2 Meters: The Band Every Ham Starts On

Two meters is the US amateur band from 144 to 148 MHz, and every Technician licensee can use all of it, on every mode the rules allow, at up to 1,500 W PEP. It is where local FM repeaters, the 146.52 MHz simplex calling channel, APRS on 144.39 MHz and a good share of the easy FM satellites live. If you hold a new Technician ticket and a dual-band handheld, this is the band you will hear first.

This guide is US-focused. The privileges come from FCC Part 97 as published in the eCFR, and the sub-band layout comes from the ARRL band plan. Other countries differ, and in ITU Region 1 the amateur allocation stops at 146 MHz.

Frequencies and privileges at a glance

If band charts still look like a wall of numbers, start with my guide on how to read an amateur band chart, then come back to this table. The rule references are to 47 CFR Part 97.

ItemWhat the rules saySource Band edges (US, ITU Region 2)144.0 to 148.0 MHz97.301(a) Who may transmitTechnician, General, Advanced and Amateur Extra, all with the same 2 m privileges97.301(a) 144.0 to 144.1 MHzCW only97.305(a), (c) 144.1 to 148.0 MHzCW, MCW, phone, image, RTTY, data and test emissions97.305(c) Data limitsSymbol rate up to 19.6 kilobauds, authorized bandwidth 20 kHz97.307(f)(5) Spread spectrumNot listed for 2 m, so not permitted97.305(b), (c) Power1.5 kW PEP maximum, and always the minimum power needed97.313(a), (b)

Two exam points hide in that table. The CW-only bottom 100 kHz is a Technician pool question (T1B07), and so is the fact that 146.52 MHz sits in the 2 m band (T1B04). Both are on the Technician T1 study page on FCC rules and privileges. Novice licensees have no 2 m privileges under 97.301(e), which matters only for the few still holding that class.

What 2 m is good for, and when

Two meters is a local band most of the time. It does not bounce off the ionosphere the way HF does, so a handheld or mobile reaches about as far as the radio horizon. That horizon is a little farther than the visual one, because the atmosphere bends VHF signals slightly (T3C11). Hills and buildings still block the path, though knife-edge diffraction over a ridge can sometimes carry a signal past an obstruction (T3C05).

That short reach is the point. A repeater on a tall site turns a 5 W handheld into a town-wide radio, which is why 2 m carries club nets, weather spotting and public service traffic. My guide to how repeaters work and how to use them covers access tones and etiquette.

The band also opens up. Temperature inversions cause tropospheric ducting (T3C08), which can carry VHF and UHF signals around 300 miles on a regular basis (T3C06). Sporadic E occasionally brings strong signals from beyond the horizon on 10, 6 and 2 m (T3C04). Six meters opens far more readily, so if long-distance VHF is what you want, my six meters operating guide is the better starting point. On 2 m, I treat an opening as a bonus and listen near 144.200 MHz when a temperature inversion sets up.

Sub-bands: who uses which part

Part 97 only splits the band into CW-only and everything else. The finer layout is a voluntary band plan proposed by the ARRL VHF-UHF Advisory Committee. Local frequency coordinators can vary it, so check your area before you set up a fixed station. The main US segments are:

Frequencies (MHz)Band plan use 144.00-144.05EME (moonbounce) CW 144.05-144.10General CW and weak signals 144.10-144.20EME and weak-signal SSB 144.200National SSB calling frequency 144.200-144.275General SSB operation 144.275-144.300Propagation beacons 144.30-144.50New OSCAR (satellite) subband 144.60-144.90FM repeater inputs 144.90-145.10Weak signal and FM simplex (145.01, .03, .05, .07, .09 widely used for packet) 145.20-145.50FM repeater outputs 145.50-145.80Miscellaneous and experimental modes 145.80-146.00OSCAR (satellite) subband 146.01-146.37Repeater inputs 146.40-146.58Simplex (146.52 is the national simplex calling frequency) 146.61-147.39Repeater outputs 147.42-147.57Simplex 147.60-147.99Repeater inputs

The plan also lists linear translator inputs at 144.50-144.60 and outputs at 145.10-145.20, and notes that 146.40 MHz serves as a repeater input in some areas.

Modes you will meet on 2 m

FM voice through repeaters

This is where most new operators start. The common 2 m repeater offset is plus or minus 600 kHz (T2A01), so a repeater listening on 146.34 MHz typically transmits on 146.94 MHz.

FM simplex

Simplex means radio to radio with no repeater. 146.520 MHz is the national FM simplex calling frequency (T2A02). I would call there, then move to another simplex channel in the 146.40-146.58 or 147.42-147.57 MHz ranges to talk, so the calling channel stays open.

SSB and CW weak signal

Below 144.300 MHz the band sounds like HF: SSB and CW, horizontally polarized antennas and patient operators. 144.200 MHz is the calling frequency. You need an all-mode radio for this, and a basic FM handheld cannot do it. Horizontal polarization is the norm for long-distance CW and SSB on VHF and UHF (T3A03), and a vertical antenna pointed at a horizontal one loses signal to cross-polarization.

APRS and packet

In North America, APRS runs on 144.39 MHz as 1,200 bit/s packet. It carries GPS positions, short text messages and weather data (T8D03). My APRS guide for beginners walks through beaconing and messaging. Other packet work often sits on the 145.01 to 145.09 MHz channels the band plan names.

Satellites

The 145.80-146.00 MHz segment is reserved for satellites. Many FM birds work in U/V mode: you transmit up on 70 cm and listen down on 2 m (T8B08). My guide to working FM satellites with a handheld covers the gear, Doppler shift and pass timing. Keep terrestrial simplex chatter out of this segment.

Antennas for 2 m

The wavelength is about 2 m, so full-size antennas stay small. A quarter-wave vertical for 2 m is about 19 inches long (T9A08), short enough for a car roof or a handheld.

• Handheld rubber duck. The short flexible antenna that ships with most handhelds has low efficiency compared with a full-size quarter-wave (T9A04). A full-size antenna is the first upgrade I would make.
• Inside a car. A handheld used inside a vehicle without an outside antenna loses signal to the shielding of the metal body (T9A07). An outside antenna on the car fixes it.
• 5/8-wave mobile whip. It has more gain than a 1/4-wave whip (T9A09), so I would pick it for a mobile install.
• Base verticals and J-poles. For a home FM station, height matters more than anything else on this band, because VHF range is line of sight.
• Yagi. Of the common types, the Yagi offers the greatest gain (T9A06). Match the polarization of the stations you want to work: horizontal for SSB and CW, the same as the repeater or the other station for FM. Cross-polarization over a line-of-sight path reduces received signal strength (T3A04).

Also, VHF signal strength can change a lot when you move the antenna only a few feet, because of multipath (T3A01). If a repeater is scratchy, take a step or two before you blame the radio.

Getting on the air

A dual-band FM handheld covers 2 m and 70 cm, and that is all you need for repeaters, simplex, APRS and FM satellites. My roundup of the best handheld ham radios compares current choices, and the Yaesu FT-60R review shows what a plain, durable analog dual-band handheld is like to live with. Programming repeaters by hand gets old fast, so the CHIRP guide for programming a radio from your computer is worth reading before your first night on the air.

Once 2 m feels familiar, 70 cm is the natural next band. A dual-band radio already covers it, the habits carry over, and the common repeater offset there is 5 MHz (T2A03). That is the next guide in this series, 70 centimeters: repeaters, simplex and beyond.