Common PSK Frequencies
PSK
Operators tend to hang out at certain frequencies on the bands. Some of the
frequencies are dependent on the location of the station, due to local
regulations or QRM. Here are the most common.
160m: 1807 kHz (
1838 kHz (Europe)
80m: 3580 kHz
40m: 7070 kHz (
7035 kHz (
7028 kHz (Japan)
30m:
10138-10142 kHz
20m:
14070 kHz
17m: 18100 kHz
15m: 21070 kHz
12m: 24920 kHz
10m: 28120 kHz
6m:
50290 kHz (
50250 kHz (
Almost all of these are the transceiver settings
for USB operation, so most PSK signals are within the 3 kHz above these
frequencies. (80m operation tends to be both above and below 3580.) By
convention, BPSK is typically quoted as USB regardless of frequency. But since
BPSK is symmetric, you can also operate in LSB mode—just set your transceiver
about 3 kHz above these frequencies. (If you operate QPSK, you’ll have to use
the “invert” setting in your software.)
Back in the early days of PSK31, the suggested
operating frequencies all ended in .150 kHz. This was at a time when tuning was
done using the transceiver. Now that all PSK software is “click and tune,” this
level of detail is unnecessary. In fact, you only need to set your transceiver
“near” the above frequencies, where “near” is defined as within a few hundred
Hertz—you’ll be able to tune in most of the activity with your software. But
don’t forget to tune around a bit when the passband
is very active, as some stations may be operating outside of the “normal” range
when there are a lot of stations on the air.
When you are operating USB, your actual
transmitted frequency (the actual frequency of your PSK signal) will be equal
to the sum of your transceiver setting plus the audio offset displayed in your
software. Some people prefer to quote this as a sum, as in “14070 + 1200” for a
transceiver set at 14070 kHz and a 1200Hz offset. Others will state this as the
sum itself, 14071.2 kHz. Both of these are exactly the same, as would be
someone working the same station with a transceiver set at 14069.5 kHz and an
audio offset of 1700 Hz. Note that if you are using LSB, you have to subtract
the audio offset from the transceiver frequency. For the exact same operating
frequency as above, an LSB station may be set at 14073 with an audio offset of
1800 Hz, which could also be quoted as “14073 – 1800”.
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author: W3HF
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last updated 28 February 2008