Ham Radio Frequencies: Complete Band Plan

The Complete Ham Radio Frequency Band Plan

The FCC allocates specific frequency ranges to licensed amateur operators. These aren’t just suggestions — transmitting outside your band or outside your license class privileges is an FCC violation. Here’s the full picture.

That’s the full licensed spectrum. But two bands do almost all the daily work: 20 meters for worldwide DX and digital modes, and 2 meters for local FM and repeater operation. Everything else is specialty territory.

HF Ham Radio Frequencies — How Propagation Actually Works

HF is where ham radio gets interesting. Below 30 MHz, the ionosphere — a layer of electrically charged particles sitting 60 to 600 miles above earth — bends radio waves back to the ground. Your signal goes up, bounces back, and lands thousands of miles away. This is called skywave or skip propagation, and it’s what separates ham radio from everything else in the two-way radio world. The how radios work guide covers the underlying physics of this in detail.

Each HF band behaves differently depending on the time of day, season, and the 11-year solar cycle:

160m and 80m (1.8–4.0 MHz): These are nighttime bands. During the day, the D-layer of the ionosphere absorbs signals at these frequencies. After sunset, the D-layer weakens and 80m opens up for regional contacts — 500 to 2,000 miles. 160m is the most challenging band on the HF spectrum and attracts dedicated operators for its difficulty. Both bands are heavy with ragchewing nets and emergency communication groups.

40m (7.0–7.3 MHz): The workhorse band. It’s reliable day and night. During daylight hours, 40m carries signals 500 to 2,000 miles. At night the skip extends to 5,000 miles or more. More active operators use 40m than any other HF band. FT8 digital mode runs continuously on 7.074 MHz. LSB voice is primarily from 7.175 to 7.300 MHz.

20m (14.0–14.35 MHz): The primary DX band. During solar maximum, a 100-watt station with a wire dipole works every continent in a single afternoon. 20m is open during daylight hours in both hemispheres simultaneously — that’s why it stays busy around the clock. FT8 runs on 14.074 MHz. SSB voice from 14.150 MHz up.

10m (28.0–29.7 MHz): The most solar-dependent band. At solar minimum it goes dead for months. At solar maximum — we’re currently in an active period of Solar Cycle 25 — 10 watts of FT8 on 10m can reach any continent. The 10m band is also the only HF band where Technician licensees can operate phone (voice) — specifically 28.300 to 29.700 MHz.

VHF and UHF Ham Frequencies — Local and Repeater Operation

Above 30 MHz, the ionosphere stops bending signals back. VHF and UHF travel line-of-sight — which means range is determined by terrain and antenna height, not the ionosphere. The good news is that an extensive repeater infrastructure fills the gap. For a detailed breakdown of how UHF and VHF signals compare in real-world conditions, see the UHF vs VHF radio guide.

2 meters (144–148 MHz): The most active VHF band. 146.520 MHz is the national FM simplex calling frequency — the first place any operator goes when trying to make contact. If a conversation develops, both parties move to another frequency. Repeaters typically operate with a 600 kHz offset: a repeater output of 146.760 MHz has an input of 146.160 MHz.

70cm (420–450 MHz): The second most active local band. More susceptible to building penetration loss than 2m, but carries more spectrum and supports a wider variety of modes including DMR, D-STAR, System Fusion, APRS, amateur satellites, and ATV. National FM simplex calling is 446.000 MHz. Repeater offset is typically 5 MHz.

6 meters (50–54 MHz): Called “the magic band” for good reason. It mostly behaves like VHF — line-of-sight, local. But several times a year, sporadic-E propagation opens 6m to DX contacts across 1,000 miles with no warning. 50.125 MHz is the USB weak-signal DX calling frequency. Operators chase these openings obsessively.

Emergency Ham Radio Frequencies You Need to Know

Ham radio operators support emergency communications through two main volunteer organizations: ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) and RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service). Both use licensed amateur frequencies but under different jurisdictions — ARES coordinates with served agencies, RACES operates under government authority during declared emergencies.

There’s no single national emergency ham frequency — local ARES groups set their own primary and backup channels. But several frequencies carry emergency significance nationwide:

NOAA weather radio broadcasts on 162.400 to 162.550 MHz — seven channels covering the entire US. These are not ham frequencies. You can receive them on most ham handhelds and mobile rigs in wide-receive mode, but you cannot transmit there. During severe weather, monitoring NOAA WX is standard practice alongside the 2m calling frequency.

The SAME system (Specific Area Message Encoding) sends county-level digital alerts on NOAA frequencies before any voice broadcast. A scanner or ham radio with SAME decoding can alert you to watches and warnings specific to your county — not the whole state.

