SSB on 20 metres: 14250 kHz, the everyday voice segment

What you hear

Voices on the upper sideband, as described in the main article, without the drama of the DX frequency. Around 14250 kHz the traffic is the ordinary business of the hobby: a station calling CQ, a contact with name, location and a report, a chat about equipment and weather, nets that meet at a fixed hour, and on contest weekends a station every two kilohertz exchanging five-nine and a number as fast as they can. The accents come from everywhere, because 20 m reaches everywhere.

Who transmits and why

Licensed amateurs of all kinds, since 20 m is the band almost everyone has an antenna for and the one that is open most often. The voice segment runs from about 14100 to 14350 kHz; the lower part near 14100 is quieter, and the upper part is where most of the talking happens.

When and where to listen

From mid-morning until a few hours after dark, longer in summer; from Europe, mornings bring Asia, afternoons Africa and the Americas, evenings North America. Any receiver with a decent antenna hears plenty. The dial is 14250 kHz in USB; if the spot is quiet, step up or down a few kilohertz and a voice appears.

In ShackDeck

Station catalogue → Amateur radio → SSB 20 m. The program picks a public receiver covering 14250 kHz, tunes it and sets USB with the voice passband; a click on a signal in the waterfall puts the voice on pitch. No receiver, antenna or account of your own is needed.