20-meter band

The 20-meter or 14-MHz amateur radio band is a portion of the shortwave radio spectrum, comprising frequencies stretching from 14.000 MHz to 14.350 MHz.^[1] The 20-meter band is widely considered among the best for long-distance communication (DXing), and is one of the most popular—and crowded—during contests.^[2] Several factors contribute to this, including the band's large size, the relatively small size of antennas tuned to it (especially as compared to antennas for the 40-meter band or the 80-meter band) and its good potential for daytime DX operation even in unfavorable propagation conditions.^[3]

History

The 20-meter band was first made available to amateurs in the United States by the Third National Radio Conference^[4] on October 10, 1924. The band was allocated on a worldwide basis by the International Radiotelegraph Conference^[5] in Washington, D.C., on October 4, 1927. Its frequency allocation was then 14000–14400 kHz. The allocation was reduced to 14000–14350 kHz. by the International Radio Conference of Atlantic City 1947.^[6]

Band plans

IARU Region 1

Europe, Africa, Middle East and Northern Asia^[7]

20 meters	14000-14070	14070-14099	14099-14101	14101-14350
IARU Region 1

IARU Region 2

The Americas^[7]

20 meters	14000-14070	14070-14099	14099-14101	14101-14350
IARU Region 2

IARU Region 3

Asia-Pacific^[7]

20 meters	14000-14070	14070-14099	14099-14101	14101-14112	14112-14350
IARU Region 3

United States

Effective 12:01 a.m. EST, February 23, 2007

20 m	14000 - 14350
United States	14000 14025	14025 14150	14150 14175	14175 14225	14225 14350
General
Advanced
Extra

Canada

Canada^[8] is part of region 2 and as such is subject to the IARU band plan. Radio Amateurs of Canada offers the bandplan below as a recommendation for use by radio amateurs in that country but it does not have the force of law and should only be considered a suggestion or guideline.

License class	14.000–14.070	14.070-14.095	14.095-14.0995	14.0995-14.1005	14.1005-14.112	14.112-14.350
Basic(+), Advanced

Key

	= CW only
	= CW, narrow band digital ( <= 500 Hz )
	= CW, narrow band digital ( <= 500 Hz ), wide band digital
	= CW, RTTY and data (US: < 1 kHz Bandwidth)
	= Beacons
	= CW, phone
	= CW, narrow band digital ( <= 500 Hz ), phone
	= CW, phone and image

References

↑ "Frequency Allocations". Arrl.org. 2012-03-05. Retrieved 2012-10-29.
↑ Picking a band. The ARRL Operating Manual, 8th Edition (Steve Ford, Ed.):1-15.
↑ "Propagation of RF Signals". The ARRL Handbook For Radio Communications (82nd ed.). American Radio Relay League. 2005. p. 20.4. ISBN 0-87259-928-0.
↑ "Recommendations for Regulation of Radio: October 6-10, 1924". Earlyradiohistory.us. Retrieved 2012-10-29.
↑ http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-s/oth/02/01/S02010000144002PDFE.pdf
↑ http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-s/oth/02/01/S020100002B4002PDFE.pdf
↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "IARU Regions". www.iaru.org. International Amateur Radio Union (IARU). Retrieved 6 January 2014.
↑ http://www.rac.ca/en/rac/services/bandplans/hf/hfplan-20080711.pdf

International amateur radio frequency allocations
Range	Band	ITU Region 1	ITU Region 2	ITU Region 3
LF	2200 m	135.7 kHz - 137.8 kHz
MF	600 m	472 kHz - 479 kHz
MF	160 m	1.810 MHz - 1.850 MHz	1.800 MHz - 2.000 MHz
HF	80 / 75 m	3.500 MHz - 3.800 MHz	3.500 MHz - 4.000 MHz	3.500 MHz - 3.900 MHz
	60 m¹	5.250 MHz - 5.450 MHz
	40 m	7.000 MHz - 7.200 MHz	7.000 MHz - 7.300 MHz	7.000 MHz - 7.200 MHz
	30 m²	10.100 MHz - 10.150 MHz
	20 m	14.000 MHz - 14.350 MHz
	17 m²	18.068 MHz - 18.168 MHz
	15 m	21.000 MHz - 21.450 MHz
	12 m²	24.890 MHz - 24.990 MHz
	10 m	28.000 MHz - 29.700 MHz
VHF	6 m	50.000 MHz - 52.000 MHz¹	50.000 MHz - 54.000 MHz
	4 m¹	70.000 MHz - 70.500 MHz
	2 m	144.000 MHz - 146.000 MHz	144.000 MHz - 148.000 MHz
	1.25 m		220.000 MHz - 225.000 MHz
UHF	70 cm	430.000 MHz - 440.000 MHz	430.000 - 440.000 MHz (420.000 - 450.000 MHz)³
	33 cm		902.000 MHz - 928.000 MHz
	23 cm	1.240 GHz - 1.300 GHz
	13 cm	2.300 GHz - 2.450 GHz
SHF	9 cm	3.400 GHz - 3.475 GHz³	3.300 GHz - 3.500 GHz
	5 cm	5.650 GHz - 5.850 GHz	5.650 GHz - 5.925 GHz	5.650 GHz - 5.850 GHz
	3 cm	10.000 GHz - 10.500 GHz
	1.2 cm	24.000 GHz - 24.250 GHz
EHF	6 mm	47.000 GHz - 47.200 GHz
	4 mm³	75.500 GHz¹ - 81.500 GHz	76.000 GHz - 81.500 GHz
	2.5 mm	122.250 GHz - 123.000 GHz
	2 mm	134.000 GHz - 141.000 GHz
	1 mm	241.000 GHz - 250.000 GHz
THF	Sub-mm	Some administrations have authorized spectrum for amateur use in this region.
¹ This is not mentioned in the ITU's Table of Frequency Allocations, but individual administrations may make allocations under Article 4.4 of the ITU Radio Regulations. See the appropriate Wiki page for further information. ² HF allocation created at the 1979 World Administrative Radio Conference. These are commonly called the "WARC bands". ³ This includes a currently active footnote allocation mentioned in the ITU's Table of Frequency Allocations. These allocations may only apply to a group of countries.
See also: Radio spectrum · Electromagnetic spectrum