Diffferences Between the 40, 80 and 160-meter bands

40 Meters

• Forty meters is like an HF band that works at night time (it’s almost like VHF for a Top Bander!).
• Propagation prediction can be done by classic MUF-based programs.
• Gray-line propagation also happens along terminator, as on the higher HF bands.
• Gray-line zones can be very wide (many hours even at medium latitudes).
• Skewed paths are not as common as on 80 and 160 meters.
• 40 meters allows you to work any distance, if properly equipped.

80 Meters

• With well-equipped stations at both ends, just about any distance and path can be covered at the right time of the year.
• During low sunspot years, 80-meter propagation may be influenced by MUF.
• Gray-line enhancement always occurs on paths perpendicular to the terminator.
• Working DX through the auroral belt is not uncommon, even in high sunspot years

160 Meters

• Propagation is not at all dictated by MUF, and only marginally by the solar cycle.
• Besides the auroral phenomenon we still do not know what makes a good DX night or a bad one. Mystery is still a big part of Top Band!
• Auroral absorption is most pronounced on 160 meters.
• • Skewed paths most frequently occur on Top Band.
• Gray-line enhancement always appears to occur on paths perpendicular to the terminator.
• 160 meters has a distinct area in which working DX is more or less like a piece of cake— anything in a circle of approximately 5,000 km around your own QTH. For instance, Western Europeans can work the East Coast of the USA almost daily. The “light-gray” zone is W5, W8 and W9 land. WØ land is “dark gray” and for anything beyond that, conditions must be well above normal. This is quite different from 80 meters, where longer distances are possible every day and where the transition between “easy” and “difficult” seems to be much more vague.
• Real long path (that is, without path bending) on 160 meters is rather exceptional, except for stations very near the antipodes, and as a rule only occurs during low sunspot cycle years.
• If 80 meters is swinging, there is no guarantee that 160 meters will be any good. When 80 is bad, though, 160 will likely be bad as well. So don’t extrapolate from the higher band to the lower band. This very often does not work.
• Very typical for 160 meters is a slow and deep QSB,especially on very marginal paths. It’s advisable to get a call right the first time—There may not be a second time or it may be minutes later. I have seldom seen this on 80 meters. Patience is important also…you may have to wait for propagation to peak to you.
• During low sunspot cycle years, 160 meters usually has very pronounced peaks at sunrise (sometimes also at halfway midnight), especially for really long-haul paths— where the sharp peak is usually within minutes of sunrise. You can almost set your watch by it. The sunset peak on 160 meters is also much less pronounced. There seems to be a broad “peak” within an hour or so after sunset.
• On 160 meters skip is often very selective (for various reasons).
• Working DX through the auroral donut is very difficult during high sunspot years.
• The thrill of working a new one on 160 meters is ten times the thrill of doing it on 80 meters!