RADIO AND MICROWAVE FREQUENCY BANDS.

Frequency Multipliers

Hz (hertz) cycles per second 1 Hz

kHz (kilohertz) one thousand hertz 1,000 Hz

MHz (megahertz) one million hertz 1,000,000 Hz

GHz (gigahertz) one billion hertz 1,000,000,000 Hz

THz (terahertz) one trillion hertz

1,000000,000,000 Hz

Radio Band Designations

Frequency Wavelength Radio Band designation

30 - 300 Hz 10 - 1Mm ELF (extremely low frequency)

300 - 3000 Hz 1000 - 100 km ULF (ultra low frequency)

3 - 30 kHz 100 - 10 km VLF (very low frequency)

30 - 300 kHz 10 - 1 km LF (low frequency)

300 - 3000 kHz 1000 - 100 m MF (medium frequency)

3 - 30 MHz 100 - 10 m HF (high frequency)

30 - 300 MHz 10 - 1 m VHF (very high frequency)

300 - 3000 MHz 100 - 10 cm UHF (ultra high frequency)

3 - 30 GHz 10 - 1 cm SHF (super high frequency)

30 - 300 GHz 10 - 1 mm EHF (extremely high frequency)

IEEE Radar Band Designations

Frequency Wavelength IEEE Radar Band designation

1 - 2 GHz 30 - 15 cm L Band

2 - 4 GHz 15 - 7.5 cm S Band

4 - 8 GHz 7.5 - 3.75 cm C Band

8 - 12 GHz 3.75 - 2.50 cm X Band

12 - 18 GHz 2.5 - 1.67 cm Ku Band

18 - 27 GHz 1.67 - 1.11 cm K Band

27 - 40 GHz 11.1 - 7.5 mm Ka Band

40 - 75 GHz V Band

75 - 110 GHz W Band

110 - 300 GHz mm Band

300 - 3000 GHz u mm Band

Satellite TVRO Band Designations

Frequency Wavelength Satellite TVRO Band

1700 - 3000 MHz S-Band

3700 - 4200 MHz C-Band

10.9 - 11.75 GHz Ku1-Band

11.75 - 12.5 GHz Ku2-Band (DBS)

12.5 - 12.75 GHz Ku3-Band

18.0 - 20.0 GHz Ka-Band

Military Electronic Countermeasures Band Designations

Frequency Wavelength IEEE Radar Band designation

30 - 250 MHz A Band

250 - 500 MHz B Band

500 - 1,000 MHz C Band

1 - 2 GHz D Band

2 - 3 GHz E Band

3 - 4 GHz F Band

4 - 6 GHz G Band

6 - 8 GHz H Band

8 - 10 GHz I Band

10 - 20 GHz J Band

20 - 40 GHz K Band

40 - 60 GHz L Band

60 - 100 GHz M Band

Traffic Radar Frequencies

Traffic Radar Frequency Bands

Band Frequency Wavelength Notes

S 2.455 GHz 4.8 in

12 cm obsolete

X 10.525 GHz ±25 MHz 1.1 in

2.8 cm one 50 MHz channel

Ku 13.450 GHz 0.88 in

2.2 cm no known systems

K 24.125 GHz ±100 MHz 0.49 in

1.2 cm one 200 MHz channel

Europe and some US systems

K 24.150 GHz ±100 MHz 0.49 in

1.2 cm one 200 MHz channel

Ka 33.4 - 36.0 GHz 0.35 - 0.33 in

9 - 8.3 mm 13 channels; 200 MHz/ch

IR -- Infrared 332 THz 904 nm Laser Radar

Frequency Band Designations

Military Radar Bands

Military radar band nomenclature (L, S, C, X, Ku, K and Ka bands) originated during World War II as a secret code so scientists and engineers could talk about frequencies without divulging them. After the war the codes were declassified, millimeter (mm) was added, and the designations were eventually adopted by the IEEE -- Institute of Electric and Electronic Engineers. Military radar band nomenclature is widely used today in radar, satellite and terrestrial communications, and electronic countermeasure applications, both military and commercial.

Military Radar Bands

Radar Band Frequency Notes

HF 3 - 30 MHz High Frequency

VHF 30 - 300 MHz Very High Frequency

UHF 300 - 1000 MHz Ultra High Frequency

L 1 - 2 GHz

S 2 - 4 GHz

C 4 - 8 GHz

X 8 - 12 GHz

Ku 12 - 18 GHz

K 18 - 27 GHz

Ka 27 - 40 GHz

mm 40 - 300 GHz millimeter wavelength

Military HF, VHF, UHF same as Radio Band HF, VHF, UHF respectively.

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) specifies bands designated for radar systems as described in the table below. The ITU bands are sub-bands of military designations.

International Telecommunications Union Radar Bands

ITU Band Frequency

VHF 138 - 144 MHz

216 - 225 MHz

UHF 420 - 450 MHz

890 - 942 MHz

L 1.215 - 1.400 GHz

S 2.3 - 2.5 GHz

2.7 - 3.7 GHz

C 5.250 - 5.925 GHz

X 8.500 - 10.680 GHz

Ku 13.4 - 14.0 GHz

15.7 - 17.7 GHz

K 24.05 - 24.25 GHz

Ka 33.4 - 36.0 GHz

VHF -- Very High Frequency

UHF -- Ultra High Frequency

Radio Bands

Radio band designations are summarized below. Note that the radio band chart includes wavelength. In the early days of radio it was easier to measure wavelength than frequency.

Radio Frequency Bands

Band Nomenclature Frequency Wavelength

ELF Extremely Low Frequency 3 - 30 Hz 100,000 - 10,000 km

SLF Super Low Frequency 30 - 300 Hz 10,000 - 1,000 km

ULF Ultra Low Frequency 300 - 3000 Hz 1,000 - 100 km

VLF Very Low Frequency 3 - 30 kHz 100 - 10 km

LF Low Frequency 30 - 300 kHz 10 - 1 km

MF Medium Frequency 300 - 3000 kHz 1 km - 100 m

HF High Frequency 3 - 30 MHz 100 - 10 m

VHF Very High Frequency 30 - 300 MHz 10 - 1 m

UHF Ultra High Frequency 300 - 3000 MHz 1 m - 10 cm

SHF Super High Frequency 3 - 30 GHz 10 - 1 cm

EHF Extremely High Frequency 30 - 300 GHz 1 cm - 1 mm

ECM Bands

The electronic countermeasures (ECM) industry occasionally refers to band designations as described below.

ECM Bands

Band Frequency

A 30 - 250 MHz

B 250 - 500 MHz

C 500 - 1,000 MHz

D 1 - 2 GHz

E 2 - 3 GHz

F 3 - 4 GHz

G 4 - 6 GHz

H 6 - 8 GHz

I 8 - 10 GHz

J 10 - 20 GHz

K 20 - 40 GHz

L 40 - 60 GHz

M 60 - 100 GHz