Find a club or net near you. You do not need a license to visit a meeting, and most clubs will put a radio in your hand the first evening.
Things to Get Out and Do
Field Day
Fourth full weekend of June
Clubs set up portable stations on emergency power and operate for 24 hours. Part contest, part drill, part barbecue. Visitors are welcome and you do not need a license to come along and watch — or, with a licensed operator supervising, to talk on the radio.
Parks on the Air
Any time
Operate portable from a public park and log contacts with people chasing you. Low barrier to entry, a friendly chase community, and a good excuse to test a portable antenna somewhere pleasant.
Summits on the Air
Any time
The same idea as POTA, except you carry the station up a hill first. Light gear, low power and a strong emphasis on doing it under your own steam.
Contests
Most weekends
Organized events where stations make as many short contacts as possible. You do not have to take them seriously to benefit — a contest weekend is the fastest way to hear what your station can really do, and to fill in states and countries.
Know a net, a club or an event we are missing?
OneShack is built from what operators send in. Net names, frequencies, meeting times, corrections — all of it welcome, and all of it credited if you want it to be.