Wichita Falls Pundit
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Roaming the town, jotting it down, doing Hobby Radio along
the way. This is a text-based site. Pics: Some. Videos: None.
Not the best environment for the "attention span" challenged.
STICKY: Amateur (ham) Radio Tailgate/Swapfest - Saturday - 9-27-2025 - 8AM to 10:30 AM - Castaway Cove parking lot - Wichita Falls.
09-18-2025 - 5:05 AM - Good Morning! It's Thursday, and it might be time for me to pay a visit to Bradford's Catfish Haus at 1616 Pearlie Dr. (940-424-9414). I've visited twice, but it was many months ago. At that time, the food was great. Give them a try if you're in the area. Pearlie Drive runs off of Burkburnett Road, just north and across from the Sheppard AFB Main Gate. For now, my Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready!
09-18-2025 - 5:10 AM - Wichita Falls NWS Forecast - Today: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly between 1pm and 4pm. Sunny, with a high near 92. South southwest wind around 6 mph becoming west northwest in the morning. Tonight: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 68. Southeast wind around 6 mph becoming northeast after midnight.
09-18-2025 - 5:15 AM - Current National Short Range Weather Forecast
09-18-2025 - 5:20 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 90.3% Kemp: 100% Kickapoo: 93.3%. Monitored Water Supply Reservoirs are 95.1% full. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (91.8%) to determine drought stage.
09-18-2025 - 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 9,701 Megawatts.
09-18-2025 - 6:30 AM - Something to do: Wichita Falls Pecan Shed, 1401 Midwestern Pkwy. (940) 322-0756
09-18-2025 - 6:35 AM - Will MURS or GMRS become the new "trucker" radio? It would be great if the entire industry could magically switch to one or the other. I think MURS would be best as it more closely fits the "spirit" of CB Radio as we know it today. Of course, GMRS allows more power, but is that power really needed on FM? Only time will answer these questions.
09-18-2025 - 6:45 AM - Something I never got around to doing back in my skydiving days was a parachute aeronautical mobile operation. I had planned to forego my love of free-fall time, opening the parachute high - 10,000 feet - and get as much radio time under the canopy as possible. I was going to use a simple handheld 2-meter radio with earphones, working on 146.520 MHz FM simplex. It never happened. There have been several groups over the years that have made regular Ham Radio parachute jumps. I'm not sure if they're still active.
09-17-2025 - 4:55 AM - Good Morning! It's Wednesday, and the Texas - Oklahoma Fair starts tonight at the Wichita Falls Multi-Purpose Events Center. The fair runs 6PM to 10 PM through Friday, and 1PM to 10 PM on Saturday. At the Iron Horse Pub, it's Brass Skulls with special guests Blood and Rust on Friday, and AA Bottom on Saturday. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready.
09-17-2025 - 5:00 AM - Wichita Falls NWS Forecast - Today: Sunny, with a high near 94. South southwest wind around 7 mph. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 70. South southeast wind around 7 mph.
09-17-2025 - 5:05 AM - Current National Short Range Weather Forecast
09-17-2025 - 5:10 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 90.3% Kemp: 100% Kickapoo: 93.5%. Monitored Water Supply Reservoirs are 95.1% full. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (91.9%) to determine drought stage.
09-17-2025 - 5:15 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 12,005 Megawatts.
09-17-2025 - 5:30 AM - Amateur Radio has "Worked All States", "Worked All Continents, DXCC (100 countries), and many other awards. Will the CB Radio world come up with similar awards since the 155.3-mile restriction was lifted back in 2017? Perhaps CB Radio QSL cards could make a comeback. I'm not sure some of the high-powered CB'ers really want to give out their actual location. Just a thought.
09-17-2025 - 6:25 AM - Not a peep so far on the CB Radio. It's so quiet that I had to make sure the antenna was connected. I have it on 40-channel scan. Things should liven up soon. Tune in and join the fun!
09-17-2025 - 6:35 AM - It was 1976, and I was sitting in the barracks at the Presidio of San Francisco, tuning across the band on an AM-FM radio with an extended VHF range. This range would include frequencies used by the early car phones. I heard a well-known actor discussing a current TV series he was starring in with someone. It was interesting. The old car phones were for businesses and the more well-to-do crowd back then. Now it's cell phones. Everyone has one, and you can't eavesdrop on them.
09-17-2025 - 6:45 AM - Below is what the "Hand Held Cell Phone Use" sign at Kemp and Midwestern Parkway says, vs what people think it says.
09-17-2025 - 6:55 AM - As a kid, I knew I would always be interested in radio communications. In the old movies, a Sheriff's car rolling up with one of those long whip antennas would never fail to get my attention. In later years, it was the pocket-sized, then ink pen-sized two-way radios seen in the "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." TV series. I can still see Napoleon Solo saying, "Open Channel D, overseas relay." I recall a day when I sat in class at school and drew those small radios instead of doing whatever I was supposed to be doing.
