Wichita Falls Pundit
HOME - SUPPORT THIS JOURNAL - POSTS
063
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.
SUPPORT THIS JOURNAL
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.