New privileges for U.S. hams on 60 meters

[AK9R]

On December 9, 2025, the FCC released Report and Order 25-60 which amends Parts 2 and 97 to implement acts of the World Radiocommunication Conference held in Geneva in 2015 (WRC-15). The R&O addresses the amateur radio service in the 5351.5-5366.5 kHz (60m) band and the 420-450 MHz (70cm) band. https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-25-60A1.pdf

In the 60m band, the R&O states "Allocate the 5351.5-5366.5 kHz (60-meter) band to the amateur service on a secondary basis; continue to make available on a secondary basis the four existing channels outside of the 5351.5- 5366.5 kHz band; and establish other operating guidelines for amateur use of the band." The existing 60m channels and their power limit of 100 watts ERP remains. In the new 5351.5-5366.5 kHz segment, power will be limited to 9.15 watts ERP.

In the 70cm band, the R&O states "Update the coordination and contact information in US270 for amateur stations operating in previously defined areas of the 420-450 MHz (70 centimeter) band." This is referring to parts of the country where amateur radio operations on the 70cm band are restricted due to adjacent military operations.

These changes will go into effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.

 

[AB5ID]

limited to 9.15 watts ERP

 

[AK9R]

The power limit conforms to the WRC-15 action.

 

[sprman1955]

Kind of low power but i guess somethings better than nothing..... : /

 

[kc2asb]

The power limit conforms to the WRC-15 action.

And we know hams will carefully observe the power limit while operating here.

 

[ladn]

And how soon will the firmware updates be made available to include the new 60m frequencies and power limits?

 

[AK9R]

And how soon will the firmware updates be made available...

Depends on the radio and manufacturer. My unmodified Kenwood TS-890 already transmits on the new band.

 

[KJ4DHF]

Hopefully not as long as it took to adopt the changes

 

[GlobalNorth]

I've never been on 60 meters. My luck is I could monitor a freq for an hour, hear nothing, and and as soon as I hit the TX button - the FCC would get a complaint about my station interfering with a primary user.

 

[K9KLC]

I've only made rare appearances there. My antenna usually won't tune there but I was setting something up for someone and actually got my wire to tune. I don't remember which frequency it was but there was 5-6 guys on there and I was welcomed to the conversation like I was a long lost buddy.

We had some afternoon propagation similar to what 80 does at night. When I string a new wire next spring I'm gonna try to get something up for that band I think.

My luck is I could monitor a freq for an hour, hear nothing, and and as soon as I hit the TX button - the FCC would get a complaint about my station interfering with a primary user.

Naw get in there and key up, you might be surprised.

 

[Marcy57]

Kind of a dumb question? since I,m not interested in it anyway but just curious I looked at the 60 meter
thing what license classes is it for (maybe I missed it?) like can a General (like me) use it? is for Extra?
can a Tech use it? 73,s Marcy

 

[KJ4DHF]

General, Advanced and Extra

 

[Marcy57]

Advanced ...now there is one I have not heard in a few ...but tnx fer info...73,s Marcy

 

[K9KLC]

like can a General (like me)

I hope so or I'm in trouble !!

 

[merlin]

I monitored 60 meters out of Europe, there is a little activity so this will give hams something new to play with.
9.1 watts may not seem like much but at 5 MHz, should be effective pending propagation.

 

[K6GBW]

9 watts with a low dipole and you'll talk for 200-300 miles around you pretty easy. 60m is the playground of the ARES/RACES crowd. At least around here. When I was in the Army we used to use the high 4 MHz and low 5 MHz frequencies with 20 watts or less and it worked pretty well. At least in the mid 80's it did.

 

[KD7YUF]

That is good to know, I currently can operate on the 60 meter band but don't do that very often. I looked at the WRC information earlier on and find that 9.15 watt ERP limit a bit odd but I can shift my transmitter's power to the nearest whole number which would be 9 watts for the new channels.

 

[AB5ID]

You could run more power than 9 watts if antenna efficiency is less than a full size dipole.

Just for fun a put a inefficient antenna into ChatGTP:
Typical efficiency range

For a 16 ft base-loaded vertical with 4 radials at 5 MHz:

Overall efficiency is often 5 to 10 percent

That corresponds to −10 to −13 dB relative to a dipole (ERP reference)


Translate ERP to transmitter power

You are allowed 9.15 W ERP.

If the antenna is:

10 percent efficient (−10 dB)
Required transmitter power ≈ 90 watts

5 percent efficient (−13 dB)
Required transmitter power ≈ 180 watts


Most installations with only 4 radials land closer to the 5–8 percent range, not the optimistic 10 percent.

Conservative recommendation

To stay safely within 9.15 W ERP without detailed measurements:

Limit transmitter output to 100 watts or less

A safer number is 50 to 75 watts, which virtually guarantees compliance even with poor ground


Why this matters

The loading coil and ground system dominate losses

Feedline loss at 5 MHz is negligible compared to antenna inefficiency

ERP is about radiated field strength, not transmitter watts


Bottom line

Quarter-wave vertical -- ~9 W TX

Your 16 ft base-loaded vertical with 4 radials -- 50 to 100 W TX

If you want margin -- ~50 W


If you want, tell me:

Radial length

Coil location and Q (or model)

Soil type


I can tighten this to a much narrower power limit.

 

[KD7YUF]

My antenna is less than 100% efficient on the 60 meter band so I could run more than that and just need to calculate how much power I can put into the antenna in order to reach the 9.15 watt ERP on the new channels while running my full 20 watts of power on the existing ones.