09-17-2025 - 7:00 AM - CB Radio Channel 19 finally came alive with local trucking traffic. It can only get better from here on out. Many might not agree!
09-17-2025 - A few days ago, I went to the "lab" at the Clinics of North Texas for bloodwork ahead of a routine physical. There were nine patients waiting. I was the only one not looking at my phone. What does it mean? Nothing. I just found it interesting. I'm probably one of the few people in Wichita Falls who doesn't use a cell phone as a social device. I do all Internet-related work, play, and whatever else from my laptop computer. It can all wait until I get home. In fact, I have seriously been considering reverting to a no-features flip phone.
09-17-2025 - This morning, I received this email from Home Depot: "You recently bought Everbilt 5/16 in. x 1 3/4 in. x 4 3/16 in. Coarse Zinc Plated Steel U Bolt. Tell us about it!" So, Home Depot wants me to interrupt my day to write about two small u-bolts I bought a few days ago? I think not. I'm retired with not much to do, and I still can't see myself making time to review the $5.00 purchase of two u-bolts. Later this morning, I'm going back to Home Depot to pick up an A/C air intake grill I ordered. I'm not reviewing that, either. I know it's a Home Depot bot sending me these review requests. I just ignore them. It is, however, still fun to write about my imaginary gripes.
09-17-2025 - 8:10 AM - FEMA Daily Operations Briefing - National Current Ops / Monitoring – September 16-17, 2025
New Significant Incidents / Ongoing Ops:
• No new significant incidents/operations
Hazard Monitoring:
• Severe Weather – Central Plains
• Excessive Rainfall / Flash Flooding – Central/Southern Rockies
• Tropical Activity
Atlantic:
• Tropical Depression Seven
• Disturbance 1: Low (20%)
Eastern and Central Pacific:
• Disturbance 1 (EP96): High (90%)
Disaster Declaration Activity:
• No new declaration activity
Event Monitoring:
• No significant events
09-17-2025 - 11:25 AM - From the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics - Economics Daily - Consumer prices up 2.9 percent from August 2024 to August 2025 - The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 2.9 percent for the 12 months ending August 2025, after rising 2.7 percent over the same period in June and July. Prices for all items less food and energy rose 3.1 percent, food prices increased 3.2 percent, and energy prices increased 0.2 percent since August 2024. Food at home prices were 2.7 percent higher than a year earlier. Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs prices rose 5.6 percent, nonalcoholic beverages increased 4.6 percent, and prices for fruits and vegetables increased 1.9 percent over this 12-month span. Prices for dairy and related products were up 1.3 percent, and cereals and bakery products rose 1.1 percent. Food away from home prices were up 3.9 percent over the year. Gasoline prices fell 6.6 percent over the last 12 months and fuel oil prices were down 0.5 percent. In contrast, electricity prices increased 6.2 percent and natural gas prices rose 13.8 percent. Within all items less food and energy, shelter prices increased 3.6 percent over the year. Other notable price increases include medical care (3.4 percent), household furnishings and operations (3.9 percent), motor vehicle insurance (4.7 percent), and used cars and trucks (6.0 percent). These data are from the Consumer Price Index program and are not seasonally adjusted.
09-17-2025 - 2:20 PM - There are numerous stations listed on the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air spotter page. Half I've already contacted, and the other half have puny signals right now. I'll check back later for better band conditions.
09-17-2025 - 3:40 PM - Something to do: Visit the RC airplane field at the south end of Lake Wichita Park. It is open to all to fly or watch. There is a nearby model rocket launch site.
09-17-2025 - 3:50 PM - When I was on X, formerly known as Twitter, a regular post showed President Nixon talking to the Apollo astronauts on the moon. More than a few people called “BS” on the photo. I suppose they were unfamiliar with a phone patch or autopatch, a device that connects a two-way radio to a phone line. Many calls were made from Vietnam to the USA by service members using this simple technology. Then there is the one with the Amateur (ham) Radio Operator pointing a dual-band handheld antenna skyward, attempting to make contact with the International Space Station with a handheld radio. More calls of “BS.” People need to get out of the house more and touch some grass and some radios!
09-17-2025 - 3:55 PM - I contacted a station in Katy Trail State Park (US-1766) in Missouri on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.
09-17-2025 - 4:11 PM - I contacted a station in Rockport State Park (US-3088) in Utah on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.
09-17-2025 - 4:29 PM - I contacted a station in Grandstaff Canyon BLM Recreation Management Area (US-5780) in Utah on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.
09-17-2025 - 6:15 PM - The Local Group is alive on CB Radio Channel 23. I don't think I've ever heard another local group as regular as this one. They've been at it for years and will probably be there for years to come.