Brown County’s ham radio operators turned out over the weekend to participate in a national field-day event.  The event started Saturday afternoon at 1pm and ran 24 consecutive hours, requiring the local radio operators to run their communications equipment on back-up power.

During Field Day, amateur radio operators across the U.S. and Canada make contacts with each other, and score points toward area and national awards.  Brownwood Amateur Radio Club Field Day Coordinator John Lawson said it’s not just a social event for the amateur radio community, but it gives them the opportunity to test their skills at emergency communications while operating on power generators that are totally independent of the commercial power suppliers.

The Brownwood Field Day event was held at Memorial Park, across from the Brownwood Regional Hospital.  The club also provided the general public with the opportunity to experience ham radio themselves by talking on one of the radio station across the country.  The local ham radio operators are best known for their work as National Weather Service weather spotters during times of inclement weather.

Brownwood Amateur Radio Club President Wayne McClure said this year’s field day event was considered a very successful event with more participation than they’ve had in many years.  The Brownwood Operators made contact with all of the lower 48 states, Hawaii, Canada, and Alaska during the field day event.  If you’d like to learn more about Amateur (ham) Radio, you can check out the Brownwood club website at