Clayton - W5PFG
I'm an outdoor adventurer and amateur radio enthusiast living in the Texas Hill Country. W5PFG is my amateur radio call letters (callsign) issued by the FCC.During my travels, I've visited almost 50 countries and hiked the tallest peaks in my native Texas' Chisos, Davis, and Guadalupe mountain ranges.
In my thirty-plus years of being a licensed amateur radio operator, I've often combined my love of outdoors with operating radio equipment in portable environments. The majority of my operating over the last decade was via satellites. Recently, my activity on the radio has been operating Summits on the Air from mountaintops.
My current equipment consists of several Yaesu handhelds, a Yaesu FTM-500 mobile in my truck, an Icom IC-705 for HF/VHF/UHF portable, and a (tr)uSDX. I have several field-deployable HF setups, mostly utilizing End-Fed-Half-Wave (EFHW) antennas. To support these antennas, I use either a carbon fiber fishing pole or a Spiderbeam 40ft HD fiberglass pole.
Some of my past amateur radio activities include: satellite ground station construction, repeater management, packet BBS and node SysOp, fox hunting, mobile HF, supporting public service events such as the Boston Marathon, and activating rare or difficult to reach grid squares.
At home, I'm running two Meshtastic (LoRa) nodes. One is a solar powered outdoor client and the other is an indoor, USB-powered gateway for MQTT connected to STX Mesh.
Having a very active family life, I don't spend a lot of time with radio clubs, though I maintain a life membership in several national organizations and occasionally participate in local club events.
If you'd like to contact me, my email address can be found in W5PFG's directory listing on the QRZ website or by utilizing the ARRL.net callsign alias.
My (former) Jeep Gladiator Rubicon
Cerro Castellan - Big Bend National Park
Guadalupe Peak, Texas High Point (8,751' / 2,667m)
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
ARRL Field Day 2025 Operating Position
Veramendi, New Braunfels, Texas
Field Day 2025 Station