The Toolbox — Frequencies

Amateur Radio

US amateur band plan, license class privileges, national simplex frequencies, repeater offsets, digital mode frequencies, and CTCSS tone reference.

License Class Privileges

Class	HF Privileges	VHF/UHF Privileges	Notes
Technician	CW on 80/40/15/10m sub-bands; SSB phone on 28.300–28.500 MHz (10m, 200W)	Full privileges on all amateur bands above 50 MHz	Entry-level — no Morse code test required
General	All amateur HF bands, with some sub-bands reserved for Extra class	Full privileges above 50 MHz	Most common upgrade path from Technician
Amateur Extra	All amateur HF bands and modes, including Extra-only sub-bands	Full privileges	Highest class — complete frequency privileges

Band	Frequency Range	Modes	Notes
160m	1.800 – 2.000 MHz	CW, Phone, Digital	Domestic use, night propagation only
80m	3.500 – 4.000 MHz	CW, Phone, Digital	Regional/domestic, NVIS propagation
60m	5.3305 – 5.4035 MHz	USB, CW, Digital only	5 specific channels, 100W max EIRP
40m	7.000 – 7.300 MHz	CW, Phone, Digital	Reliable long distance, congested band
30m	10.100 – 10.150 MHz	CW, Digital only	No phone, WARC band, 200W max
20m	14.000 – 14.350 MHz	CW, Phone, Digital	Primary worldwide DX band
17m	18.068 – 18.168 MHz	CW, Phone, Digital	WARC band, excellent DX when open
15m	21.000 – 21.450 MHz	CW, Phone, Digital	Good DX during solar maximum
12m	24.890 – 24.990 MHz	CW, Phone, Digital	WARC band, similar to 10m
10m	28.000 – 29.700 MHz	CW, Phone, Digital, FM	Excellent worldwide DX when open
6m	50.000 – 54.000 MHz	All modes	Magic band — sporadic E, Aurora
2m	144.000 – 148.000 MHz	All modes	Most popular VHF band, FM and weak signal
1.25m	219.000 – 225.000 MHz	All modes	Less common in US, regional use
70cm	420.000 – 450.000 MHz	All modes	Popular for FM repeaters and satellites
33cm	902.000 – 928.000 MHz	All modes	Shares with ISM band
23cm	1240.000 – 1300.000 MHz	All modes	Microwave, line of sight only

Frequency	Band	Use
146.520 MHz	2m	National FM simplex calling frequency
446.000 MHz	70cm	National FM simplex calling frequency
52.525 MHz	6m	FM simplex calling frequency
29.600 MHz	10m	FM simplex calling frequency
14.225 MHz	20m	SSB calling frequency (DX)
7.200 MHz	40m	SSB phone — common calling area
3.900 MHz	80m	AM calling frequency
144.200 MHz	2m	2m SSB/CW calling frequency (weak signal)
432.100 MHz	70cm	70cm SSB/CW calling frequency (weak signal)
144.390 MHz	2m	APRS — US national frequency

Band	Range	Standard Offset	Notes
6m	51–54 MHz	−1 MHz	Less common
2m	144–148 MHz	−600 kHz	Most common US 2m offset
1.25m	222–225 MHz	−1.6 MHz	Standard US offset
70cm	440–450 MHz	−5 MHz	Standard US offset
33cm	902–928 MHz	−25 MHz	Less common
23cm	1240–1300 MHz	−12 MHz or −20 MHz	Varies by region

Dial (USB) frequencies for common weak-signal digital modes. FT8 has largely become the default first stop on each band.

Sub-audible tones for repeater access. Also called PL tones (Motorola trademark).

Tone (Hz)	#	Tone (Hz)	#
67.0	1	71.9	2
74.4	3	77.0	4
79.7	5	82.5	6
85.4	7	88.5	8
91.5	9	94.8	10
97.4	11	100.0	12
103.5	13	107.2	14
110.9	15	114.8	16
118.8	17	123.0	18
127.3	19	131.8	20
136.5	21	141.3	22
146.2	23	151.4	24
156.7	25	162.2	26
167.9	27	173.8	28
179.9	29	186.2	30
192.8	31	203.5	32
210.7	33	218.1	34
225.7	35	233.6	36
241.8	37	250.3	38