The 160m band: frequencies, band plan and propagation
Top band: the lowest HF band, a night-time band for long hauls and the hardest DXCC of all.
Band plan
| CW | 1.810–1.838 MHz |
| Digital modes | 1.838–1.843 MHz |
| Phone (SSB) | 1.843–2.000 MHz |
Simplified from the IARU Region 1 band plan. Your national rules and licence class decide what you may use.
- CW
- Digital modes
- Phone (SSB)
Top band is a night band. Absorption in the D layer closes it during the day, and it comes alive after sunset, best in the winter months and around the grey line, when the path between two stations runs along the edge of darkness.
Antennas are large and noise is high, so a station worked on 160 metres means more than the same station on 20. Most activity is CW and FT8; phone sits in the upper part of the band.
On the cluster, 160 metre spots are few and precious. The comment often carries the time a path opened, which is worth more than the report itself.