Wichita Falls Pundit
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ROAMING the town, jotting it down, doing Hobby Radio along the way. This text-based site may not be suitable for everyone because: Pics: Some. Videos: None. Wichita Falls Pundit, aka WF5TX. Monitoring 146.520 FM simplex.
COMING: International Space Station School Contact with Paterson P-Tech High School, Paterson Public Schools, Paterson, New Jersey, direct via W2NPT (Kimiya Yui KG5BPH) Contact is go for: Mon 2025-10-06 14:24:46 UTC 83 deg. Listen for the ISS side of the contact on your scanner radio at 145.800 MHz. NOTE: Wichita Falls might not be in the "radio footprint" on this one.
COMING: Texoma Hamarama Hamfest - Friday, October 10th – Vendor and flea market setup only from 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m. Saturday, October 11th: Setup starts at 7:00 a.m. and is open to all from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Location: Ardmore Convention Center, 2401 N Rockford Rd, Ardmore OK 73066
COMING: JOTA-JOTI 2025! From the JOTA-JOTI website: "Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) is an annual Scouting event that connects Scouts around the world with the use of amateur radio. The event is held on the third full weekend of October each year, together with Jamboree on the Internet (JOTI)." This year, the even will be held Oct 18 and 19. Tune around the bands for activity.
10-05-2025 - 5:20 AM - Good Morning! It's Sunday, and the Wichita Amateur Radio Society holds its weekly informal net tonight 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. Yesterday and Friday, I heard about a half-dozen passes of the International Space Station with slow-scan TV on the Amateur (ham) Radio VHF (145.800 MHz) link. If I were a slow-scan enthusiast, I'd be privy to those images. But, I am not. However, I am a coffee enthusiast, and my Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready. Let's see what the day brings.
10-05-2025 - 5:25 AM - Today: Sunny, with a high near 89. South southeast wind 10 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Tonight: Clear, with a low around 64. Southeast wind 7 to 11 mph.
10-05-2025 - 5:30 AM - Current National Short Range Weather Forecast
10-05-2025 - 5:35 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 89.4% Kemp: 100% Kickapoo: 91.5%. Monitored Water Supply Reservoirs are 94.3% full. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (90.45%) to determine drought stage.
10-05-2025 - 5:40 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 13,511 Megawatts.
10-05-2025 - 6:25 AM - In the mid-1980s, a T-38 from Sheppard Air Force base lost power over the north side of town. The pilots ejected. The plane landed on its belly in a field - just missing a mobile home park - across the highway from what is now the Sealed Air Corporation. The plane slid across the field, skipped over the highway, and landed, still on its belly, in the front yard of the Sealed Air Corporation. It was a miracle that no cars on the highway were hit.
10-05-2025 - 6:30 AM - Factory City Tattoo opened at 713 10th Street in downtown Wichita Falls a few years ago. It's been a long time since Wichita Falls could be called "Factory City", but it doesn't hurt to have hope for the future. Chain Restaurant City might have been more accurate. Okay, I'm just having a little fun. But, seriously, you "hams" get on down to the tattoo place and have some Morse code inked on. Just don't look at it! We all know Morse code operators never look at the printed Morse characters! In fact, they don't really exist. How about some "Q" signals? I'd get QLF!
10-05-2025 - 6:45 AM - I was looking over the multitude of activities and classes at the Fifty Plus Zone (over the WF Public Library) in downtown Wichita Falls, when I thought about the possibility of an Amateur (ham) Radio class. Or, maybe just a discussion group. All you’d need is a coffee pot and a designated space. If it’s a class, you’d need an instructor, of course. If it were a discussion group, it would be similar to a Facebook page, but in person. Just a thought, another way to keep senior citizens out of trouble. Zone membership is $40 a year. They'll be happy to give you a tour and an activity schedule.
10-05-2025 - 6:55 AM - In the news: One person was killed and another hospitalized following a shooting in the 1100 Block of Harlan Avenue on Saturday. The owner of the Wichita Tower was arrested for theft and assault. Casa Manana restaurant, in business for 75 years, is facing possible closure due to economic conditions. This cannot be allowed!
10-05-2025 - 7:35 AM - FEMA Daily Operations - National Current Ops / Monitoring for October 4-5, 2025
New Significant Incidents / Ongoing Ops:
• No new significant incidents / ops
Hazard Monitoring:
• Rain / Thunderstorms – Southern Rockies to Upper Mississippi Valley, Southern Plains to Southeast
• Elevated Fire Weather – Middle Mississippi Valley, Great Lakes
• Tropical Activity
Atlantic:
• Disturbance 1: High (70%)
• Disturbance 2: Low (near 0%)
Eastern Pacific:
• Tropical Storm Octave
• Tropical Storm Priscilla
• Disturbance 1: Medium (60%)
Disaster Declaration Activity:
• No new declaration activity
Event Monitoring:
• No significant events
10-05-2025 - 7:45 AM - I hear a lot of BNSF Railroad radio traffic on 160.920 MHz this morning. Tune in with your scanner radio if you're a railfan.
