Ra7dio3 Report
HOME - SUPPORT THIS JOURNAL - POSTS
THE WICHITA FALLS AREA has active groups of Amateur (ham) Radio and CB Radio Operators. The "hams" have weekly scheduled on-the-air meetings and informal chats throughout the week. A group of CB Radio Operators usually meet in the evenings at 5:30 PM on Channel 23. When the cell phone towers go silent, and the Internet goes dark, and everyone is staring at their cellular paperweights, these Hobby Radio Operators will still be communicating. Get a CB Radio, Ham Radio, and/or be a scanner radio listener. Just don't end up in the dark. I do not represent the above-mentioned groups. In Hobby Radio lingo, "73" means Best Regards. Omar from OMARC, the One-Man Amateur Radio Club.
08-26-2025 - 6:30 AM - Good Morning! It's Tuesday, and the Clay County Amateur Radio Club conducts a weekly Skywarn® practice net on Tuesdays at 8:00 PM on the 146.800 MHz repeater. Tune in with your scanner radio! We had a slight chance of rain this morning, but the radar seems to indicate that the rain is north of us. I might have to water my lawn. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready.
08-26-2025 - 6:40 AM - Today: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms between 7am and 4pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 82. East northeast wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Tonight: Increasing clouds, with a low around 67. East northeast wind 7 to 11 mph.
08-26-2025 - 6:45 AM - Current National Short Range Weather Forecast
08-26-2025 - 6:50 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 92.1% Kemp: 100% Kickapoo: 95.7%. Monitored Water Supply Reservoirs are 96.1% full. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (93.9%) to determine drought stage.
08-26-2025 - 6:55 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 8,589 Megawatts.
08-26-2025 - 7:05 AM - CB Radio channels 19 and 1 have been active locally this morning. The only people busier are the Allred Unit on 153.815 MHz and the school bus drivers on 152.360 MHz. The City bus drivers are active on 453.5375 MHz, just not as busy.
08-26-2025 - 7:55 AM - FEMA Daily Operations Briefing - National Current Ops / Monitoring for Aug 25-26, 2025
New Significant Incidents / Ongoing Ops:
• No new significant incidents / operations
Hazard Monitoring:
• Excessive Rainfall – Central Great Basin, Northern Intermountain, Southwest, Central/Southern Rockies, Southern Plains, and California
• Excessive Heat / Fire Weather – Pacific Northwest to Northern Intermountain
• Tropical Activity
o Atlantic:
• Tropical Storm Fernand
o Eastern Pacific:
• Tropical Storm Juliette
• Disturbance 1: Med (40%)
• Disturbance 2: Low (30%)
• Disturbance 3: Low (20%)
Disaster Declaration Activity:
• Request: Major Disaster Declaration – VT
Event Monitoring:
• No significant events
08-26-2025 - 9:10 AM - Have you ever driven through the 400 Block of Flood Street? It's barren today, but the 400 and 500 blocks were once home to a theater, a hotel, a doctor's office, a dentist's office, a barber shop, a grocery store, an apartment building, a service station, an adult beverage store, and nightclubs. A few blocks away - in the 200 Block of 7th Street - was the home of the Skip Shooters QSL CB Radio Club.
08-26-2025 - 11:00 AM - From the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics - Economics Daily - From July 2024 to July 2025, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 19 states and was essentially unchanged in 31 states and the District of Columbia. The largest job gains occurred in Texas (+232,500), New York (+153,400), and Florida (+134,100). The largest percentage increases occurred in South Carolina (+3.4 percent), New Mexico (+2.7 percent), and Hawaii (+2.1 percent).
08-26-2025 - 11:10 AM - From the U.S. Federal Trade Commission - The Federal Trade Commission is sending more than $6.7 million to consumers impacted by a gig work company’s deceptive claims about the potential money workers could make on its platform. In its July 2024 complaint, the FTC alleged that Arise Virtual Solutions regularly targeted people looking for opportunities to support their families by working from home, including stay-at-home mothers, with misleading promises about the earnings they could make on its platform. Arise used deceptive advertisements that said consumers who signed up on its platform would have access to jobs that paid “up to $18/hour” doing remote customer service work for major companies, according to the complaint. The FTC said that the company violated the FTC Act and the Business Opportunity Rule, including the requirement to truthfully disclose the basis for earnings claims to consumers.
08-26-2025 - 1:55 PM - An oversized load is passing through town with operations being conducted on CB Radio Channel 34. They sound very professional. I caught this because I had the radio on 40-channel scan.
