Every year the Armed Forces Day Crossband Test is a fun event which tests ones ability to have crossband conversations – where you transmit on one frequency and receive on another, with a considerable difference between the two.  Stations in the US military transmit on military frequencies and listen on the amateur bands, while ham operators do the opposite.  This year, the test date is May 9th (though Armed Forces Day is later in May, it’s the same weekend as the Dayton Hamvention, so the test date was moved to avoid a conflict).

This is not only a fun event, but when I’ve participated in the past I’ve used it as an excuse to dust off the portable gear and go participate from a park somewhere – making it also a test of my batteries and portable setup!