The 20-meter or 14-MHzamateur 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
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2011)
The Third National Radio Conference was responsible for opening up the 20-meter band to amateur radio operators in the US[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 14–14.4 MHz. The allocation was reduced to 14–14.35 MHz by the International Radio Conference of Atlantic City, New Jersey 1947.[6]
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.
Some administrations have authorized spectrum for amateur use in this region; others have declined to regulate frequencies above 300 GHz.
[v] All allocations are subject to variation by country. For simplicity, only common allocations found internationally are listed. See a band's article for specifics.
[w] HF allocation created at the 1979 World Administrative Radio Conference. These are commonly called the "WARC bands".
[x] This is not mentioned in the ITU's Table of Frequency Allocations, but many individual administrations have commonly adopted this allocation under "Article 4.4".
[y] 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.
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