08-26-2025 - Back in my "substitute teaching" days, I ran across two kids who stood out in the "I need sugar" category. One ate a half-pint of Blue Bell Ice Cream every day during lunch. If you saw him, you'd believe it. Another kid was extremely hyper and ran almost everywhere. Teachers were constantly slowing him down. One day, I saw him run to a vending machine, deposit his coins, drop to his knees, and say, "Come on, sugar!" Back to the ice cream. Why in the world does anyone need a half-pint of ice cream during the school day, and why did the WFISD not care about the answer to this question?
08-25-2025 - 4:15 AM - Good Morning! I'm up early this morning. I don't know why. On the schedule today is lunch with a former co-worker. There are no area Amateur (ham) Radio nets tonight. The Wichita Amateur Radio Society had its net last night, and the Clay County Amateur Radio Club will conduct its net tomorrow night. In the news, "shots fired" were reported in Archer County and a "standoff" in Holliday. What's the world coming to? For now, my coffee is ready!
08-25-2025 - 4:35 AM - Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 95. Southeast wind 6 to 9 mph becoming northeast in the morning. Tonight: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. Northeast wind around 10 mph.
08-25-2025 - 4:40 AM - Current National Short Range Weather Forecast
08-25-2025 - 4:45 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 92.5% Kemp: 100% Kickapoo: 96.1%. Monitored Water Supply Reservoirs are 96.4% full. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (94.3%) to determine drought stage.
08-25-2025 - 4:50 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 7,582 Megawatts.
08-25-2025 - 5:00 AM - Are you old enough to remember Draughon's Business College at 905 9th Street in Wichita Falls? Classes featured were IBM Key Punch, Office Machines, Clerk Typist, Secretarial and Bookkeeping, Accounting d Data Processing, Drafting, and Civil Service Training Courses.
08-25-2025 - 5:55 AM - Have you noticed that 99% of "the trouble with Ham Radio" involves a microphone? I don't know about you, but I've never heard someone talking crap using Morse code. For one thing, it takes too much time, and it wouldn't have the same impact as a voice. How do you yell using Morse code? Also, agitators probably don't know a dot from a dash to begin with.
FEMA Daily Operations Briefing - National Current Ops / Monitoring for Aug 24-25, 2025
New Significant Incidents / Ongoing Ops:
• No new significant incidents / operations
Hazard Monitoring:
• Heavy Rain / Flash Flooding – Southwest, Southern Rockies, and Southern Plains
• Excessive Heat – Pacific Northwest, Northern Intermountain, and California
• Tropical Activity
o Atlantic:
• Tropical Storm Fernand
• Disturbance 1 (AL99): Low (near 0%)
o Eastern Pacific:
• Tropical Storm Juliette
• Disturbance 1: Low (20%)
Disaster Declaration Activity:
• No new declaration activity
Event Monitoring:
• No significant events
08-25-2025 - 9:58 AM - I contacted a station in Dodge #4 State Park (US-1495) in Michigan on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program. POTA hunter count: 554.
08-25-2025 - 10:08 AM - From the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics - Economics Daily - Prices for U.S. imports were little changed, down 0.2 percent, from July 2024 to July 2025. The all commodities import price index increased 1.7 percent over the year ended July 2024. Since 2015, the over-the-year change in U.S. import prices has ranged from –10.5 percent (in 2015) to 10.2 percent (2021). Fuel and lubricants import prices decreased 12.1 percent for the 12 months ended July 2025. Within this category, prices for petroleum imports decreased 13.7 percent and prices for import natural gas increased 62.2 percent over this period. Foods, feeds, and beverages import prices increased 1.8 percent over the year ended July 2025, following an increase of 6.1 percent over the year ended July 2024. Industrial supplies and materials import prices decreased 2.0 percent over the past year. Capital goods import prices increased 1.0 percent. Prices for automotive vehicles, parts, and engine imports decreased 0.2 percent, while prices for imported consumer goods, excluding automotives, decreased 0.5 percent over the 12 months ended July 2025.
08-25-2025 - 10:40 AM - The CB Radio band is flat at this hour. I can hear faint voices o the DX channels. I'll park the radio on Channel 19 for any local trucking and other traffic.
08-25-2025 - 5:30 PM - From the U.S. Federal Communications Commission - IN THE MATTER OF ROBOCALL MITIGATION DATABASE FILERS . Enforcement Bureau removed 1,203 additional non-compliant voice service providers from the Database, preventing those providers from connecting to U.S. networks unless they comply with FCC regulations.. Action by: Acting Chief, Enforcement Bureau. Adopted: 2025-08-25 by ORDER. (DA No. 25-737). EB.
