Hello,  thank you for visiting my Bio page.  First off, you will hear me on the air use my middle name Dale instead of my first name that the FCC database shows.  I've always been known by Dale, not Harlon.  Sorry for any confusion this may have caused you.

I was first licensed in 1988.  I've had several callsigns.  My Novice and Technician callsign was KD4WZF, my Advanced callsign was KR4LH, my FCC assigned Extra callsign was AD4RI.  I applied for a vanity callsign in 1996 and was assigned W5WI.  Since I was born in Wisconsin I felt the WI pays tribute to my birth state. I was first licensed in Georgia but moved to Texas in 1995.  Yes, to get my Extra license I had to pass 20 wpm Morse Code.  I wish I had kept up with CW as I am now basically relearning it again.  It was much easier 20 plus years ago... :)

My favorite operating modes are HF phone, CW and digital.  I am trying different modes and so far RTTY is my favorite of the digital modes. You will hear me in DX pile ups on phone, digital and CW.  After attending Contest University in Dayton just prior to the Hamvention last year, the contesting bug has bit me... So, listen for me in many contests! :-) 

The Tennadyne T-8 antenna continues to work well for me.  I continue to be extremely impressed with its performance!  The   Yaesu FL-7000 amplifier performs flawlessly.  Many thanks to Bill Grassa, N4ATS,  Bill works exclusively on Yaesu FL-7000 amps and does the complete mods plus adds a 60watt power supply for a minimal fee.  He did some additional work on my amp and sent it back to me within the week.    The amp looks new! I have nothing but praise for Bill! 

I still haven't found time to put up the 75 foot tall Rohm 45 tower with my Force 12 C4XL antenna mounted on it.  It's now summer and way to hot to work on it.  My 80m loop continues to work well for me, but to work DX I have learned patience...

In July 2017 , I was appointed the West Texas Section Manager.  The West Texas Section is larger than many eastern states and we have 89 counties in the Section.  Many counties do not have a licensed amateur radio licensee and other counties have very few licensed amateurs.  This makes this position both challanging and rewarding.  One of my goals is to get more younger folks interested in our great hobby.

In addition to my Section Manager duties I am activly chasing DX.  My goal is to reach Number 1 Honor Roll, but that is a ways off...

Thanks for visiting my bio.  I hope to meet you on the bands and possibly an eyeball QSO soon!

73,

Dale