Every year Ham Radio enthusiasts gather in parks, beaches, hill tops and remote areas for an event called Field Day. This year field day is the weekend of June 22nd and 23rd.
This is a weekend set aside in the month of June to practice amateur radio communications skills as well as experiment with different solutions for communications in case of a disaster. Ham radio operators communicate in CW (Morse Code), Phone (voice) and digital modes. During Field Day phone modes are usually conducted in single side band along all HF bands except 12, 17, 30 and 60 Meters.
According to the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL), the objective of field day is, "To work as many stations as possible on any and all amateur bands (excluding the 60, 30, 17, and 12-meter bands) and to learn to operate in abnormal situations in less than optimal conditions. Field Day is open to all amateurs in the areas covered by the ARRL/RAC Field Organizations and countries within IARU Region 2. DX stations residing in other regions may be contacted for credit, but are not eligible to submit entries."
For all the details check out the ARRL page at: http://www.arrl.org/field-day
Local amateur radio clubs are the best resource for those who are new to ham radio. Some clubs have volunteer examiners assembled to offer testing for Amateur Radio FCC license.
To locate a club in your area check out this page on the ARRL site: http://www.arrl.org/find-a-club
One cool thing about field day is that if you have a Technicians license and attend a field day event you will be permitted to use bands for higher grade licenses as long as the control operator is a General or an Amateur Extra. This great way for new hams to experience HF communications.
Videos of past Field Days:
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