Propagation properties are sometimes difficult to understand and statements about current propagation in one of the amateur bands are difficult to make. The properties of propagation are highly dependent on the time of day, the season and the average sunspot number. A lot of information can be found on the internet, both theoretical information as well as current propagation reports.
Overview of the propagation properties per band
| Band | Daytime | Nighttime including twilight |
|---|---|---|
| 2200m | Connections up to several hundred kilometers via surface wave. | Due to the disappearance of the D-layer, the sky wave reflected by the ionosphere also appears in addition to the surface wave and connections over 1000 kilometers are possible. |
| 630m | Up to ± 1000km. | Up to ± 2000km, lots of properties still unclear for this band. |
| 160m | Short distances due to strong absorption. | DX possible in winter. |
| 80m | Short distances, up to ± 400km. | Worldwide DX possible, escpecially in winter. |
| 60m | Short and medium distances, day and night. | |
| 40m | Up to ± 1000km. | Worldwide DX possible throughout the year. |
| 30m | Up to ± 3000km. | DX possible, excellent near vertical incidence skywave (NVIS) propagation. |
| 20m | The most favorite DX band. DX possible with low sunspot activity. | |
| 17m | Good DX band, opening very much dependent on the sunspot activity. | |
| 15m | ||
| 12m | Excellent DX band only in periods of high sunspot activity. With a lower sunspot activity, this band may not be open for months or years. | |
| 10m | ||
| 6m | Under normal circumstances this band behaves like the 10 meter band and only ground wave connections are possible. Multiple sporadic E (ES) and a high sunspot activity allow connections over great distances, sometimes worldwide connections are possible. | |
| 4m | The characteristics of this band are still partly unknown, the band was only released on January 1, 2012 to radio amateurs in The Netherlands. Its properties are likely to be very similar to the propagation properties found at 6m. | |
| 2m | Propagation depends on the used transmission power and bandwidth and can vary from ± 100km to ± 600km. With the help of auroral backscatter, sporadic E (ES) and meteor scattering (MS), distances of up to ± 2000 km are possible. | |
| 70cm | Properties can be compared to those of the 2m band except for ES. | |