

Tech license DX opportunities #1 and #2 above on HF bands are admittedly limited by mode and/or active band. So Technicians may be frustrated over a lack of activity for opportunity #2.

The band can be inactive or slow for weeks or months at a time. However, 10m propagation is highly dependent on solar activity.

The data mode privilege is really helpful here because it allows Techs to work popular digital modes such as JT, FT, PSK, Olivia and MSK. This is the only HF voice privilege for this class and the frequency range is very narrow. So opportunity #1 may not be appealing to many Techs unless they want to learn Morse code (a fun skill, by the way).Ģ) USA Technicians also have SSB voice and digital (data) privileges on 10m, again with a 200W limit. This is how hams used to get started in amateur radio and while CW is still quite popular, it is intimidating to many new folks. The first two opportunities for Technician licensees to communicate over distance involve traditional HF equipment:ġ) USA Technician class operators have privileges to operate CW mode (Morse code) on 80m, 40, 15m and 10m HF bands with a 200W power limit. So for most hams chasing DX or just working beyond the local area means having a HF transceiver and antenna for the band(s) of interest. HF signals routinely reach the other side of the planet and places in between. We will briefly mention these here and perhaps cover them in greater detail in future posts.ĭX is commonly accomplished on the high frequency (HF) bands due to ionospheric refraction or bending of radio waves. There are six ways for a Technician licensee to communicate outside of town, outside your state, or even outside the country. Don’t despair if you have only a Tech license and want to do more than chat with locals on a repeater. Unfortunately for US hams, the entry-level Technician class license permits rather limited opportunities for making radio contact beyond line of sight.

Working DX (ham-speak for distance) commonly means contacting a station outside your own country but Alaska and Hawaii are certainly DX stations by distance, and in reality good DX is cross-country in a large entity such as the USA. For many radio amateurs, it’s their main pursuit. Making radio contact over great distance is one of the more interesting aspects of ham radio.