08-25-2025 - 6:30 PM - In the 1977 Wichita Falls City Directory, under listing for Oil Producers, Marketers, Drillers, Refiners, Shippers, etc., there are 290 listings.
08-25-2025 - 6:45 PM - In the 1977 Wichita Falls City Directory, under restaurants, there are 144 listings. One was a Waffle House at 710 10th Street.
08-25-2025 - 6:00 PM - Not much radioing is happening today. I made the lunch date at Grand Buffet earlier today. That meal will last a few days! I'm watching the new season of Ancient Aliens on Netflix, and that'll take me up to the Texas Rangers game. The Rangers crawled back to "500" with yesterday's win. I don't know how this season will end. The Rangers probably don’t know, either.
08-24-2025 - Good Morning! It's Sunday, and the 44th running of the Hotter'N Hell Hundred bike ride is behind us. Area Amateur (ham) Radio Operators did a great job, as usual, providing radio communications support for the event. The City of Wichita Falls should make a greater effort to recognize local Ham Radio Operators who not only provide support for the HHH but also help keep us all safe through their Skywarn® weather spotter activities. I don't provide either of those services, so I'm not trying to drum up recognition for myself. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready.
08-24-2025 - 6:30 AM - Wichita Falls NWS Forecast - Today: Sunny, with a high near 93. Northeast wind around 6 mph. Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 72. East wind around 7 mph.
08-24-2025 - 6:40 AM - Current National Short Range Weather Forecast
08-24-2025 - 6:45 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 92.6% Kemp: 100% Kickapoo: 96.2%. Monitored Water Supply Reservoirs are 96.4% full. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (94.4%) to determine drought stage.
08-24-2025 -6:50 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 10,300 Megawatts.
08-24-2025 - 7:15 AM - This morning, I saw a report on the KLTV (Tyler, Texas) website about Angelina County Commissioners (Lufkin) approving the use of Amateur (ham) Radio in emergencies. The commissioners recognized the utility of Ham Radio in previous events such as Hurricane Rita. This is good, but why so late? I had to check the date on the report because, at first, I thought it was forty or fifty years old. Better late than never!
08-24-2025 - 7:35 AM - Flashback - A lifetime ago, I was in a 4-seat Piper Cherokee on approach to Houston Intercontinental Airport, now George Bush Intercontinental Airport. We were cleared to land on either 15 Left or 33 Left. I don't remember which. On our right was a Boeing 737, landing on the "right" side of these parallel runways. For a moment, we were side-by-side. That was an interesting sight.
08-24-2025 - 7:50 AM - FEMA Daily Operations Briefing - National Current Ops / Monitoring for Aug 23-24, 2025
New Significant Incidents / Ongoing Ops:
• No new significant incidents / ops
Hazard Monitoring:
• Heavy Rain / Flash Flooding – Central Great Basin, Central/Southern Plains, Coastal Carolinas
• Excessive Heat – Pacific Northwest and Southwest
• Tropical Activity
o Atlantic:
• Tropical Storm Fernand
• Disturbance 1 (AL99): Med (40%)
o Eastern Pacific:
• Disturbance 1 (EP92): High (80%)
Disaster Declaration Activity:
• No new declaration activity
Event Monitoring:
• No significant events
08-24-2025 -7:55 AM - It's Simplex Sunday, a day to give those Amateur Radio repeaters a break, if possible, and flex those simplex muscles. t's like giving your generator a regular run. Use the more inclusive two-meter FM simplex. Analog, please! GMRS users, you can play, too!
08-24-2025 - Years ago, my wife asked me to help come up with a name for her arts & crafts rubber stamping group. My offering was L.A.D.I.E.S. - League of Artists, Designers, Inkers, Embossers & Stampers. Not being able to leave well enough alone, I offered an alternative name in case they didn't like L.A.D.I.E.S. - Bureau of Inking, Tinting, Collaging, Hot-gluing, Engraving & Stamping.
08-24-2025 - 8:20 AM - It was 1975, and I was back in Texas from Savanna, Illinois, and off to the Presidio of San Francisco. Along the way, on I-40, was a plywood sign on a hill in the trees that read QTH of (ham radio call sign). I don't remember the call, but I think it was a "7" call. I was probably in Arizona and not New Mexico, but there's no guarantee of that. There was a lot of traffic on CB Radio Channel 19 in those days.
