RadioMan763™
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"It comes to you, this stuff just flies through the air, they send this information "beamed" out over the ******* place, you just got to know how to grab it, see, I know how to grab it." Kelso in the movie Heat.
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AMATEUR RADIO FIELD DAY - JUNE 27 - 28: From Google AI Overview: "Amateur Radio Field Day is an annual, 24-hour Amateur Radio event. During this time, operators set up temporary stations in parks, fields, and public spaces to practice emergency communication skills. It doubles as a public demonstration and an informal contest to contact as many other stations as possible." From RadioMan763: Scan the Amateur Radio bands and listen for stations calling "CQ Field Day." The local hams are set up in Kiwanis Park this year.
SPECIAL EVENT STATION: The Lake Whitney Amateur Radio Society will be on the air with the "Football/Futbol On The Air - the 2026 World Soccer Tournament" Special Event Station, call sign W5C, from June 11 to July 19, 2026 on 14.074 MHz. QSL to Ron Franklin, 120 PR 22223, Whitney, TX 76692.
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06-28-2026 - 5:45 AM - Good Morning! It’s Sunday, and Amateur Radio Field Day continues with local Ham Radio Operators still at Kiwanis Park, making contacts worldwide under emergency power. I think the 24-hour event ends at 1:00 PM. Tonight at 8:00 PM, the Wichita Amateur Radio Society will conduct its weekly informal net on the club’s 147.140 MHz repeater. Tune in or check in. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready.
--- 5:50 AM - NWS Forecast - Today: Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 100. Heat index values as high as 103. South wind 18 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 77. South wind 17 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.
--- 6:00 AM - NWS Short Range Weather Discussion
--- 6:10 AM - NWS Extended Range Weather Discussion
--- 6:15 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 83.1% Kemp: 97.6% Kickapoo: 89.9. Monitored Water Supply Reservoirs are 90.5% full. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (86.5%) to determine drought stage.
--- 7:04 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 10,701 Megawatts.
--- 8:45 AM - FEMA Daily Operations Briefing
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06-27-2026 - 6:15 AM - Good Morning! It’s Saturday, and both locations - 8th & Ohio and 8th & Austin - of the Wichita Falls Farmers Market will be open from 9:00 AM until 1:00 PM. Local Amateur (ham) Radio Operators usually meet informally for breakfast at 8:00 AM at the Pioneer #3 Restaurant at Old Iowa Park Road and Sheppard Access Road. Look for extra antennas on vehicles in the parking lot and/or handheld radios on the tables. However, this is Amateur Radio Field Day weekend. From Google AI Overview: "Amateur Radio Field Day is an annual, 24-hour amateur radio event. During this time, operators set up temporary stations in parks, fields, and public spaces to practice emergency communication skills. It doubles as a public demonstration and an informal contest to contact as many other stations as possible." This could affect breakfast attendance. It's unknown how many of the regular breakfast crowd also participate in Field Day. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready.
--- 6:20 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!
--- 6:30 AM - NWS Forecast - Today: A 40 percent chance of showers before 7am. Sunny and hot, with a high near 100. Heat index values as high as 103. South southwest wind 16 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 77. South wind around 18 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.
--- 6:35 AM - NWS Short Range Weather Discussion
--- 6:40 AM - NWS Extended Range Weather Discussion
--- 6:45 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 83.2% Kemp: 97.8% Kickapoo: 90.2%. Monitored Water Supply Reservoirs are 90.6% full. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (86.7%) to determine drought stage.
--- 7:10 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 8,728 Megawatts.
--- 7:35 AM - There is growing online chatter about Amateur (ham) radio and other radio services (FRS, GMRS, MURS) as a means of communicating during emergencies and interruptions, intentional or unintentional, to the Internet and cell phones. This chatter is above and beyond the usual "prepper" stuff.
--- 7:10 AM - As I mentioned above, it's Amateur (ham) Radio Field Day weekend. I don't participate in Field Day, either setting up in remote locations or handing out contacts to those who do, so I'll probably make this a CB Radio weekend. And the CB Radio is already wall-to-wall activity. Unless I hear someone on Channel 19 seeking information, I’ll be in listen-only mode. And, of course, I’ll have the scanner radio to keep me informed and entertained. And, wouldn't you know it, Mr. Rogers is on Channel 38, lower sideband. I call him that because each transmission ends with "Roger" posed as a question. It's like asking "Did you get that?" after every exchange in a face-to-face conversation. Then, there's the guy who sounds like a mad rat. I'll let you use your imagination on that one.
--- 8:05 AM - It was the “Reception Station” at Fort Polk in 1971. There, the Army got us ready for Basic Training with uniforms, haircuts, shots, dog tags, and other necessary items and information. It’s the dog tags I was to talk about. We were herded into some bleachers. A drill sergeant, holding a box of dog tags, asked the crowd if he could get a volunteer to hand out the tags. He specifically requested someone with a college degree. Someone’s hand shot skyward. The sergeant handed the box to the volunteer and stood back. The volunteer pulled a tag from the box and, in a loud voice, called out "Baptiste!" (pronounced "bapteest"). When no one answered, he repeated the call for Baptiste! The drill sergeant stepped forward, took the tag from the volunteer, looked at it, and said: “That’s Baptist. That’s his religion! Give me that box and sit down. Can I get someone with a high school education?
--- 8:30 AM - FEMA Daily Operations Briefing
--- 10:00 AM - My experience with CB Radio started on Christmas Day in 1964 when I received a pair of Spacephone walkie talkies. My best friend, who lived just next door, and I could now communicate with wireless ease. Well, sort of. The Spacephones had no squelch circuit and emitted that constant, loud “rushing” noise heard when you open the squelch on modern communications receivers. The rest of the story!
--- 12:45 PM - I was a little surprised to learn that Midwestern State University still has a planetarium. Surprised because I haven't heard a word about it since I visited 57 years ago. It's either not a much-promoted attraction, or it's open to MSU students only, or I haven't been looking in the right places.
--- 3:00 PM - I came across a reprint of a 1908 story in the Wichita Falls Times about a farmer named Dean who was digging a well on his property. At 50 feet, he struck oil. He is reported to have abandoned the well, saying he was too busy harvesting his corn crop to waste time prospecting for oil.
--- 4:10 PM - If you’re ever in front of the downtown YMCA, look at the windows on the ground level, just to the right of the main entrance. In that basement room, I spent two years, 1968 to 1970, learning Taekwondo. I’m nowhere as flexible as I was then, but the speed and defensive reflexes are still there. I’m sure I can fend off an attacker long enough to unholster Bruce Lee.
--- 6:40 PM - Decades ago, I lived on the first floor of the three-story apartment building. I had just obtained my Amateur Radio license, and I wanted to get on the air. Wouldn’t it be great to put an antenna on the roof? With that crazy thought in mind, I walked over to the office and asked the nice lady manager about it. Can you believe she said, “I don’t care what you put up there, just don’t fall off the roof.” I was in shock as I made my way back to my apartment. I expected to get thrown out on my butt. I ended up with a Hustler 7-foot colinear antenna for 2 meters and a 10/40-meter fan dipole for HF. The dipole was too close to the roof, but it was better than nothing. Besides, the antenna tuner kept the radio happy. The coax for both ran down the side of the building and into my apartment through a wall-mounted air conditioner.