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G2A09

OPERATING PROCEDURES · - Phone operating procedures: USB/LSB conventions, breaking into a contact, transmitter setup for voice operation; answering DX stations

G2A09G2A →

Why do most amateur stations use lower sideband on the 160-, 75-, and 40-meter bands?

  1. ALower sideband is more efficient than upper sideband at these frequencies
  2. BLower sideband is the only sideband legal on these frequency bands
  3. CBecause it is fully compatible with an AM detector
  4. DIt is commonly accepted amateur practice
Why There is nothing electrically special about either sideband; a transmitter produces the same signal quality with LSB or USB. The split at LSB below 10 MHz (160, 75/80 and 40 meters) and USB above (20, 17, 15, 12, 10 meters, plus 60 meters and VHF/UHF SSB) is simply long-standing amateur custom, kept because everyone must select the same sideband to be intelligible. FCC rules do not specify which sideband to use, so this is operating practice, not regulation.
Watch out The efficiency claim is wrong because both sidebands carry identical information with identical power; the legality claim is wrong because Part 97 does not dictate sideband choice on those bands.
Below 10 MHz go Low (LSB), above 10 MHz go Up (USB), and it is custom, not law.
HamSandwich explanation, first draft. The question and answers are the NCVEC text.
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The rest of G2A

  1. G2A01 Which mode is most commonly used for voice communications on frequencies of 14 MHz or higher?
  2. G2A02 Which mode is most commonly used for voice communications on the 160-, 75-, and 40-meter bands?
  3. G2A03 Which mode is most commonly used for SSB voice communications in the VHF and UHF bands?
  4. G2A04 Which mode is most commonly used for voice communications on the 17- and 12-meter bands?
  5. G2A05 Which mode of voice communication is most commonly used on the HF amateur bands?
  6. G2A06 Which of the following is an advantage of using single sideband, as compared to other analog voice modes on t…
  7. G2A07 Which of the following statements is true of single sideband (SSB)?
  8. G2A08 What is the recommended way to break into a phone contact?
  9. G2A09 Why do most amateur stations use lower sideband on the 160-, 75-, and 40-meter bands?
  10. G2A10 Which of the following statements is true of VOX operation versus PTT operation?
  11. G2A11 Generally, who should respond to a station in the contiguous 48 states calling "CQ DX"?
  12. G2A12 What control is typically adjusted for proper ALC setting on a single sideband transceiver?
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