History
Linked Amateur Radio in our area began as a proposal at a
Texas VHF FM Society meeting in 1977 by then ARRL West Gulf
Division Director Roy Albright, N5RA. Roy envisioned an
intercity UHF net that would link cities in the interior to
those along the entire Texas coast. Initially, the FM
Society and a few clubs subsidized the project. Enthusiasm
and funding did not last and as a result, the effort went
private as Armadillo Intertie. Founders were Mike Roden,
W5JR (then N5FL), Dallas, Joe Jarrett, K5FOG, Austin, and
Larry Higgins, W5EX (then W5QMU) in San Antonio.
We began in the late seventies by reconnecting the
Dallas-Moody- Austin-Blanco-San Antonio backbone. When it
became apparent that Texas was a bit big for the original
model a southern group was formed and incorporated in 1984
as Intertie, Inc. Currently, Intertie, Inc. manages the
communications links south of Austin, west along the U.S.
90 corridor and south through Corpus Christi. Armadillo
operates along U. S. Interstate 20 to the west and
southeast to Houston
Intertie, Inc. initiated connections from Alpine and El
Paso to San Antonio, thence to Corpus Christi along U.S.
181. Interface with the Cactus Intertie was accomplished at
Dark Canyon, NM. From there, existing links connect west to
California. This system was activated on September 5, 1994,
by UHF radio contact with N6DD in Diamond Bar, CA.
We operate 23 radio sites including a stand-alone open
repeater in Corpus Christi. Intertie, Inc. continues to
maintain, improve and add sites to support hurricane
preparedness operations along the central and southern
Texas Gulf Coast. To accomplish this requires at least 87
duplex radios with associated antennas, feed lines and
peripheral hardware. Our System backbone extends over a
distance of 633 miles from Dark Canyon, NM to Corpus
Christi, TX.
With approximately three members per site we are always
looking for interested participants. Our call sign is
WX5II. We maintain affiliation with the Cactus Intertie in
California and with the American Radio Relay League.
Intertie, Inc. is a not-for-profit Texas corporation
financed entirely by member dues and public donations.
W5EX
No use of these symbols or phrases is allowed without the
express written permission of Intertie, Inc.