Wichita Falls Pundit
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08-30-2025 - 9:15 AM - I heard some APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System) data bursts from the International Space Station on 145.825 MHz. I have that frequency plugged into my scanner for no reason other than it exists. I have no means to decode Amateur (ham) Radio APRS information. It's a simple matter to do so, but I'm just not an APRS guy.
08-30-2025 - 1:00 PM - I started watching the Texas Longhorns this morning. That lasted about 30 minutes. I really don't know why I concern myself with sports in the first place. Maybe I'll stop. On an unrelated note, don't forget that scanner radio enthusiasts were the original wardrivers!
08-30-2025 - 6:00 PM - The Local Group is active on CB Radio Channel 23. They hardly ever miss a day. They usually show up between 5:30 and 6:00 PM.
08-30-2025 - 6:18 PM - I contacted a station in San Isabel National Forest (US-4407) in Colorado on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program. POTA hunter count: 557.
08-30-2025 - 6:30 PM - I saw yet another online post about bringing back CB Radios. It's somewhat challenging to revive something that never left the building. It might have gone to a different floor from the one you last saw it on, but it's still in the building.
08-30-2025 - 6:40 PM - After 40 years of Morse code, I just learned that the Mission Impossible theme song repeats the letters M I in Morse code. Cool!
06-30-2023 - 7:00 PM - In Wichita Falls, in the late 1960s, our local newspaper printed weekly the names of people who received traffic tickets that week. It was fun seeing your classmates' names, and it made me a more cautious driver.
08-30-2025 - 7:20 PM - As far as I know, the City plans to move the Wichita Falls Police Department to the vacated Kirby Middle School building on Loop 11, the loop that doesn't loop. That will be a strange look. The building resembles a school or a nursing home, rather than a police station. Perhaps evildoers will receive D-Hall rather than jail time. Let's see what happens.
08-29-2025 - 5:00 AM - Good Morning! It's Friday, and we have more rain in the forecast. This is good. Also good is the forecasted high of 80 degrees! The Allred Unit prison, on 153.815 MHz, is very chatty this morning. It'll be a while before the rest of the radio-equipped town comes alive. Tune in to all the action with your scanner radio. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready.
08-29-2025 - 5:10 AM - Today: A 10 percent chance of showers before 7am. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 80. Northeast wind 7 to 9 mph. Tonight: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Increasing clouds, with a low around 69. East wind 6 to 9 mph. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
08-29-2025 - 5:15 AM - Current National Short Range Weather Forecast
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08-29-2025 - 5:20 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 92.1% Kemp: 100% Kickapoo: 95.3%. Monitored Water Supply Reservoirs are 96.1% full. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (93.7%) to determine drought stage.
08-29-2025 - 5:25 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 9,541 Megawatts.
08-29-2025 - 6:10 AM - Years ago, the James V. Allred unit used 4-digit radio callsigns for security personnel. You had to have a cheat sheet for all but the most frequently used few. It was, to me, a nightmare. Then someone came up with the only real solution to this silliness: calling the officer by name. What could be easier? "Sgt. Sharp to Capt. Crotchpheasant." And they lived happily ever after. Monitor the Allred Unit on your scanner at 153.815 MHz for the General Population and 155.7225 MHz for the Expansion Cellblock, also known as High Security. The General Population frequency is considered the main frequency.
08-29-2025 - 6:40 AM - The CB Radio is coming alive with traffic scattered across the band. I have heard only one local conversation on Channel 19 and nothing on Channel 1. That's unusual.
08-29-2025 - 7:30 AM - Some local nursing homes use Family Radio Service or Multi-Use Radio Service radios. This is another group with apparently no idea that scanner radio enthusiasts exist. Keep these frequencies on your scanner!
08-29-2025 - 8:10 AM - FEMA Daily Operations Briefing - National Current Ops / Monitoring – August 28–29, 2025
New Significant Incidents / Ongoing Ops:
• No new significant incidents / operations
Hazard Monitoring:
• Heavy rain/flash flooding: Southern Plains, Central/Northern Plains, Lower Mississippi Valley to Southeast
• Tropical Activity
Atlantic:
• Disturbance 1: Low (30%)
Eastern and Central Pacific:
• Disturbance 1 (EP93): High (80%)
• Disturbance 2: Medium (60%)
Disaster Declaration Activity:
• Amendment No. 1 to FEMA-4881-DR-OR
Event Monitoring:
• No significant events
08-29-2025 - 10:40 AM - An oversized load passed through town, with communications conducted on 151.940 MHZ, a frequency in the Multi-Use Radio Service. Most oversized loads I hear are using CB Radio, but I do hear an occasional MURS operation.
08-29-2025 - 12:30 PM - From the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics - Economics Daily - Labor unions celebrated the first Labor Day with a parade in 1882, and Congress declared it a federal holiday 12 years later. In recognition of labor unions and the federal holiday, let’s look at some wage and benefit data by bargaining status (that is, whether workers are represented by unions). In 2024, the median weekly earnings of workers represented by labor unions were $1,320, compared with $1,138 for nonunion workers. This held for many occupations including protective service occupations in which workers represented by unions earned a higher median wage per week ($1,519) than nonunion workers ($937). But the opposite was the case in other occupations. For example, nonunion workers in computer and mathematical occupations earned median weekly wages of $1,963 whereas workers represented by unions earned $1,655. In March 2024, nearly all civilian workers represented by unions (97 percent) and about 7 out of 8 civilian nonunion workers (87 percent) had access to personal leave, sick leave, paid family leave, or vacation. Access rates to retirement and medical benefits were each 95 percent among civilian workers represented by unions but 72 percent and 71 percent, respectively, among civilian nonunion workers.
08-29-2025 - 12:50 PM - From the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission - Product Recalls -Electric Motors for Gable and Roof Mounted Attic Fans Recalled Due to Fire Hazard; Distributed by Air Vent |||| C.A.M.P. Recalls Nimbus Lock Carabiners Due to Risk of Serious Injury or Death from Fall |||| DT Swiss Recalls Carbon Wheels Due to Crash Hazard |||| Lulive Recalls Dressers Due to Risk of Serious Injury or Death from Tip-Over and Entrapment; Violates Mandatory Standard for Clothing Storage Units; Sold on Amazon by Lulive |||| CT-ENERGY Lithium Coin Battery Chargers Recalled Due to Risk of Serious Injury or Death from Battery Ingestion; Violations of Standard for Coin Battery Products and Statute for Battery Packaging; Imported by CT New Energy Technology |||| Party Favors Lite-Up Torches and Laser Pointers Recalled Due to Risk of Serious Injury or Death from Battery Ingestion; Violates Multiple Standards; Imported by MTC Trading |||| TTI Outdoor Power Equipment Recalls RYOBI Pressure Washers Due to Projectile Hazard; Risk of Serious Injury |||| CPSC Warns Consumers to Immediately Stop Using Wisekiddy Helmets Due to Risk of Serious Head Injury or Death; Violates Mandatory Standard for Bicycle Helmets |||| CPSC Warns Consumers to Immediately Stop Using FunFitX Toddler Bike Helmets Due to Risk of Serious Injury or Death from Head Injury; Violates Mandatory Standard for Bicycle Helmets |||| CPSC Warns Consumers to Immediately Stop Using Baberooklin Mattresses Due to Risk of Serious Injury or Death from Entrapment or Suffocation; Violates Mandatory Standard for Crib Mattresses.