US Ham Band Plan: Technician License Privileges

What a Technician license lets you do

A Technician license (earned by passing the 35-question Element 2 exam) authorizes you to transmit on amateur frequencies. Receiving and listening never require a license. Here is the short version of your privileges:

• All modes above 30 MHz: voice (FM and SSB), digital, and CW on the 6m, 2m, 1.25m, and 70cm bands and higher.
• Repeater and simplex operation: the vast majority of Technician activity happens on 2m and 70cm through local repeaters or direct simplex.
• Limited HF access: voice on 10 meters plus CW and data slivers on 80m, 40m, 15m, and 10m.

What a Technician cannot do is operate the wide HF voice segments (like 20 meters) reserved for General and Amateur Extra classes. Upgrading to General opens most of HF, but you never lose the VHF/UHF privileges you already have.

Note: the US Technician question pool was refreshed on July 1, 2026. If you are studying, make sure your materials cover the 2026-2030 pool. Guides built on the older 2022-2026 pool are now outdated.

The VHF/UHF bands: 2m, 1.25m, and 70cm (all-mode)

These are the bread-and-butter Technician bands. On each of them you have full privileges with all authorized modes, which is why nearly every beginner radio is a 2m/70cm dual-bander.

Most handheld and mobile radios cover 2m and 70cm. The 1.25m band (also called 220 MHz) is a quieter alternative if your radio supports it. Keep voice operation to the FM portions of the band plan, and leave the weak-signal SSB/CW segments (the bottom of each band) clear for that type of work.

The HF slivers: 10m voice and CW on 80/40/15m

Technicians get a real, if narrow, taste of high-frequency (HF) operation. HF is where signals can travel hundreds or thousands of miles by bouncing off the ionosphere. Your privileges are:

The standout is 10 meters: when the band is open (usually near solar maximum), a Technician with an SSB radio and a modest antenna can work stations across the country and around the world on 28.300-28.500 MHz. The 80m, 40m, and 15m privileges are CW (Morse code) only, which is a great reason to learn code.

Power limits and RF exposure

Technicians are limited to 200 watts PEP on the HF bands (10m, 15m, 40m, 80m). On VHF and UHF, the general amateur limit of 1,500 watts PEP applies, though handhelds put out only 4-8 watts and mobiles typically 25-50 watts.

Regardless of your license class, FCC rules require you to run no more power than necessary to carry out your communication (Part 97.313). Since May 2021 the FCC also requires every amateur station to perform an RF-exposure evaluation (Part 97.13, 1.1310) - the old blanket exemption for hams was removed, so this now applies to handhelds and mobiles too, not just big base stations. The good news: typical low-power handheld and mobile setups pass easily as long as you keep the antenna a small distance from your body, but you must still run (and be able to show) the evaluation. If you add an amplifier or an outdoor gain antenna it becomes essential. Our RF-exposure safety guide walks through a station evaluation step by step. When in doubt, more antenna and less power is almost always the better answer.

Popular calling frequencies

A calling frequency is a common meeting spot: you call there, then move to another frequency to chat. Memorize these:

By convention you do not hold long conversations on 146.520; make contact and then QSY (move) to another simplex frequency. Never use a calling frequency for a repeater or a ragchew.

Repeaters vs. simplex

Understanding the difference is the single biggest step for a new Technician.

• Simplex means you transmit and receive on the same frequency, radio to radio, with no infrastructure. Realistic handheld simplex range is about 1-5 miles line-of-sight, more with a better antenna and height. Ignore any "36-mile" marketing claims.
• Repeaters are automated stations, usually on tall towers or buildings, that receive on one frequency and simultaneously retransmit on another (the "offset"). Working through a repeater can extend a handheld's usable range to tens of miles.

To use a repeater you program its output frequency, the offset (typically -0.6 MHz on 2m, -5.0 MHz on 70cm), and often a CTCSS/PL tone. Local repeater directories and club websites list these details. Simplex is best for nearby contacts and for keeping the repeaters free.

Technician band plan at a glance

Use this consolidated table (matching the on-page band-plan visual above) as your quick reference. Frequencies are in MHz; power is PEP.

Always operate within the voluntary band plan conventions for your region; the FCC sets the outer limits, but local coordination keeps modes from stepping on each other. See our licensing guide to get started.