What Is Field Day?
Since you are reading this page there is a good chance that you are familar with Amateur Radio. Amateur radio operators, often called "Hams", have been crucial in the development of electronics and wireless communications.
Long before broadcast radio and television, before the military embraced two-way radio, and even before anyone from your local police department uttered their first "10-4" into a microphone, ham radio operators were busy developing the hardware and methods which have evolved into today's wireless world.
More than a century ago it was already becoming apparent, that often, when disaster struck, the only line of communications which could be established was via amateur radio.
Many communications experts feel that todays "modern" infra-structure is even more vulnerable to failure. Recent history has shown us that in virtually every disaster, natural or man-made, telephone, internet, and public safety communications are among the first resources to fail.
History has also shown that amateur radio operators have sprung into action, providing the equipment, expertise, and man-power to sustain emergency communications until the regular systems have been restored.
In 1933 under the sponsorship of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) amateur radio operators in the United States and Canada began hauling their equipment to outdoor "Field" sites, where they would test their ability to rapidly deploy and operate their stations under the remote conditions which often accompany a disaster.
To help gauge the effectiveness of their efforts a "contest" element was added to the event. Points are awarded based on the number of successful contacts that a station has with other stations. Field Day has become the largest single emergency preparedness exercise in the country, with more than 35,000 operators participating. Field Day takes place over one 24 hour period, the last full weekend in June. While most traditional Field Day operations will be from under a tent or shade shelter at a park or other outdoor site, many teams operate from inside, at such places as a Emergency Operations Center, or from a served agency such as the Red Cross, Salvation Army, or a local hospital.
Emergency and alternative energy such as that supplied by generators, batteries, or solar panels is the choice of power during this exercise, owing to the fact that commercial power also tends to fail in a disaster.
Field Day has a single serious aspect and purpose, which is to assure that the radio operators participating are prepared, equipped, and ready to respond when disaster hits.
However Field Day has evolved into much more than a simple disaster drill. Field Day is also the premier yearly social event in the amateur community. Joined by their families, friends, and neighbors, the hams have picnics, they bar-b-que, they camp-out, have hidden transmitter hunts, they launch radio equipped balloons and rockets into outerspace, play outdoor games, tinker with equipment, and partake in a host of summertime outdoor activities.
Field Day has also become a venue for hams to introduce amateur radio to the public. Think of Field Day weekend as one giant nation-wide amateur radio "Open House". Field Day will find everyone from the shyist pre-schoolers up to Govenors and Senators taking a spin behind the mike.
Long before broadcast radio and television, before the military embraced two-way radio, and even before anyone from your local police department uttered their first "10-4" into a microphone, ham radio operators were busy developing the hardware and methods which have evolved into today's wireless world.
More than a century ago it was already becoming apparent, that often, when disaster struck, the only line of communications which could be established was via amateur radio.
Many communications experts feel that todays "modern" infra-structure is even more vulnerable to failure. Recent history has shown us that in virtually every disaster, natural or man-made, telephone, internet, and public safety communications are among the first resources to fail.
History has also shown that amateur radio operators have sprung into action, providing the equipment, expertise, and man-power to sustain emergency communications until the regular systems have been restored.
In 1933 under the sponsorship of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) amateur radio operators in the United States and Canada began hauling their equipment to outdoor "Field" sites, where they would test their ability to rapidly deploy and operate their stations under the remote conditions which often accompany a disaster.
To help gauge the effectiveness of their efforts a "contest" element was added to the event. Points are awarded based on the number of successful contacts that a station has with other stations. Field Day has become the largest single emergency preparedness exercise in the country, with more than 35,000 operators participating. Field Day takes place over one 24 hour period, the last full weekend in June. While most traditional Field Day operations will be from under a tent or shade shelter at a park or other outdoor site, many teams operate from inside, at such places as a Emergency Operations Center, or from a served agency such as the Red Cross, Salvation Army, or a local hospital.
Emergency and alternative energy such as that supplied by generators, batteries, or solar panels is the choice of power during this exercise, owing to the fact that commercial power also tends to fail in a disaster.
Field Day has a single serious aspect and purpose, which is to assure that the radio operators participating are prepared, equipped, and ready to respond when disaster hits.
However Field Day has evolved into much more than a simple disaster drill. Field Day is also the premier yearly social event in the amateur community. Joined by their families, friends, and neighbors, the hams have picnics, they bar-b-que, they camp-out, have hidden transmitter hunts, they launch radio equipped balloons and rockets into outerspace, play outdoor games, tinker with equipment, and partake in a host of summertime outdoor activities.
Field Day has also become a venue for hams to introduce amateur radio to the public. Think of Field Day weekend as one giant nation-wide amateur radio "Open House". Field Day will find everyone from the shyist pre-schoolers up to Govenors and Senators taking a spin behind the mike.