Band plan

The radio frequency is traditionally separated in separate "slices" or "bands" of frequencies that have all their own use. By convention, certain bands are reserve to certain uses, most of the time because of the physical properties of the frequency or the environment.

The wikipedia page on bands is also an excellent reference.

ITU Bands

• LF 30 - 300 kHz
• MF 300 kHz - 3 MHz
• HF 3 - 30 MHz (aka shortwave)
• VHF 30 - 300 MHz
• UHF 300 MHz - 3000 MHz (3 GHz)
• SHF 3,000 - 30,000 MHz (see also Microwave and other bands)

There's a much more comprehensive page at RadioIng.com eEngineer

HF Bands

There are a number of amateur HF bands used worldwide, although the bands and frequencies legally available vary from country to country.

HF bands used today include 80 metres, 60 metres, 40 metres, 30 metres, 20 metres, 17 metres, 15 metres, and 10 metres. (Although 160 metres is a Medium Frequency/MF band, it can be lumped in with the HF bands for simplicity.)

VHF/UHF/Microwave Bands

Related wiki pages: Tropospheric ducting, Meteor scatter, Aurora

VHF, UHF, and Microwave bands and frequencies available to amateurs vary more widely from country to country than HF bands do.

Amateur bands used today include 6 metres, 4 metres, 2 metres, 1.25 metres, 70 centimetres, 33 centimetres, 23 centimetres, 13 centimetres, 9 centimetres, 6 centimetres 3 centimetres, 1.25 centimetres and Bands above 24GHz.

Regional Band Plans

Within three regions around the world, different "plans" are agreed upon by Amateur Radio Operators to divide up the authorized band into sections. Each section is targeted to a specific operating mode (e.g., SSB, FM, Digital, etc). The ITU separated the world in 3 separate regions:

• Region 1 encompasses Africa, the Mediterranean, Europe, and Asiatic Russia
• Region 2 encompasses North America, South America, and Greenland
• Region 3 encompasses India, Australia, Southeast Asia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and Pacific nations.

See also the IARU website for details of those allocations.

Country Band Plans

Each country has its own conventions that are an application of the general band plans.

• The Australian band plan (.pdf) from the Wireless Institute of Australia
• The Canadian band plan (.html) from Radio Amateurs Canada
• The New Zealand Band Plan can be found at NZART
• The United Kingdom band plan (.pdf and .html) from the Radio Society of Great Britain
• The United States Band Plan

See also

• Records - Distance
• Emergency Frequencies
• Propagation
• Antennas
• Electromagnetic Waves

External links

• Wikipedia:Amateur_radio_frequency_allocations
• Wikipedia:Radio_spectrum
• Wikipedia:Waveguide
• ARRL band plan - includes diagrams and listings
• USA band plan - one band per page, notable frequencies, with space for notes (PDF)
• US Frequency Allocation Chart - good chart of all radio allocations (mediawiki, PDF, SVG, PNG)
• Canadian chart of radio allocations (PDF)
• Electromagnetic Radiation Spectrum Poster - very complete (PDF, PNG, mail order)

Bands
HF and MF	160 metres * 80 metres* 60 metres * 40 metres * 30 metres * 20 metres * 17 metres * 15 metres * 12 metres * 10 metres
VHF	6 metres * 4 metres * 2 metres * 1.25 metres
UHF	70 centimetres * 33 centimetres * 23 centimetres * 13 centimetres
Microwave	9 centimetres * 6 centimetres * 3 centimetres * 1.25 centimetres * Bands above 24GHz
See also	US bandplan