08-24-2025 - 8:45 AM - The CB Radio band is jumping this morning. I hear that well-known Jamaican station on Channel 6 (the superbowl of CB Radio) is issuing pronouncements. There are plenty of others trying to get theirs in edgewise. Maybe he'll let them! It's all good. By the way, I've heard this station "cut the lips off" Wichita Falls stations. I don't know how much power he's running, but it's probably enough to heat nearby metal objects. Let's not talk about bodies.
08-24-2025 - 2:20 PM - Our local Air Evac Lifeteam has activated several times this weekend. Tune it at 159.900 MHz on your scanner radio.
08-24-2025 - 4:30 PM - I checked out the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® scene o 20 meters, and the band was a little flat. I couldn't find anything with a signal strong enough to work. This is normal as they are usually running low power with simple wire antennas. Rather than wait, I switched to CB Radio Channel 6 until the Sultan of Splatter showed up. Then I moved to Channel 38 Lower sideband. Then, on to Channel 23 for the Local Group at 5:30 PM.
08-24-2025 - The Wichita Amateur Radio Society holds a weekly informal net on Sundays 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. Of course, scanner radio enthusiasts can also tune in.
08-23-2025 - 5:30 AM - Good Morning! It's Saturday and the 44th running of the Hotter' N Hell Hundred Bike Ride! Area Amateur (ham) Radio Operators will be providing event communications support on 146.940, 147.140, 444.000, and 444.800 MHz. The radio net will be activated at 6:00 AM on those frequencies, so tune in with your scanner radio. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready!
08-23-2025 - 5:35 AM - Wichita Falls NWS Forecast - Today: Sunny, with a high near 95. Calm wind becoming northeast 5 to 8 mph in the afternoon. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 72. Northeast wind 5 to 9 mph.
08-23-2025 - 5:40 AM - Current National Short Range Weather Forecast
08-23-2025 - 5:45 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 92.8% Kemp: 100% Kickapoo: 96.4%. Monitored Water Supply Reservoirs are 96.5% full. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (94.6%) to determine drought stage.
08-23-2025 - 5:50 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 8,377 Megawatts.
08-23-2025 - 5:55 AM - International Space Station over Wichita Falls - Time: Sun Aug 24 4:54 AM, Visible: 1 min, Max Height: 13°, Appears: 13° above N, Disappears: 10° N. Listen on 145.800 & 437.800 MHz for possible Amateur (ham) Radio communications.
08-23-2025 - 7:05 AM - I heard the "boom" of the cannon, so I would say the Hotter'N Hell kicked off on time. Radio communications are happening on 146.940, 147.140, 444.000, and 444.800 MHz. Tune in with your scanner radio.
08-23-2025 - 7:30 AM - The CB Radio band is alive and well this morning with the usual DX channels booming in. Up until now, I had been listening to the Hotter'N Hell bike ride communications, so I don't know about any local trucking traffic on CB Channel 19. But, I'm tuned in now!
08-23-2025 - 8:30 AM - FEMA National Watch Center - National Current Ops / Monitoring for Aug 22-23, 2025
New Significant Incidents / Ongoing Ops:
• No new significant incidents / ops
Hazard Monitoring:
• Heavy Rain / Flash Flooding - Central Great Basin and Southeast
• Excessive Heat – Southwest
• Tropical Activity
o Atlantic:
• Disturbance 1 (AL90): High (near 100%)
• Disturbance 2 (AL99): Low (20%)
o Eastern Pacific:
• Disturbance 1: High (70%)
Disaster Declaration Activity:
• Request: Major Disaster Declaration – IL
• FMAG Approval: Flat – OR
Event Monitoring:
• No significant events
08-23-2025 - 9:00 AM - Our local airports, Kickapoo (122.700 MHz) and Wichita Valley (122.800 MHz), have been very quiet this morning. I usually hear pilots out in the morning taking advantage of the smoother air. High afternoon temperatures mean bumpy air. It's not a big deal either way unless air conditioning is important.
08-23-2025 - 1:39 PM - I contacted a station in Hocking Hills State Park (US-1958) in Ohio on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program. POTA hunter count: 553.
08-23-2025 - 6:00 PM - In case you didn't know, the best Amateur (ham) Radio repeater directory is a local "ham" monitoring 146.520 FM simplex. I don't know why I care. I don't use repeaters. It sounded good, though.
