Field Day (amateur radio)

In the United States, it is typically the largest single emergency preparedness exercise in the country, with over 30,000 operators participating each year.

Operations using emergency and alternative power sources are highly encouraged, since electricity and other public infrastructures are often among the first to fail during a natural disaster or severe weather.

To determine the effectiveness of the exercise and of each participant's operations, there is an integrated competitive component, and many clubs also engage in concurrent leisure activities (e.g., camping, cookouts).

Additional contest points are awarded for experimenting with unusual modes, making contacts via satellite, and involving youth in the activity.

Generators or solar power provide electricity to amateur radio transceivers, which may be located in tents, cars, recreational vehicles, or other portable shelters.

Point systems are structured to motivate emergency preparedness activities, such as designating a safety officer for the station or incorporating auxiliary power capabilities.

Field Day is frequently used to attract significant publicity for amateur radio, and some clubs simultaneously demonstrate technologies including single sideband voice, Morse code (commonly called CW), digital modes (such as RTTY, PSK31, and Winlink, among others), and communication via amateur radio satellite.