During a VHF/UHF contest, in which band segment would you expect to find the highest level of SSB or CW activity?

VHF/UHF contests predominantly focus on weak signal modes, primarily Single Sideband (SSB) and Continuous Wave (CW). Because these modes require high receiver sensitivity and specific antenna polarizations, operators congregate in dedicated sub-bands to avoid interference from strong local FM signals. The ARRL band plans designate the lower portions of the VHF and UHF bands specifically as weak signal segments. During a contest, operators will naturally gather around the established national calling frequencies within these segments (such as 144.200 MHz for 2-meter SSB) to find available contacts quickly and efficiently. Distractors pointing to the middle or top of the band are incorrect because those frequencies are typically allocated for FM simplex, repeaters, or satellite operations. Standard FM contacts are often excluded entirely from these specific weak signal contests.