Wichita Falls Pundit
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08-31-2025 - 5:30 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 10,076 Megawatts.
08-31-2025 - 6:30 AM - Are e-bike rentals still a thing in Wichita Falls? At one time, they were parked in front of that "Duck" coffee shop at 7th and Scott. I haven't seen them in months. Could it be that while driving a car in downtown Wichita Falls is challenging, riding an e-bike could be classified as death-defying? I think so. I would never ride a bike in downtown Wichita Falls.
08-31-2025 - 7:00 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!
08-31-2025 - 8:10 AM - FEMA Daily Operations Briefing - National Current Ops / Monitoring – August 30–31, 2025
New Significant Incidents / Ongoing Ops:
• No new significant incidents/operations
Hazard Monitoring:
• Excessive Rainfall / Flash Flooding – Southwest and Southern Plains; Central Plains to Mississippi Valley; Alaska
• Tropical Activity
Atlantic:
• Disturbance 1: Low (30%)
Eastern and Central Pacific:
• Tropical Depression Eleven-E
• Disturbance 1: High (80%)
Disaster Declaration Activity:
• No new declaration activity
Event Monitoring:
• No significant events
08-31-2023 - 10:00 AM - Two CB Radio enthusiasts I knew in the late 1960s were heading back to college after a holiday break. They were in adjoining dorm rooms. They planned to install an antenna on the roof and split the coaxial cable between their rooms using a switch or splitter arrangement. I don't recall hearing anything about the project, so perhaps it didn't go as planned. Or maybe they just swapped roommates so they didn't have to split the signal. Or, maybe one of them smoked the other's radio. Or, maybe they were smoking something else.
08-31-2025 7:30 AM - I contacted a station in Great Brook Farm State Park (US-2435) in Massachusetts on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program. POTA hunter count: 558.
08-31-2025 12:40 PM - I contacted a station in Tom Thorne/Beth Williams Wildlife Management Area (US-6118) in Wyoming on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program. POTA hunter count: 559.
08-31-2025 - 3:00 PM - Our local Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter went active. Tune in to their operations on 159.900 MHz on your scanner radio.
08-31-2025 - 6:00 PM - The Local Group is up and running on CB Radio Channel 23. At least some of them are on the air. Tune in or join in.
08-31-2025 - 8:00 PM - The Wichita Amateur Radio Society is on the air with their weekly informal net on the 147.140 MHz repeater. Tune in or check in!
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08-30-2025 - 7:00 AM - Good Morning! It's Saturday, and the skies are cloudy as I write this, and the high is forecasted to be 82 degrees. This sounds like another good day ahead. The Montague County Simplex Net begins at 9:00 AM this morning on 147.500 MHz. You'll need a good outside antenna to listen in. My Folgers Black Silk Coffee is ready.
08-30-2025 - 7:05 AM - Today: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 1pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 82. East wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Tonight: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 1am. Increasing clouds, with a low around 70. East wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
08-30-2025 - 7:10 AM - Current National Short Range Weather Forecast
08-30-2025 - 7:15 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 92.1% Kemp: 100% Kickapoo: 95.2%. Monitored Water Supply Reservoirs are 96.0% full. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (93.65%) to determine drought stage.
08-30-2025 - 7:20 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 12,658 Megawatts.
08-30-2025 - 7:45 AM - FEMA National Watch Center - National Current Ops / Monitoring – August 29–30, 2025
New Significant Incidents / Ongoing Ops:
• No new significant incidents/operations
Hazard Monitoring:
• Excessive Rainfall / Flash Flooding –Central/Southern Plains and Alaska
• Tropical Activity
Atlantic:
• Disturbance 1: Low (30%)
Eastern and Central Pacific:
• Disturbance 1(EP93): High (80%)
• Disturbance 2: High (80%)
Disaster Declaration Activity:
• No new declaration activity
Event Monitoring:
• No significant events
08-30-2025 - 7:55 AM - DX (long-distance) contacts are being made on CB Radio Channel 38, lower sideband. The AM DX channels are busy, also. The band is in good shape this morning. On Channel 6 (the superbowl of CB Radio), there's a guy who sounds like a mad auctioneer. I hope he doesn't blow a fuse. His, or his radio's. I know some of you probably wish all superbowler's radios would go up in smoke. I do not. Until such a time as they set my TV on fire, I'll just wish them a good day and hope they have a fun time.
08-30-2025 - 8:20 AM - Re-post - A challenge for Wichita Falls Amateur (ham) Radio Operators: Except for emergencies and scheduled nets, refrain from using a repeater on Sundays. Instead, use simplex! It's Wichita Falls - you can see from one side of town to the other! The maximum distance from one side of town to the other - not counting uninhabited prairie - is 10 miles. It's 13 miles, including the prairie. Yes, there are dead spots. Work around them. That's what makes it fun!
08-30-2025 - 8:40 AM - A few years ago, I talked to a trucker - on CB Radio Channel 19 - who said he was hauling 155 MM howitzer shells. Although he didn't say, I'm sure it was just "propellant cases", and no projectiles or propellant. I could be wrong. I can't imagine the items that come through town, or the trucks with fake signage, or no signage, and hauling something sensitive, hazardous, or expensive and inviting to hijackers. I've transported nuclear weapons before, as part of a security detail, but by helicopter.