Starter guide

Technician privileges and frequencies, made simple

Think of all the radio frequencies as one long road. Your license says which stretches of that road you can drive on. The is the lane markings, so people doing different things don’t bump into each other. That’s really all there is to it.

Printed from www.cqdeck.com/learn/technician-band-plan. The page always has the latest version.

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Infographic: Where can I transmit?, in four steps, with photos of a winding road at sunset, a ham near a hilltop repeater, a home HF station and a first call on a handheld. The full text follows below the image. — **Where can I transmit?**, the one-page version. Open it to read it as text, save it or print it.

Which stretches are yours

Illustration in two halves: on the left, a woman on a porch talks by handheld radio through a tower on a hill to a man across town; on the right, a signal from a house bounces off a glowing layer of sky to the far side of the Earth. — Close to home on the left, around the world on the right.

The road has two kinds of stretches: the ones that stay close to home, and the ones that can reach around the world.

Close to home (6 m, 2 m, 1.25 m and 70 cm): all yours, with any kind of signal. A handheld reaches a few miles on its own, and much farther through a on a hill.
Around the world (): mostly for higher license classes. You get a few small slices, including voice on part of 10 meters.

Show the full chart, band by band

Each bar is a whole band. Colored parts are where a Technician may transmit, and the color says which kinds of signal. Grey parts need a General license.

All modes
CW and voice
CW and data
CW only
Needs a General license

HF: signals can bounce off the ionosphere

160 m1.8–2 MHzNeeds a General license.
80 m3.5–4 MHzCW only, 3.525–3.600 MHz.
60 m5.33–5.41 MHzNeeds a General license.
40 m7–7.3 MHzCW only, 7.025–7.125 MHz.
30 m10.1–10.15 MHzNeeds a General license.
20 m14–14.35 MHzNeeds a General license.
17 m18.068–18.168 MHzNeeds a General license.
15 m21–21.45 MHzCW only, 21.025–21.200 MHz.
12 m24.89–24.99 MHzNeeds a General license.
10 m28–29.7 MHzCW and data 28.000–28.300 MHz. Voice (SSB) and CW 28.300–28.500 MHz.

VHF and UHF: line of sight, repeaters and satellites

6 m50–54 MHzAll modes, 50–54 MHz.
2 m144–148 MHzAll modes, 144–148 MHz. Home of local FM repeaters.
1.25 m222–225 MHzAll modes, 222–225 MHz.
70 cm420–450 MHzAll modes, 420–450 MHz. Repeaters and FM satellites.

Technician privileges, from 47 CFR 97.301 and 97.305. Every amateur band above 70 cm is open to Technicians too, with all modes.

Rules and lane markings

Illustration: two cars on a quiet two-lane road, each in its own lane, next to a round road sign.

The FCC rules are the law, like speed limits. They decide where your license lets you transmit.
The is a habit everyone agrees on, like keeping to your lane. Nobody gets a ticket for ignoring it, but you could spoil someone else’s contact, and people notice.
Every area tweaks the plan a little. Your local repeater list is the best guide.

Your first call, radio to radio

A three-panel illustration: a woman at her kitchen table calls on a handheld radio, with a glowing meeting spot in the town square behind her; a man in his car hears her and answers; then the two of them talk from a quieter side street. — Meet at the calling spot, then move somewhere quieter to talk.

On 2 meters there’s one spot everyone knows, like the clock in a town square. Here’s how to use it for a call (radio to radio, no repeater).

Tune to 146.520 MHz, the national calling spot.
Say your call sign and that you’re listening: “N0CALL, listening on 146.520.”
When someone answers, pick another frequency together and move there to talk, so the calling spot stays free.

Try it146.520 on the tuning dial Rehearse a simplex call

How a repeater gets you farther

Illustration: a man at the foot of a hill sends a signal from his handheld up to a tower on top, and rings spread out from the tower to a car, a house and a cyclist across town.

A sits up high. It hears you on one frequency and repeats you on another, so everyone for miles around can hear you.

The gap between the two frequencies is called the . Most radios set it for you when you pick a repeater from a list.
Many repeaters also need a . Your local repeater list gives it.

Try itRepeater etiquette

Keep the satellite lanes clear

Illustration: at night, a man on a hill points a handheld antenna at a satellite crossing the starry sky, listening on headphones.

Small parts of 2 meters and 70 centimeters are kept for satellites. They often sound empty, but a satellite could be passing over someone nearby, so don’t chat there.

Show where everything goes on 2 m and 70 cm

The ARRL band plan, simplified. Colored zones show what each part of the band is for.

2 meters: the band plan

2 meters band plan, low to high
MHz	Used for
144.000–144.100	CW only (an FCC rule)
144.100–144.275	SSB and weak signals
144.275–144.300	Propagation beacons
144.300–144.500	Satellites
144.500–144.600	Linear translator inputs
144.600–144.900	Repeater inputs
144.900–145.100	Weak signal and FM simplex
145.100–145.200	Linear translator outputs
145.200–145.500	Repeater outputs
145.500–145.800	Experimental modes
145.800–146.000	Satellites
146.000–146.400	Repeater inputs
146.400–146.600	FM simplex
146.600–147.400	Repeater outputs
147.400–147.600	FM simplex
147.600–148.000	Repeater inputs

The ARRL band plan, simplified. It’s a voluntary agreement, and local coordinators can differ, especially on 70 cm.

70 centimeters: the band plan

70 centimeters band plan, low to high
MHz	Used for
420.000–432.000	Amateur TV and links
432.000–433.000	CW, SSB and weak signals
433.000–435.000	Links
435.000–438.000	Satellites only
438.000–442.000	Amateur TV and links
442.000–445.000	Repeaters (local option)
445.000–447.000	Simplex, links and repeaters
447.000–450.000	Repeaters (local option)

The ARRL band plan, simplified. It’s a voluntary agreement, and local coordinators can differ, especially on 70 cm.

Talking far away on 10 meters

Illustration: a signal from a house with a wire antenna bounces off a glowing layer high in the sky and comes down at a house across the ocean, with a bright sun in the corner.

On part of 10 meters (28.300 to 28.500 MHz) you can talk by voice to other countries. The signal bounces off a layer high in the sky that the sun charges up.

When the sun is busy, a simple wire antenna can reach across an ocean.
When the sun is quiet, 10 meters can sound empty for days. That’s normal.
You also get slices of 80, 40 and 15 meters for Morse code.

Show all your long-distance slices

Technician HF privileges (FCC rules 97.301 and 97.305)
Band	MHz	What you can send
10 m	28.000–28.300	Morse code and data, such as FT8 (28.074)
10 m	28.300–28.500	Voice and Morse code
15 m	21.025–21.200	Morse code only
40 m	7.025–7.125	Morse code only
80 m	3.525–3.600	Morse code only

Try itIs the sun busy today?Learn Morse code

How much power can I use?

More than you’ll ever need. A handheld puts out 5 to 8 watts. The limit is 1,500 watts on most bands and 200 watts on your long-distance slices. The real rule is simpler: use only as much power as you need.

Show the fine print

FCC limits are in , a radio’s output at the peak of a signal (FCC rule 97.313).
Near some military sites, the limit on 70 cm is 50 watts.

Try it on your deck

Your dashboard’s band chart shows these same privileges with today’s conditions, and the tuning dial on the home page tells you whether you can use any frequency.

Try itYour band chart The tuning dial

Sources

See your bands today Repeater etiquette Simplex Upgrading to General