| Wavelength | Range | Frequencies | Characteristics |
| AM broadcast band | LF | 0.540-1.700 Mhz | |
| 160 meters | HF | 1.800-2.000 Mhz | Very long antennas required |
| 80 meters | HF | 3.500-4.000 Mhz. | Moderate distance nightime band. Long antennas required. |
| 40 meters | HF | 7.000-7.300 Mhz | Moderate distance day, long distance night |
| 30 meters | HF | 10.100-10.150 Mhz | CW only band. Long distance. A WARC band. |
| 20 meters | HF | 14.000-14.350 Mhz. | The premier long distance (DX) band |
| 17 meters | HF | 18.068-18168 Mhz. | A WARC band |
| 15 meters | HF | 21.000-21.450 Mhz | Long distance when conditions are good |
| 12 meters | HF | 24.890-24.990 Mhz | A WARC band |
| Citizens Band | HF | 26.965-27.405 Mhz | Line of sight. Also referred to as 11 meters. |
| 10 meters | HF | 28.000-29.700 Mhz | Long distance when conditions are good. A few FM repeaters. |
| 6 meters | VHF | 50.000-54.000 Mhz | Short range. Mostly line of sight, but frequent middle and long distance openings occur. A few repeaters. |
| FM broadcast band | VHF | 88.000-108.000 Mhz. | |
| Aviation Band | VHF | 108.000-137.000 Mhz | |
| 2 meters | VHF | 144.000-148.000 Mhz | Short range. Line of sight. Most used VHF band. More FM repeaters than any other band. |
| 1.25 meters | UHF | 222.000-225.000 Mhz | Short range. Line of sight. Not heavily used. |
| 70 centimeters | UHF | 420.000-450.000 Mhz | Short range. Line of sight. Commonly used UHF Band. Many FM repeaters. |
Mobile Operation
Most mobile operations are on 2 meters and 70 centimeters using the FM mode. On HF there is some mobile on most bands other than 160 meters where antennas are impractical. The most common mobile HF bands are 20 and 40 meters, and the most commonmode is SSB.
Ham Modes
| CW | Continuous Wave. Morse code. | Mainly HF |
| SSB | Single sideband. Voice. | Mainly HF |
| AM | Amplitude Modulation. Voice | Rare |
| FM | Frequency Modulation. Voice | Mainly VHF and UHF using repeaters. |
For details see the ARRL frequency and mode chart.