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How Radio Spectrum Designations Work

VHF, UHF, Ku band, X band, ELF... What do they all mean? While letter designators for frequency bands have been obsolete for many years, they are still widely used. Also, for the newcomer to radio, the terms VHF, UHF and their cousins can cause tremendous consternation. Here is a list to help you sort out the maze of frequency bands.

Scientific Band Designations

Following is a list of universally used, scientific band designations commonly found in the RF world. If you look carefully, you'll notice a pattern here...

• ELF: Extremely Low Frequency: 3 kHz - 30 kHz
• LF: Low Frequency: 30 kHz - 300 kHz
• MF: Medium Frequency: 300 kHz - 3 MHz
• HF: High Frequency: 3 MHz - 30 MHz
• VHF: Very High Frequency: 30 MHz - 300 Mhz
• UHF: Ultra High Frequency: 300 MHz - 3 GHz
• SHF: Super High Frequency: 3 GHz - 30 GHz
• EHF: Extremely High Frequency: 30 GHz - 300 GHz

Below 3 kHz and above 300 GHz, not too many people care...

Band "Letter" Designations

Letter designators for frequency bands have been around for many decades, and are now pretty much obsolete. However, they still crop up frequently in the RF engineering world, so here is a handy reference list.

• P: 225 - 390 MHz
• L: 390 MHz - 1.55 GHz
• S: 1.55 - 3.9 GHz
• C: 3.9 - 6.2 GHz
• X: 6.2 - 10.9 Ghz
• Ku: 10.9 - 18 GHz
• K: 18 - 26.5 GHz
• Ka: 26.5 - 40 GHz
• Q: 33 - 50 GHz
• U: 40 - 60 GHz
• V: 50 - 75 GHz
• E: 60 - 90 GHz
• W: 75 - 110 GHz
• F: 90 - 140 GHz
• D: 110 - 170 GHz
• G: 140 - 220 GHz
• Y: 170 - 260 GHz
• J: 220 - 300 GHz