Amateur MF and HF Allocations

The information below was compiled from a variety of sources. I didn't want to be scrolling up and down a page just to find out the color code on the band. I wanted to have all of the information, for a particular band, all in one place.

  • Region 1 comprises Europe, Africa, the Middle East west of the Persian Gulf including Iraq, the former Soviet Union and Mongolia.
    The western boundary is defined by Line B.
  • Region 2 covers the Americas, Greenland and some of the eastern Pacific Islands.
    The eastern boundary is defined by Line B.
  • Region 3 contains most of non-former-Soviet-Union Asia, east of and including Iran, and most of Oceania.

Line B is a line running from the North Pole along meridian 10° West of Greenwich to its intersection with parallel 72° North; thence by great circle arc to the intersection of meridian 50° West and parallel 40° North; thence by great circle arc to the intersection of meridian 20° West and parallel 10° South; thence along meridian 20° West to the South Pole.

See International Telecommunication Union region for details.

Note: These allocation charts are for the Unites States, ITU Region 2, Only.

Calling Frequency is + or - 10kHz.
SKCC members who use bugs are encouraged to make higher speed calls/CQs 2 KHz above the calling frequency.
SKCC members who prefer QRS (sending slowly) are encouraged to make calls 2 KHz down from the calling frequency.
Note: The calling frequency is only 2 KHz below the QRP calling frequencies. Please be considerate to the QRP CW ops and only QSY down from this frequency.

160 meters – 1.8 - 2.0 MHz (1,800 – 2,000 KHz) – Often taken up as a technical challenge; as long distance (DX) propagation tends to be more difficult due to higher D-layer ionospheric absorption. Long distance propagation tends to occur only at night, and the band can be notoriously noisy particularly in the summer months. 160 meters is also known as the "top band". Allocations in this band vary widely from country to country. This band lies just above the commercial AM broadcast band.

* Primary. Calling Frequencies are + or - 10kHz.
SKCC members who use bugs are encouraged to make higher speed calls/CQs 2 KHz above the calling frequency.
SKCC members who prefer QRS (sending slowly) are encouraged to make calls 2 KHz down from the calling frequency.
Note: The calling frequency is only 2 KHz below the QRP calling frequencies. Please be considerate to the QRP CW ops and only QSY down from this frequency.

80 meters – 3.5 - 4 MHz (3,500 – 4,000 KHz) – Best at night, with significant daytime signal absorption. Works best in winter due to atmospheric noise in summer. Only countries in the Americas and few others have access to all of this band, in other parts of the world amateurs are limited to the bottom 300 kHz or less. In the US and Canada the upper end of the sub-band from 3600–4000 kHz, permits use of single-sideband voice as well as amplitude modulation, voice ; often referred to as 75 meters.

60 meters – 5 MHz region – A relatively new allocation and originally only available in a small number of countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland, but now continuing to expand. In most ( but not all ) countries, the allocation is channelized and may require special application. Voice operation is generally in upper sideband mode and in the USA it is mandatory.

40 meters – 7.0 - 7.3 MHz (7,000 – 7,300 KHz) – Considered the most reliable all-season DX band. Popular for DX at night, 40 meters is also reliable for medium distance (1500KM) contacts during the day. Much of this band was shared with broadcasters, and in most countries the bottom 100 kHz or 200 kHz are available to amateurs. However, due to the high cost of running high power commercial broadcasting facilities; decreased listener-ship and increasing competition from net based international broadcast services, many 'short wave' services are being shut down leaving the 40 meter band free of other users for amateur radio use.

30 meters – 10.1 - 10.15 MHz (10,100 - 10,150 KHz) – a very narrow band, which is shared with non-amateur services. It is recommended that only Morse Code and data transmissions be used here, and in some countries amateur voice transmission is actually prohibited. Not released for amateur use in a small number of countries. Due to its location in the center of the shortwave spectrum, this band provides significant opportunities for long-distance communication at all points of the solar cycle. 30 meters is a WARC band. "WARC" bands are so called due to the special World Administrative Radio Conference allocation of these newer bands to amateur radio use. Amateur radio contests are not run on the WARC bands. Non-contesting radio amateurs are recommended to use the contest-free HF bands (30, 17 and 12m) during the largest international contests.

20 meters – 14.0 - 14.35 MHz (14,000 - 14,350 KHz) – Considered the most popular DX band; usually most popular during daytime. QRP operators recognize 14.060 MHz as their primary calling frequency in that band. Users of the PSK31 data mode tend to congregate around 14.071 MHz. Analog SSTV activity is centered around 14.230 MHz.

17 meters – 18.068 - 18.168 MHz (18,068 - 18,168 KHz) – Similar to 20m, but more sensitive to solar propagation minima and maxima. 17 meters is a WARC band. Non-contesting radio amateurs are recommended to use the contest-free HF bands (30, 17 and 12m) during the largest international contests.

15 meters – 21.0 - 21.45 MHz (21,000 - 21,450 KHz) – Most useful during solar maximum, and generally a daytime band. Daytime sporadic-E propagation (1500 km) occasionally occurs on this band.

12 meters – 24.89 - 24.99 MHz (24,890 - 24,990 KHz) – Mostly useful during daytime, but opens up for DX activity at night during solar maximum. 12 meters is a WARC band. Non-contesting radio amateurs are recommended to use the contest-free HF bands (30, 17 and 12m) during the largest international contests.

10 meters – 28 - 29.7 MHz (28,000 - 29,700 KHz) – Best long distance (e.g., across oceans) activity is during solar maximum; during periods of moderate solar activity the best activity is found at low latitudes. The band offers useful short to medium range groundwave propagation, day or night. During the late spring and most of the summer, regardless of sunspot numbers, afternoon short band openings into small geographic areas of up to 1500 km occur due to Sporadic-E propagation. "Sporadic-E" is caused by areas of intense ionization in the E layer of the ionosphere. The causes of Sporadic-E are not fully understood, but these "clouds" of ionization can provide short term propagation from 17 meters all the way up to occasional 2 meter openings.

6 meters – 50 - 54 MHz