Introduction

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates frequency use by setting specifications for transmit frequency, power, bandwidth, modulation, and location, to name a few, and requires a license for many uses. The FCC does NOT cover the CALIBRATION of radar units, radar ACCURACY, or OPERATOR capability requirements. Note the following multiplier abbreviations for frequency (also see appendix B -- Electromagnetic Waves).
Table A-1

-- Frequency Multipliers
cycles per second 1 Hz one thousand hertz 1,000 Hz one million hertz 1,000,000 Hz one billion hertz 1,000,000,000 Hz one trillion hertz 1,000,000,000,000 Hz

Hz (hertz) kHz (kilohertz) MHz (megahertz) GHz (gigahertz) THz (terahertz)

Radio Band Designations

Frequency 30 - 300 Hz 300 - 3000 Hz 3 - 30 kHz 30 - 300 kHz 3 - 30 MHz 30 - 300 MHz 3 - 30 GHz 30 - 300 GHz Wavelength 10 - 1Mm 100 - 10 km 10 - 1 km 100 - 10 m 10 - 1 m 10 - 1 cm 10 - 1 mm Radio Band designation ELF (extremely low frequency) VLF (very low frequency) LF (low frequency) HF (high frequency) VHF (very high frequency) UHF (ultra high frequency) SHF (super high frequency) EHF (extremely high frequency)

1000 - 100 km ULF (ultra low frequency)

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

300 - 3000 MHz 100 - 10 cm

IEEE Radar Band Designations

Frequency 1 - 2 GHz 2 - 4 GHz 4 - 8 GHz 8 - 12 GHz 12 - 18 GHz 18 - 27 GHz 27 - 40 GHz 40 - 75 GHz 75 - 110 GHz 110 - 300 GHz 300 - 3000 GHz

Wavelength 30 - 15 cm 15 - 7.5 cm

IEEE Radar Band designation L Band S Band

7.5 - 3.75 cm C Band 3.75 - 2.50 cm X Band 2.5 - 1.67 cm Ku Band 1.67 - 1.11 cm K Band 11.1 - 7.5 mm Ka Band V Band W Band mm Band u mm Band

Satellite TVRO Band Designations

Frequency 1700 - 3000 MHz 3700 - 4200 MHz 10.9 - 11.75 GHz 11.75 - 12.5 GHz 12.5 - 12.75 GHz 18.0 - 20.0 GHz Wavelength Satellite TVRO Band S-Band C-Band Ku1-Band Ku2-Band (DBS) Ku3-Band Ka-Band

Military Electronic Countermeasures Band Designations

Frequency 30 - 250 MHz 250 - 500 MHz 500 - 1,000 MHz 1 - 2 GHz 2 - 3 GHz 3 - 4 GHz 4 - 6 GHz Wavelength IEEE Radar Band designation A Band B Band C Band D Band E Band F Band G Band

6 - 8 GHz 8 - 10 GHz 10 - 20 GHz 20 - 40 GHz 40 - 60 GHz 60 - 100 GHz

H Band I Band J Band K Band L Band M Band

Traffic Radar Frequencies

Table A-2 - Traffic Radar Frequency Bands

Band S X Ku K K Ka IR -Infrared

Frequency 2.455 GHz 10.525 GHz 25 MHz 13.450 GHz 24.125 GHz 100
MHz

Wavelength 4.8 in 12 cm 1.1 in 2.8 cm 0.88 in 2.2 cm 0.49 in 1.2 cm 0.49 in 1.2 cm

Notes obsolete one 50 MHz channel no known systems one 200 MHz channel
Europe and some US systems

24.150 GHz 100

MHz

one 200 MHz channel

33.4 - 36.0 GHz

332 THz

0.35 - 0.33 in 13 channels; 200 MHz/ch 9 - 8.3 mm 904 nm Laser Radar

Table A-3 -- Select Ka Band Traffic Radar Frequencies Frequency tolerance for Ka band radars typically 100 MHz.

Frequency 33.3 GHz 33.4 GHz 33.8 GHz 34.3 GHz 34.6 GHz

System Genesis II "Photo Radar" BEE 36 TMT-6F photo radar and Multanova 6F photo radar PR-100 photo radar

34.70 or 34.94 GHz Stalker ATR 34.2 - 35.2 GHz Stalker ATR (frequency hopping)

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.
Table A-4

-- 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.

ITU Radar Bands 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. Table A-5 -- International Telecommunications Union Radar Bands
ITU Band VHF Frequency 138 - 144 MHz 216 - 225 MHz

UHF L S C X Ku K Ka

420 - 450 MHz 890 - 942 MHz 1.215 - 1.400 GHz 2.3 - 2.5 GHz 2.7 - 3.7 GHz 5.250 - 5.925 GHz 8.500 - 10.680 GHz 13.4 - 14.0 GHz 15.7 - 17.7 GHz 24.05 - 24.25 GHz 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. Table A-6 -- 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. Table A-7 -- ECM Bands
Band Frequency A 30 - 250 MHz B 250 - 500 MHz C 500 - 1,000 MHz

D E F G H I J K L M

1 - 2 GHz 2 - 3 GHz 3 - 4 GHz 4 - 6 GHz 6 - 8 GHz 8 - 10 GHz 10 - 20 GHz 20 - 40 GHz 40 - 60 GHz 60 - 100 GHz