Does anyone even use the 6M Band?

[TNFrank]

I cut my 10M Dipole back to work on 6M and tried both Calling channels and gave the Prescott Repeater a try. I didn't figure I'd hit it with my low power output but it was worth a try. Both Calling channels were dead, no traffic at all. So, this begs the question, does anyone even bother with 6M or is it kind of like 1.25M where it's pretty much a dead Band? 

[WRYS709]

2 hours ago, TNFrank said:

I cut my 10M Dipole back to work on 6M and tried both Calling channels and gave the Prescott Repeater a try. I didn't figure I'd hit it with my low power output but it was worth a try. Both Calling channels were dead, no traffic at all. So, this begs the question, does anyone even bother with 6M or is it kind of like 1.25M where it's pretty much a dead Band? 

Here in SoCal, 6 meters is primarily limited to FM repeaters above 52 MHz. 

But as the “Magic Band” when it opens FT8 and SSB activity somehow populates!

[WRYZ926]

There isn't a lot of 6m traffic in my area either. Most people wait for the band to open in order to work the far away stations. And most will do that on FT-8, CW, or SSB. There is only a couple of 6m FM repeaters in the entire state. The same goes for the 1.25m band. I only know of one 1.25m repeater and it is linked full time to a 2m repeater. 

The 6m band is known as the magic band as it is either open or closed.

[SteveShannon]

8 hours ago, TNFrank said:

I cut my 10M Dipole back to work on 6M and tried both Calling channels and gave the Prescott Repeater a try. I didn't figure I'd hit it with my low power output but it was worth a try. Both Calling channels were dead, no traffic at all. So, this begs the question, does anyone even bother with 6M or is it kind of like 1.25M where it's pretty much a dead Band? 

It’s underutilized in our area.  I’ve never used it. The only 6 meter activity here is on a crossband (6 to 2) repeater and it’s down more often than up.

The five most active bands in my experience are 2 meters, 70 cm DMR, 20 meters, 40 meters, and 80 meters.  

Frank, something you might want to do is to use the webSDR.  With it you will be able to listen in on every band using receivers around the world, without incurring any expenses.  That might give you a better idea of what’s active and where. http://websdr.org

Or you might consider getting an SDR dongle of your own.  They’re relatively inexpensive yet are capable of receiving a very wide range of frequencies in every mode with your choice of computer interface. Team one of those with a multiband antenna (discone if you’re limited in space, end fed half wave if you have the room to hang a long wire) and you can get a real taste of every band and every mode. Nooelec RTL-SDR v5 SDR - NESDR Smart HF/VHF/UHF (100kHz-1.75GHz) Software Defined Radio. Premium RTLSDR w/ 0.5PPM TCXO, SMA Input & Aluminum Enclosure. RTL2832U & R820T2 (R860)-Based Radio https://a.co/d/f8eXDJz

 

[TNFrank]

I have an SDR dongle that I picked up years ago from the Hak5 Shop. I used to listen to CB and FM broadcast radio with it. I did go on a WebSDR site and I could hear all kinds of AM radio from Japan, China and Russia. 

As soon as I pay Amazon down I'll pick up a 10M radio and see if I can find one that'll do 6M and 2M too so it'll be more versatile.  Yep, not much going on with 6M. We do have 4 or 5 1.25M Repeaters in the area though but there's not much traffic on them. It's kind of sad, as a Technician we've got all these Bands but only 2M and 70cm are really used. We need to find a way to get more folks on 6M and 1.25M or the FCC just might take them away from us and sell them to someone else.

[marcspaz]

 

I'm inclined to agree with others on it's use.  As stated above, most people wait for an opening and focus on long range contacts.  Almost everyone I know who does use it, sticks to FT8.

 

If I recall correctly, I have only made 1 contact on 6m that wasn't local and scheduled.  With the exception of that one person, all of my 6m use has been mobile to mobile with a friend or family member while we were driving somewhere.  And in every case, we picked 6m because no one ever uses it.

 

I would love to use 6, all the time. 1/4 wave mobile whip antennas a very small compared to HF, and there are a lot more 100w mobile radios for 6m than for 2m.

[WRYS709]

On 12/20/2025 at 8:27 AM, TNFrank said:

As soon as I pay Amazon down I'll pick up a 10M radio and see if I can find one that'll do 6M and 2M too so it'll be more versatile…

Here’s a dangerous tip (it just lead to a Holiday buying spree on my part): PayPal Credit allows you to make purchases greater than $149 and pay them out over 6 months interest free!

Avoid their credit card. 

I use these two WebSDRs frequently to enhance my ability to receive HF::

http://kfsdr.com/ (Half Moon Bay CA)

http://www.sdrutah.org. (Northern Utah)

In SoCal there is actually a 6 Meter Repeater linked to one on 220; so that no one multiplied by zero can increase its use! 

[gortex2]

I use 6M simplex around my house. Its dead quiet as said. If I'm too far to reach my base via VHF P25, I switch to 6M FM. There is a repeater about 70 miles from me but its really quiet. 

[WRYS709]

6 meter FT8 was open late last night

[marcspaz]

With the Aurora we had, I had hoped band conditions for 6m would be good.  Nice to hear it was working out.

[WRYS709]

2 hours ago, marcspaz said:

With the Aurora we had, I had hoped band conditions for 6m would be good.  Nice to hear it was working out.

I caught the tail end: Belieze and Mexico

[marcspaz]

1 hour ago, WRYS709 said:

I caught the tail end: Belieze and Mexico

Nice! Congrats!