10-05-2025 - 7:50 AM - It's a weekend and that means visition is happening at the Jams V. Allred Unit, our own male, maximum security prison. Tune in with your scanner radio at 153.815 MHz. Read random Allred Unit snippets here!
10-05-2025 - 8:00 AM - While waiting for the 20-meter Amateur (ham) Radio band to come alive, I'm listening to the CB Radio band awaken. The CB is fairly busy with signals scattered across the band, especially to customary "DX" channels. You can be sure that Channel 6, the "superbowl" of CB Radio, is jumping.
10-05-2025 - 10:00 AM - What does it mean when a large portion of my daily postal mail consists of hearing aid, Medicare, and retirement home ads? Don't answer that!
10-05-2025 - 10:45 AM - Texas’s first “open carry” law became effective in January 2016. A Handgun License was required. Then, “Constitutional or Permitless Carry” became effective in September 2021. I’m still surprised by how few people I have seen openly carrying a firearm.
10-05-2025 11:45 AM - I contacted a station at Point Beach State Forest (US-4354) in Wisconsin on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.
10-05-2025 12:02 PM - I contacted a station at Lake Arrowhead State Park (US-3022) in Texas on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.
10-05-2025 - 12:15 PM - If you look at Google Earth or Maps, about 2 miles north of U.S. 287 - just east of Iowa Park - on either Peterson Road or Rifle Range Road, you'll see an L-shaped array of concrete pads. One report I saw stated that these are helipads that were once used by Sheppard Air Force Base. The Kaman Huskie was a common sight at SAFB back in the 1960s, and an occasional Bell UH-1 "Huey" could also be seen. Of course, these pads might be for something other than helicopters. Early camp sites?
10-05-2025 - 12:30 PM - I just noticed that we have the Doberman Pinscher Club of America National Specialty Show and Convention happening from October 4-11 at the Multi-Purpose Events Center.
Things to do: High Caliber Gun Range - 7475 Central E Fwy - 940-432-5556
10-05-2025 - 7:20 PM - My first meal in Wichita Falls (966) was a hamburger from the Glass Kitchen in the 1800 Block of Hines. It later became LW's Burgers, and then it was gone. It later showed up on Old Iowa Park Road, where it remained for many years. It closed just a year or so ago. My first residence, while my dad searched for a home, was just around the corner at the Town & Country Motel on the southeast corner of East Scott and Windthorst Road. It's gone now, too. All was not lost since a lot of hobby radio fun lay ahead!
10-05-2025 - 8:15 PM - The Wichita Amateur Radio Society's weekly informal night kicked off on schedule at 8:00 PM on the club's 147.140 MHz repeater, and it sounds like they're getting a good number of check-ins. I'm just a listener. Tune in with your scanner radio.
10-04-2025 - 5:30 AM - Good Morning! It's Saturday, and the Montague County Simplex will begin at 9:00 AM on 147.500 MHz. You'll need a good outside antenna to hear them from Wichita Falls. Yesterday, I made an antenna mast mount that you secure to the ground by rolling over it with your car tire. I made it for portable operations in our city parks. The FCC Daily Brief has been unavailable since the government shutdown. Most issues don't contain information related to the theme of this site. And today is World CB Radio Day - "Ten-Four", 2025! My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready.
10-04-2025 - 5:35 AM - Today: Sunny, with a high near 89. South southeast wind 8 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Tonight: Clear, with a low around 65. South southeast wind around 11 mph.
10-04-2025 - 5:40 AM - Current National Short Range Weather Forecast
10-04-2025 - 5:45 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 89.5% Kemp: 100% Kickapoo: 91.7%. Monitored Water Supply Reservoirs are 94.4% full. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (90.6%) to determine drought stage.
10-04-2025 - 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 11,278 Megawatts.
10-04-2025 -6:00 AM - Some weekend Wichita Falls radio scanning targets: Walmart (154.570 MHz), Allred Unit (153.815 MHz), Wichita County Jail (155.520 MHz), State Hospital (154.800 MHz) city transit buses (453.5375 MHz), Wichita Valley Airport (122.800 MHz), Kickapoo Airport (122.700 MHz), Wichita Falls Regional Airport / SAFB (119.750 & 122.950 MHz), and the BNSF Railroad (160.920 MHz). Get more SCANNING TARGETS! here!
10-04-2025 - 6:30 AM - In 2023, the Sheppard Air Force Base 97th Flying Training Squadron marked its 25th anniversary with an Anniversary Skydive Celebration. A local news story reported that a parachute jump was made onto the Wichita Falls Country Club. The skydiver had over 2,000 jumps and said he enjoyed being in free fall. I know how he feels. There's nothing like being in free fall. Back in my skydiving days, I could never understand the desire for 3 or four jumpers trying to see how many different formations they could make while in free fall. I thought it was a waste of a skydive. I just wanted to float in the sky, enjoy the view, and the full-body massage of a 120 MPH wind. By the way, you only get the sensation of falling for a few seconds. Once you reach your terminal velocity, you feel like you're floating on a cushion of air. Terminal velocity. Maybe they need another term for that!
