• Amateur Radio US Band Layout
• What about this reference to meters?
• Canadian Band Plan

Licensed amateur radio operators are allocated specific frequency ranges in several "bands" across the radio spectrum. These bands are determined by the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC), organized under the auspices of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), in agreement with various national amateur radio organizations and governing agencies like the FCC.
In addition, within these bands, operation is limited based upon license class, so a Technician-licensed amateur has access to certain frequency ranges, a General class operator has additional permissions, and an Extra class operator has full privileges.

The Amateur Bands
 
Band 	Frequency range
160 m 	1.8 to 2.0 MHz            Medium Frequency Band
-----------------------
80 m 	3.5 to 4.0 MHz
60 m 	5.3 to 5.4 MHz
40 m 	7 to 7.3 MHz
30 m 	10.1 to 10.15 MHz         High Frequency Band (HF)
20 m 	14 to 14.35 MHz
15 m 	21 to 21.45 MHz
12 m 	24.89 to 24.99 MHz
10 m 	28.0 to 29.7 MHz
-----------------------
6 m 	50 to 54 MHz
2 m 	144 to 148 MHz           Very High Frequency (VHF)
-----------------------
70 cm 	420 to 450 MHz
33 cm 	902 to 928 MHz           Ultra High Frequency (UHF)
23 cm 	1240 to 1300 MHz
----------------------
2300 to 2310 MHz
2390 to 2450 MHz
----------------------
Above 10.50 GHz:
All modes and licensees (except Novices) are authorized on the following bands:
 
24.0-24.25 GHz
47.0-47.2 GHz
76-81.0 GHz
122.25-123 GHz
134-141 GHz
241.0-250.0 GHz
All above 275 GHz 
 
(US Amateurs check Sections 97.301, 97.303, 97.305 and 97.307 of the FCC rules for specifi c requirements and authorizations)

For the HF or High Frequency bands, ARRL has a useful chart that can be downloaded from the site. There is also a good quality set of charts downloadable from this site:
»www.rsgb.org/




There is one sheet for each band, and these are very easy to decipher at a glance.

Additional band info provided by KA3SGM :

The 60m band is 5 specific USB channels, which are currently Bandwidth Limited, Channelized, and Power Limited to 50 watts ERP, per ARRL chart specifications: General, Advanced, and Amateur Extra licensees may use the following five channels on a secondary basis with a maximum effective radiated power of 50 W PEP relative to a half wave dipole. Only upper sideband suppressed carrier voice transmissions may be used. The frequencies are 5330.5, 5346.5, 5366.5, 5371.5 and 5403.5 kHz. The occupied bandwidth is limited to 2.8 kHz centered on 5332, 5348, 5368, 5373, and 5405 kHz respectively.

70cm UHF is 420 to 450*, not 430 to 440. Heck, most 70cm FM repeaters operate in the 440MHz to 450MHz range, above what is referenced here. The lower end of the band is generally reserved to Weak Signal, CW, SSB, Moon Bounce, Satellite, and Amateur TV. * it is a shared allocation with the US Government/Military, so occasional interference close to US Military Installations are common. ARRL Link: »www.arrl.org/FandES/field/regula···olor.pdf

5650-5925MHz is the 5cm Amateur band. The ARRL bandplan designates 5760.30-5760.40MHz for Propagation Beacons. Off-Shelf 802.11a WiFi Equipment operating in the 5.745~5.85GHz range falls into this category, so power amplifiers and High Gain antennas are allowed under FCC Part 97 rules, although any type of common WiFi encryption such as WEP or WPA is not allowed. Popular uses are Amateur High Speed Multi Media (HSMM) communications(Video, Voice and Data), referred to by some in the ARRL HSSM working group as part of the the 'Hinternet'.
Referenced further on wikipedia: »en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinternet#802.11a

This FAQ is informative only and cannot be considered authoritative as to frequency usage.
Please see the extensive explanation of frequencies available to amateur radio here:
»www.arrl.org/FandES/field/regula···lan.html
And another here:
»www.dxer.com/bandplan.html
--------------------------------------

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by KeysCapt
last modified: 2007-11-18 18:33:46

You will often see reference to ham bands in terms of meters, such as "20 meters" or "2 meters". This metric reference is actually a measure of one wavelength at that frequency. The lower the frequency, the longer the wavelength ... thus "40 meters" is generally 7 MHz, and "20 meters" is 14 MHz. "2 meters" is the 144-148 MHz band. At that frequency, an antenna would measure approximately 2 meters, or 6 feet if it was a full wavelength. In actual practice, antennas are designed to be fractions of wavelengths, such as "half wave" or "quarter wave".

Divide the frequency into 300 to get the wavelength.

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by KeysCapt
last modified: 2007-11-10 16:59:16

Frequency (MHz) Lower edge	Frequency (MHz) Upper edge	Maximum Bandwidth	Qualifications
1.8	2.0	6 kHz	B and 5
3.5	4.0	6 kHz	B and 5
7.0	7.3	6 kHz	B and 5
10.1	10.15	1 kHz	B and 5
14.0	14.350	6 kHz	B and 5
18.068	18.168	6 kHz	B and 5
21.0	21.450	6 kHz	B and 5
24.890	24.990	6 kHz	B and 5
28.0	29.7	20 kHz	B and 5
50.0	54.0	30 kHz	B
144	148	30 kHz	B
220	225	100 kHz	B
430	450	12 MHz	B **
902	928	12 MHz	B **
1,240	1300	Not Specified	B **
2,300	2,450	Not Specified	B **
3,300	3,500	Not Specified	B **
5,650	5,925	Not Specified	B **
10,000	10,500	Not Specified	B **
24,000	24,050	Not Specified	B
24,050	24,250	Not Specified	B **
47,000	47,200	Not Specified	B
75,500	76,000	Not Specified	B
76,000	81,000	Not Specified	B **
142,000	144,000	Not Specified	B
144,000	149,000	Not Specified	B **
241,000	248,000	Not Specified	B **
248,000	250,000	Not Specified	B

Notes:

"B" means an Amateur Operators Certificate with Basic Qualification
"5" means an Amateur Operators Certificate with Morse Code (5 w.p.m.) Qualification
Radio Amateurs are secondary users in the bands marked with asterisks **, and may not cause interference to primary users.