 MHz. The Montague County Simplex Net will begin at 9:00 AM on 147.500 MHz. You'll need a good outside antenna to hear this one from Wichita Falls. At 10:00 AM, the 7290 Traffic Net will begin on 7.290 MHz. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready.
08-09-2025 - 5:20 AM - Wichita Falls NWS Forecast - Today: Sunny and hot, with a high near 103. Heat index values as high as 106. South southwest wind 11 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 78. South wind 11 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
08-09-2025 - 5:25 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 93.6% Kemp: 100% Kickapoo: 97.7%. Monitored Water Supply Reservoirs are 97.1% full. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (95.65%) to determine drought stage.
08-09-2025 - 5:30 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 11,619 Megawatts.
08-09-2025 - 5:50 AM - About 15 years ago, a small eatery called Matlock's Grill was located at 1008 Indiana Ave., across from the Wichita Falls Public Library. The owner allowed a couple of local Amateur (ham ) Radio Operators to install a small VHF-UHF antenna on the roof, with the coax cable terminating at their favorite table. We need more restaurant owners like that! Here's an idea. Some well-to-do Amateur (ham) radio operators should buy the building that resembles a diner, but is actually a “pack and ship" business, located at 9th and Broad, and restore it to its former life as a diner. They can call it Ham & Eggs and put some real antennas atop that wasted decorative tower outside the building.
08-09-2025 - 6:15 AM - You may have heard about the City's plans for Sikes Senter Mall and the opinion that we might not get those "big name" stores, such as Dillard's and JCPenney, again. This is fine. Who needs to go to Dillard's every day? Not I. This situation presents another excuse for a day trip to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, or Oklahoma City, to dine and shop. Wichita Falls is, and always has been, a big one-horse town. Learn to love it.
08-09-2025 - 8:45 AM - FEMA Daily Operations Briefing - National Current Ops / Monitoring for Aug 8-9, 2025
New Significant Incidents / Ongoing Ops:
• No new significant incidents / ops
Hazard Monitoring:
• Severe Thunderstorms – Central Plains, Upper / Middle Mississippi Valleys
• Heavy Rain / Flash Flooding – Upper / Middle Mississippi Valleys, Southeast
• Tropical Activity
o Atlantic:
• Disturbance 1: Low (20%)
• Disturbance 2: Med (40%)
o Eastern and Central Pacific:
• Tropical Depression Henriette
• Tropical Storm Ivo
Disaster Declaration Activity:
• No new declaration activity
Event Monitoring:
• No significant events
08-09-2025 - 4:40 PM - Someone is sending CQ DX in Morse code on CB Radio Channel 38, lower sideband. This happens now and then. Some silly no-code Technician (the Amateur “ham” Radio entry level license) fires up his keyboard Morse machine and tries to impress the CBers while disrupting their communications. I might have a little respect (very little) for him if he sent that Morse by hand.
08-09-2025 - 6:00 PM - The Local group is on the air on CB Radio Channel 19. They’re pretty regular, hardly missing a day. They put in more local airtime than all the ham radio enthusiasts combined. But the Ham Radio people have a lot more modes and frequencies to use, so it’s not like they’re sitting on their hands. We just don’t hear them all the time.
08-08-2025 - 6:20 AM - Good Morning! It's Friday! I plan to tune into the 7290 Traffic Net at 10:00 AM this morning. I haven't listened in a while. They are on every weekday on 7.290 MHz (40 meters) at 10:00 AM and again at 1:00 PM, passing messages across the region. This, and other traffic nets, will be the ones that get messages through when the SHTF. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready!
08-08-2025 - 6:30 AM - Wichita Falls NWS Forecast - Today: Sunny and hot, with a high near 104. South wind 9 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 79. South wind around 11 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
08-08-2025 - 6:35 AM - Current National Short Range Weather Forecast