Ham Radio Frequencies Near You — Finding Local Repeaters

Simplex (radio-to-radio direct) on 2m or 70cm gives you 20 to 100 miles depending on terrain and antenna height. But repeaters push that to 100–300 miles from a handheld. A well-placed repeater on a 2,000-foot hilltop hears a 5-watt handheld from 80 miles away and retransmits at 50 to 100 watts.

The most complete database of US repeaters is RepeaterBook — it’s free, searchable by zip code, and updated by the ham community. Enter your zip code, select the band (2m or 70cm is where to start), and you’ll see every registered repeater in your area with its output frequency, offset, CTCSS/DCS tone requirements, and status.

A few things to check before trying a repeater:

Offset: Your radio needs to transmit on the input frequency while the repeater output is what you hear. 2m repeaters use ±600 kHz offset. 70cm uses ±5 MHz. Most modern radios handle this automatically when you enter the output frequency.

Access tone: Most repeaters require a CTCSS (Continuous Tone-Coded Squelch System) or DCS tone to open the squelch. RepeaterBook lists the required tone. Program it into your radio’s tone encoder before transmitting.

Active vs dormant: A listed repeater isn’t necessarily a monitored repeater. Key up on the output frequency and listen. Then transmit your callsign and say you’re checking in. If nobody responds after a couple of tries, the repeater may be unused or uncoordinated.

What Frequencies Can a Ham Radio Tune to CB Channels?

CB radio operates on 40 channels between 26.965 and 27.405 MHz — inside the HF spectrum. A ham radio with general-coverage receive can tune to those frequencies and listen. But transmitting there is a different matter.

CB radio requires FCC type-accepted CB equipment. A ham transceiver is not type-accepted for CB use. A licensed ham operator cannot legally transmit on CB channels using a ham radio, even if the radio can physically tune there. The CB radio frequency guide covers all 40 channels and which ones carry the most traffic.

The reverse question also comes up: can a CB radio transmit on ham frequencies? No — CB radios are locked to 40 fixed channels. They have no capability to access amateur bands above or below the CB allocation. If you need to communicate between a ham rig and CB operators, the simplest bridge is a dual-radio setup — one ham radio for the ham bands, one CB for channel 19.

Ham Radio Frequencies by License Class

What frequencies you’re legally allowed to transmit on depends on which license you hold. The FCC issues three classes, and each unlocks additional spectrum:

Technician: Full privileges on all VHF and UHF amateur bands — including 2m, 70cm, and everything above. Limited HF access: CW on the lower portions of 40m, 15m, and 10m. Phone (voice) privileges on 10m from 28.300 to 29.700 MHz only. This is enough to use any local repeater, APRS, and 10m digital modes including FT8.

General: Adds significant HF phone privileges. Large portions of 80m (3.800–4.000 MHz voice), 40m (7.175–7.300 MHz voice), 20m (14.225–14.350 MHz voice), 15m (21.275–21.450 MHz voice), and full 10m access. General is where worldwide DX operation becomes routine. Most active HF operators hold at least General class.

Amateur Extra: Full privileges across every amateur band in the US. Unlocks the “Extra exclusive” segments on each HF band — the lower-frequency portions of each band’s phone allocation where there’s less congestion and more serious DX operators work. Also required for certain operating modes and higher-tier operating awards.

No Morse code requirement for any license since 2007. All three exams are written multiple-choice tests administered by volunteer examiner groups nationwide. The ARRL exam session finder lists testing opportunities in every state.

Common Ham Radio Operating Frequencies at a Glance

Frequency allocations on paper don’t tell you where the activity actually is. These are the frequencies where you’ll hear real traffic on most days:

FT8 digital mode has standardized on specific sub-band frequencies: 1.840 MHz (160m), 3.573 MHz (80m), 7.074 MHz (40m), 10.136 MHz (30m), 14.074 MHz (20m), 18.100 MHz (17m), 21.074 MHz (15m), 24.915 MHz (12m), 28.074 MHz (10m). These are active globally around the clock. A software-defined radio and a free copy of WSJT-X is all you need to decode — no license required to receive.

AM broadcast-style ham nets run on 40m and 80m, particularly on 7.290 MHz and 3.885 MHz. These attract older operators who prefer the warmer sound of AM over SSB. Activity peaks on weekends and evenings.

APRS nationwide frequency: 144.390 MHz on 2m carries continuous packet data from GPS-equipped mobile stations, weather instruments, and APRS gateways. You can see all of this in real time at aprs.fi without owning a radio.