Wavelength: why 2 meters is called 2 meters

Higher frequency, shorter wave

Shake one end of a long rope slowly and you get long, lazy waves. Shake it fast and the waves get short and tight. The waves don’t travel down the rope any faster; you’re just packing more of them in.

Frequency is how many waves you send each second. Wavelength is how long each one is, from one peak to the next. So the higher the frequency, the shorter the wave.

One number: 300

Like the rope, a radio wave’s speed never changes. Every radio wave travels at the speed of light, about 300,000,000 meters every second, whatever its frequency.

Send 146 million waves in that second (146 MHz) and they share those 300 million meters. The millions cancel, so you just divide 300 by 146. Call it 150 to make it easy: 300 ÷ 150 is 2. Each wave is about 2 meters long.

That’s the formula on the exam: wavelength in meters equals 300 divided by the frequency in megahertz.

• Watch for the flipped answer, megahertz divided by 300. Check it against the rope: a higher frequency has to give a shorter wave. If a bigger number gave you a bigger wave, you flipped it.

Band names are wavelengths

Hams name bands by their approximate wavelength in meters. Divide 300 by the frequency and round: close is good enough.

• 146.52 MHz: 300 ÷ 150 is 2, so it’s in the 2 meter band.
• 52.525 MHz: 300 ÷ 50 is 6, so it’s in the 6 meter band.
• 28.4 MHz: 300 ÷ 30 is 10, so it’s 10 meters, where Technicians can make voice contacts on HF.
• 440 MHz: 300 ÷ 440 is less than one, about 0.7 meters. That’s 70 centimeters.

HF, VHF and UHF: remember the threes

HF is high frequency, 3 to 30 MHz. VHF is very high frequency, 30 to 300 MHz. UHF is ultra high frequency, 300 to 3000 MHz. Each range starts where the last one ends, ten times higher.

So 2 meters is VHF, 70 centimeters is UHF, and 10 meters sits near the top of HF.

Three things to remember

1. Higher frequency, shorter wave.
2. 300 divided by megahertz gives you meters.
3. HF, VHF, UHF: 3, 30, 300, 3000.

Every question this covers

10 questions from the 2026–2030 Technician pool, word for word. On the exam the choices may come in a different order.

1. T1B03 Which frequency is in the 6-meter amateur band?

   1. A 49.00 MHz
   2. B 52.525 MHz Answer
   3. C 28.50 MHz
   4. D 222.15 MHz

2. T1B04 Which amateur band includes 146.52 MHz?

   1. A 6 meters
   2. B 20 meters
   3. C 70 centimeters
   4. D 2 meters Answer

3. T3B05 What is the relationship between wavelength and frequency?

   1. A Wavelength gets longer as frequency increases
   2. B Wavelength gets shorter as frequency increases Answer
   3. C Wavelength is constant at all frequencies
   4. D Wavelength and frequency increase as path length increases

4. T3B06 What is the formula for converting frequency to approximate wavelength in meters?

   1. A Wavelength in meters equals frequency in hertz multiplied by 300
   2. B Wavelength in meters equals frequency in hertz divided by 300
   3. C Wavelength in meters equals frequency in megahertz divided by 300
   4. D Wavelength in meters equals 300 divided by frequency in megahertz Answer

5. T3B07 In addition to frequency, which of the following is used to identify amateur radio bands?

   1. A The approximate wavelength in meters Answer
   2. B Traditional letter/number designators
   3. C Channel numbers
   4. D All these choices are correct

6. T3B08 What frequency range is referred to as VHF?

   1. A 30 kHz to 300 kHz
   2. B 30 MHz to 300 MHz Answer
   3. C 300 kHz to 3000 kHz
   4. D 300 MHz to 3000 MHz

7. T3B09 What frequency range is referred to as UHF?

   1. A 30 to 300 kHz
   2. B 30 to 300 MHz
   3. C 300 to 3000 kHz
   4. D 300 to 3000 MHz Answer

8. T3B10 What frequency range is referred to as HF?

   1. A 300 to 3000 MHz
   2. B 30 to 300 MHz
   3. C 3 to 30 MHz Answer
   4. D 300 to 3000 kHz

9. T3B11 What is the approximate velocity of a radio wave in free space?

   1. A 150,000,000 meters per second
   2. B 300,000,000 meters per second Answer
   3. C 300,000,000 miles per hour
   4. D 150,000,000 miles per hour

10. T3B12 Which of these frequencies travels at the highest velocity in free space?

    1. A Microwaves
    2. B UHF
    3. C VHF
    4. D All radio frequencies travel at the same velocity Answer

Keep going

• Practice every question on HamStudy
• How to get your license, step by step
• Where Technicians can transmit
• 2 meters vs 70 centimeters

Questions from the NCVEC 2026–2030 Technician question pool, with the errata of February 19, 2026.