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07-30-2023 - The Wichita Amateur Radio Society weekly informal net is on the air on the 147.140 MHz repeater. The Net Control Station is taking check-ins. Tune in with your scanner or check in if you're a ham. There were 11 check-ins tonight. On a humorous note, many nets start, before taking check-ins, by asking if anyone has announcements or emergency traffic. I can hear some guy keying up and saying, "Thank you! I've been trapped in my overturned car for 12 hours waiting for someone to ask if I have emergency traffic." I'm not picking on this club. Many nets have this type of preamble. Plus, I'm one of those people who can find humor in the strangest places.

07-30-2023 - In the early days of the Space Shuttle program, a club - possibly W3NAN - would broadcast shuttle radio communications on 14.295 MHz - the 20-meter ham band. I don't remember when that ended. I do remember an astronaut - when frustrated by some task assigned by Mission Control - snapped "Do you want to come up here and do this?"

07-30-2023 - I stumbled upon a website dedicated to QRP - low-power communications - and one of the the first things I see is a review of a 50-watt radio. To me, and others, QRP is 5 watts or less. Some folks believe anything less than 100 watts is QRP. Maybe this is one of those groups. I'm confused.

07-30-2023 - The CB Radio band is on fire tonight and I think it's causing some problems for the local group on Channel 23. It happens from time to time. On Channel 38 LSB I hear 678 in Tennessee, 50 in Ontario, Canada, 2w361 in Pittsburgh, and 406 in Ohio.

07-30-2023 - Changes in the ionosphere caused by solar activity can affect what frequencies are useable by Amateur (ham) Radio operators and others. A lot of hams take a great interest in the observation and study of "space weather." I have a simplified method of space weather observations. I turn on the radio. Either the band is open, or it's not. I don't plan events, so I don't have to know what band conditions will be next week. If Mother Nature is uncooperative, I find something else to do.

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07-30-2023 - Checking Channel 38 LSB, I hear some guy with a booming signal locking down the frequency with a long-winded conversation while others want to use the frequency to make short contacts. He could be polite and move to another channel for his sermon. That's just my opinion.

07-30-2023 - The Evening Crew is showing up one at a time on CB Radio Channel 23. I'm wondering if the subject matter will be as interesting as yesterday evening. We shall see. Someone running a lot of power via a "splatter box" (poorly constructed amplifier) on Channel 22 is bleeding over on 23.

07-30-2023 - There's a nice conversation in progress on the 147.140 MHz repeater. That's one of the repeaters belonging to the Wichita Amateur Radio Society. If you're in the area, plug that frequency into your scanner. In addition to random contacts, you can catch the club's weekly net on Sunday nights at 2000.

07-30-2023 - Motor Mouth Maul has graced 27.025 MHz - CB Radio Channel 6 - the superbowl - with his presence. Of course, he's getting a lot of attention with that fantastic audio.

07-30-2023 - Today I ordered the QCX-mini 5W CW transceiver. When the weather cools down I'll be setting up at various locations around Wichita Falls, emitting dots and dashes for the world to hear. I can do it with the Yaesu 857D, but that's no fun. I don't have to wait for the weather to cool down because there's a long waiting list for this item. I need to be worried about the weather being too cold when it arrives. Stay tuned for updates.