Popular Bands
So what are the bands that most Radio Amateurs use? The table below shows bands that are relatively common and how and when they are in use. Again your license will determine which bands and what portions you are eligible to use.
| Band (meter) | MHz | Use* | |
| HF | 160 | 1.8 - 2.0 | night |
| 80 | 3.5 - 4.0 | night and local day | |
| 40 | 7.0 - 7.3 | night and local day | |
| 30 | 10.1 - 10.15 | CW and digital | |
| 20 | 14.0 - 14.350 | world wide day and night | |
| 17 | 18.068 - 18.168 | world wide day and night | |
| 15 | 21.0 - 21.450 | primarily a daytime band | |
| 12 | 24.890 - 24.990 | primarily a daytime band | |
| 10 | 28.0 - 29.70 | daytime during sunspot highs | |
| VHF | 6 | 50 - 54 | local to world-wide |
| 2 | 144 - 148 | local and medium distance | |
| UHF | 70 cm | 430 - 440 | local |
* It should be noted that band conditions vary for many reasons and thus all of these bands can at times take on the characteristics of others. See the section on Propagation. This table should be considered a general guideline.
HF Bands
For amateurs who have an interest in long distance communication the HF (high frequency) bands will be of great interest. These bands offer propagation to all parts of the world at some time during the day, night or season. Do you want to talk to Japan from the east coast or Europe from the west? There will often be a time and a band where this communication is possible.
During a sunspot high cycle conditions are best for the higher HF frequencies and during a low the low frequencies are often in demand with all kinds of variation in between. Magazines such as QST and CQ Amateur Radio publish charts monthly that predict the best propagation to different areas of the world. These are just best guesses and will help you to choose your times and bands but there is no substitute for getting on the air.
Canadian and U.S. hams have different band allocations in the HF area although there is a lot of common ground. The following pages show a summary of the allocations in each country. For complete details go to the corresponding RAC or ARRL web site listed above.
