By Steve Bossert | February 21st 2022, 10:08 PM ET)

By Steve Bossert | February 5th 2022, 3:00 PM (ET)

​RHINEBECK, NEW YORK - During the last weekend of January every year, thousands of licensed radio amateurs take part in a Winter Field Day to promote communications readiness during the coldest part of the year across North America. 

Participants who wish to make radio contact during the event use frequencies capable of long-distance communication with no man-made networks like the internet or 4G/5G networks.  These "Short Wave" frequencies span between 1.8 to 30 MHz with dedicated "bands of operation" for radio amateurs also referred to as "ham radio" enthusiasts.

Three classifications of participants take part in the Winter Field Day Association (WFDA) sponsored event. The WFDA asks all participants to send contact logs to them after the 24-hour event is over.  Bragging rights as to who made the most contacts as part of the outside, inside and home categories are at stake and different bonuses are awarded based on which communication method was used; voice, Morse code or data.

During the 2022 event, the Overlook Mountain Amateur Radio Club from Kingston, NY made over 400 contacts across the United States, Canada and beyond while using temporary heaters to stay warm and generators to supply the needed electricity to run various equipment.