10-04-2025 - 6:50 AM - For the last half-hour, I have been listening to a station on 40 meters, making many contacts on CW (Morse code). He’s using a straight key to send almost-perfect code at about 20 words per minute. It almost sounds like he’s using paddles. This is probably one of the many weekend Amateur (ham) Radio contests. Just listening makes great practice for me.
10-04-2025 - 7:20 AM - I saw an article not long ago about how it's getting too expensive to have fun. The article discussed the rising costs of dining out, going to the movies, and other popular activities. Here's a solution: Get into Amateur (ham) Radio communications. You can purchase a fully equipped station for local and/or global communications for $1000 to $2,000*, and your equipment should last for several decades. And, you don't have to feed it or leave home to enjoy it! *You can spend $25,000 if you want, but it’s certainly not necessary.
10-04-2025 - 7:45 AM - I hear a few area Amateur (ham) Radio Operators on the 147.140 MHz repeater, and it sounds like they might be on the way to the Pioneer #3 restaurant for breakfast and conversation. This has been a "Saturday 8:00 AM" thing for quite a while. Awesome!
10-04-2025 - 7:50 AM - Checking the CB Radio (Yep, I do that), I see the band is coming alive. I like listening to the chatter. Most of the time, anyway. I'm not a "skip shooter", so I have no interest in actually making any long-distance contacts on that band. When it comes to CB Radio, I long for the quiet times at the bottom of the solar cycle. CB'ers will probably accuse me of blasphemy. As always, you do what makes you happy, and I'll do the same. There's room for both of us!
10-04-2025 - 7:55 AM - FEMA Daily Operations Briefing - National Current Ops / Monitoring for October 3-4, 2025
New Significant Incidents / Ongoing Ops:
• No new significant incidents / ops
Hazard Monitoring:
• Rain / Thunderstorms – Central Great Basin, Plains, Southeast
• Elevated Fire Weather – Central Plains to Upper Mississippi Valley
• Tropical Activity
Atlantic:
• Disturbance 1: Low (near 0%)
• Disturbance 2: Low (near 0%)
• Disturbance 3: Med (50%)
Eastern Pacific:
• Tropical Storm Octave
• Disturbance 1: High (90%)v
• Disturbance 2: Med (50%)v
Disaster Declaration Activity:
• No new declaration activity
Event Monitoring:
• No significant events
10-04-2025 8:06 AM - I contacted a station at Harrison Lake National Fish Hatchery (US-11672) in Virginia on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.
10-04-2025 8:10 AM - I contacted a station at Hyner Run State Park (US-1362) in Pennsylvania on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.
10-04-2025 - 8:15 AM - I hear local (Henrietta) station KA5CRL (Dave) at Stone Mountain State Park in Georgia on 14.062 MHz CW (Morse code) with a booming signal, but he can't hear me. There must have been a rip current in the atmosphere dragging my signal away from him.
10-04-2025 - 9:15 AM - I noticed that the movies this month at the 50 Plus Zone (downtown, atop the library) are all Robert Redford. As you know, he passed away a few weeks ago.
10-04-2025 - 9:25 AM - A the Iron Horse Pub tonight - Hellen Bach 20th Anniversary Event - Doors 8:30pm, Start 9:30pm - 615 8th Steet.
10-04-2025 - 9:35 AM - This morning, I heard an Amateur (ham) Radio Operator throw out his call sign. My radio is set to "scan," and by the time I looked at it, it had returned to scanning mode. There was no automatic (Morse code) repeater ID, so I don't know if he was on a repeater or simplex. It would be nice if he had identified the frequency on his first transmission. I didn’t catch the call sign, and I only heard him once. In his defense, it's not like we have a dozen local Ham Radio frequencies to monitor around here.
10-04-2025 - 10:10 AM - I'm hearing Kickapoo Airport radio traffic on 122.700 MHz this morning, but I haven't heard anything yet from Wichita Valley on 122.800 MHz. It's possible that there was Wichita Valley traffic while I was out of the room. It's not like they give speeches.
10-04-2025 10:21 AM - I contacted a station at Coconino National Forest (US-4428) in Arizona on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.
10-04-2025 - 6:20 PM - Back in the mid-1960s, the building on the southeast corner of 6th and Lamar, now or formerly known as the Atrium Building, was home to Longhorn Chevrolet. Cars were parked inside the building and outside on the lot behind it. Until the early 1980s, the building that formerly housed the Continental Trailways bus station on the southwest corner of 7th and Lamar still displayed a "Colored" sign at one of the rear doors.
10-04-2025 7:27 PM - I contacted a station at Allamuchy Mountain State Park (US-1608) in New Jersey on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.