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02-04-2024 - It sounds like the hunters are out hunting again on 151.820 MHz this morning. I still don't what they're hunting, but it sounds like they're getting a lot of exercise chasing it, them, or each other.

02-04-2024 - As you might know, I've been active on CB Radio since 1964. We are currently at, or near, the peak of Solar Cycle 25. The band is wide open and noisy with strong signals and the hum of distant signals in the background. It's fun and great for making long-distance contacts. It's not so much fun when you want to talk from one side of Wichita Falls to the other unless you're running more than the legal 4-watt power output limit with a good antenna 10 to 20 feet off the ground. VHF and UHF (GMRS and MURS) radios shine in a location like this. With a decent antenna 10 to 20 feet off the ground, just 2 or 3 watts of power will get you clear communications from one side of town to the other. Every radio service - CB - Ham - FRS - MURS - GMRS - has its positives and negatives. Pick out a few to keep in your Hobby Radio mix.

02-04-2024 - NWS forecast - Today: A 30 percent chance of rain after 4pm. Patchy fog between 7am and 10am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 57. North northwest wind 10 to 15 mph increasing to 16 to 21 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 31 mph. Tonight: A 30 percent chance of rain before 7pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 43. North wind 14 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph.

02-04-2024 - Good Morning! It's Sunday, so there's not much on the schedule for today. I might snag a few Parks on the Air® stations today. I need to "activate" a state or national park myself. I could stop by Inks Lake State Park, just off U.S. 281, on my way to San Antonio one of these days. I'll work on that idea. MY coffee is ready and I hear some of the guys on 1947 kHz "tuning up" for their morning session.

02-03-2024 - I made contact with W0RLY (that's a zero and not an O for you non-hams) in Hard Labor Creek State Park (US-2184) in Georgia on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program. From Wikipedia: The creek's name comes either from enslaved people who once tilled the summer fields, or from Native Americans who found the area around the stream difficult to ford.

02-03-2024 - I tuned in to the Montague County Saturday morning simplex net on 147.500 MHz, but I could only hear one station clearly, but with very low audio. The others were just a scratchy word or two. The base of my Ringo Ranger II antenna is only about 17 feet off the ground, so I'm not surprised. Why such a low antenna? Because all I need to do on VHF is talk within the city limits of Wichita Falls, and not much more. I'm not your usual power- and range-hungry radio operator when it comes to VHF-UHF.

02-03-2024 - It's Saturday, and there are CW (Morse code) contests across the various bands. One I hear is the First Class CW Operators' Club (FOC). This club is based in the UK but has members worldwide. Most FOC traffic I've heard is a little on the high-speed side. I can handle that for short contest info exchanges but not for lengthy "rag-chewing" contacts. And, of course, there are the various contests on the 'voice" portions of the bands, but those don't interest me. I don't "chase paper" (awards,) so I'm more interested in the fun of CW over voice. I log contacts - online - for the benefit of the other operators in case they are after the various awards.

02-03-2024 - NWS forecast - Today: Partly sunny, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 66. South wind 10 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Tonight: Increasing clouds, with a low around 44. South southeast wind around 10 mph becoming north northeast after midnight.

02-03-2024 - Good Morning! My only planned chore for today is a trip to the 8th & Austin Street location of the Farmers Market to get some salsa from The Salsa Guy. According to news reports, the new Salad Express salad bar at 3411 Kemp Blvd had a soft opening on Friday. The regular opening is February 12. But I don't have to wait until then for coffee because my Folgers Black Silk is ready now!

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02-02-2024 - Our local Skywarn storm spotters are on their favorite simplex frequency chatting about the possibility of being activated tonight. This is not what I want to hear on the 2nd day of February. I want to hear about snow! UPDATE: Spotters were activted, but only for a short time. Nothing serious developed.

02-02-2024 - From the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics - Employment Situation - Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 353,000 in January, and the unemployment rate remained at 3.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in professional and business services, health care, retail trade, and social assistance. Employment declined in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industry.

02-02-2024 - I made contact with Wolf Trap National Park (US-0692) in Virginia on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.

02-02-2024 - From the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics - In 2023, 16.2 million wage and salary workers were represented by a union, little different than in 2022. The percentage of workers represented by a union was 11.2 percent in 2023, also little different than a year earlier.

02-02-2024 - I'm hearing some one-sided chatter on 151.820 MHz this morning. Could it be those guys out hunting again? At least that's what it has sounded like in the past. This is a license-free, Multi-Use Radio Service frequency. This 5-channel service is, in my opinion, perfect for the Wichita Falls area. Its existence has been a well-kept secret as it seems that few people know about it. More MURS radio brands have been popping up, and prices have been dropping!

02-02-2024 - From my corrections consultant - The Allred Unit had, and maybe still has, as many "unwritten" rules as it has written ones. I was working visitation one weekend when a visitor, waiting for their inmate to arrive, asked me for some information. I gave them the info and handed them my pen to write it on a napkin. Another officer griped me out for violating TDCJ rules by loaning my pen to a visitor. "What's the use of rules if you're not going to follow them?". I countered with the challenge to show me such a rule. They could not because it was one of those "rules" that someone heard from someone else who heard it from someone else. The same thing happened on another visitation weekend at the Expansion Cellblock, ECB, or informally, "High Security". I walked to the building to get a wheelchair for a visitor and was told "The visitors have to push the wheelchair, we're not allowed to do that. When I got back to the gate, a supervisor happened to be there. I asked about such a rule, already knowing the answer. He said that particular officer pulled that rule out of their behind because we most certainly can assist visitors. Those two examples are the "tip of the iceberg" when it comes to phantom rules at Allred.

02-02-2024 - From my law enforcement consultant: Not long ago, in response to a local vehicle pursuit incident, a Wichita County Sheriff's Office spokesperson said that the WCSO chases them until they're caught, or words to that effect. I'm sure area personal injury lawyers made note of that comment.

02-02-2024 - NWS forecast - Today: A slight chance of showers between noon and 3pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 3pm. Some of the storms could be severe. Patchy fog before 11am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 69. South southeast wind 9 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Tonight: Showers and thunderstorms likely before 3am, then a chance of showers. Some of the storms could be severe. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 49. South southeast wind 10 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

02-02-2024 - Good Morning! I see that I've moved from number 700+ down to #83 on the waiting list for the assembled QCX mini QRP CW (Morse code) transceiver. As I mentioned earlier, I could have had it in a few days as a kit, but my "build it" days are over. I have no problem waiting six months for the assembled version. On a more important topic, my coffee is ready!

02-01-2024 - This afternoon, I got a call from an "876" area code phone number that I did not answer. Research shows that this number is associated with the 876 Jamaican Phone Scam telling me I won millions of dollars and a car, but I have to wire several hundred dollars somewhere to get it. I'm going to pass on that offer.