08-22-2025 - 5:00 AM - Good Morning! It's Friday, and there's a 50-50 chance that I might mow the back yard today. That's the only chore on today's schedule. At the moment, I have Morse code on the 40-meter Amateur (ham) Radio band running in the background. Our local City transit bus drivers are coming alive on 453.5375 MHz. There were days when these folks were very entertaining. I'm guessing that they thought no one could hear them. These days, they are a little more restrained in the mornings, evenings, and on weekends when there is no adult supervision. My coffee is ready. UPDATE: I didn't mow the yard.
08-22-2025 - 5:05 AM - Wichita Falls NWS Forecast - Today: Sunny, with a high near 93. Calm wind becoming northeast around 6 mph in the afternoon. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 70. East northeast wind around 6 mph becoming calm in the evening.
08-22-2025 - 5:10 AM - Current National Short Range Weather Forecast
08-22- 2025 - 5:15 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 93.0% Kemp: 100% Kickapoo: 96.7%. Monitored Water Supply Reservoirs are 96.6% full. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (94.85%) to determine drought stage.
08-22-2025 - 5:20 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 9,515 Megawatts.
08-22-2025 - 5:40 AM - There is a lot of online discussion about the "rebranding" of Cracker Barrel. I had breakfast at our local Cracker Barrel about 10 years ago. I've never actually eaten a ground shoe leather and sawdust patty before, but that's the best description I can give their sausage patties. They were an abomination of a travesty. Tip for Cracker Barrel: Buy some Jimmy Dean sausage from a local store and charge extra if necessary.
08-22-2025 - 5:55 AM - Before our downtown Arby's was modernized, an out-of-town visitor dined there. On X, formerly known as Twitter, he left this report: "Built in the 1800s. Brutal!" At least they kept the old sign!
08-22-2025 - 7:00 AM - I turned on the CB Radio at 5:00 AM and, at 7:00 AM, just heard my first transmission, which was on Channel 19. This is unusually quiet for local activity. The band has yet to open for DX activity.
08-22-2025 - 8:35 AM - FEMA Daily Operations Briefing - National Current Ops / Monitoring for Aug 21-22,
2025
New Significant Incidents / Ongoing Ops:
• No new significant incidents / ops
Hazard Monitoring:
• Heavy Rain / Flash Flooding – Southeast
• Excessive Heat – West Coast
• Tropical Activity
o Atlantic:
• Hurricane Erin (CAT 1)
• Disturbance 1: High (90%)
• Disturbance 2: Med (50%)
• Disturbance 3: Low (near 0%)
o Eastern Pacific:
• Disturbance 1: Med (60%)
Disaster Declaration Activity:
• One amendment issued
Event Monitoring:
• No significant events
08-22-2025 - 12:55 PM - There is a lot of local traffic on CB Radio Channel 19, an improvement from earlier this morning. On the local Amateur (ham) Radio frequencies, a handful of operators have requested "radio checks" in advance of the Hotter' N Hell Hundred bike ride tomorrow. As you might know, area Amateur Radio Operators provide radio communications support for the ride and have done so for all but one year.
08-22-2025 - 4:30 PM - The CB Radio is booming from one end of the band to the other. I have not had the Amateur (ham) Radio Yaesu 857D on since this morning, so I have no Parks on the Air® Morse code contacts to report.
08-22-2025 - 5:45 PM - Back 40 years ago and beyond, female employees at our local Gibson's Discount Center got off work at 1 PM on Saturdays. The men had to stay until closing. This was so the ladies could do what ladies do to prepare for Sunday, etc. That's the way it was. That would fly like a lead balloon today.
08-22-2025 - 6:00 PM - I hear members of the Local Group making their presence known on CB Radio Channel 23. Tune in or join in. I don't think they bite. They sound like a bunch of nice guys. I heard more traffic on the MURS frequency of 151.940 MHz today. I'm still trying to identify it.
08-21-2025 - 5:00 AM - Good Morning! It's Thursday, and I can't think of anything radio-important happening today. At least not locally. Our local WFISD school bus operation is, in my opinion, still shaking off the cobwebs of the summer break. Translation: Radio communications are very interesting. Tune in at 152.360 MHz and see what you think. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready.
08-21-2025 - 5:30 AM - I hear local traffic on CB Radio channels 14 and 24. It sounds like 14 is an oversized load, but I didn't think they were allowed during hours of darkness. I could be wrong. I'm not sure what the Channel 24 traffic is about. It's all good, though!
08-21-2025 - 5:05 AM - Wichita Falls NWS Forecast - Today: Sunny, with a high near 94. Northeast wind 5 to 9 mph. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 71. Northeast wind 5 to 8 mph becoming calm after midnight.