Ham Bands

mcnanovna prompts accept ham band names as shortcuts for frequency ranges.

Band Presets

HF Bands

Band	Start	Stop	Notes
160m	1.800 MHz	2.000 MHz	Top Band
80m	3.500 MHz	4.000 MHz	Night propagation
60m	5.3305 MHz	5.4035 MHz	Channelized in many countries
40m	7.000 MHz	7.300 MHz	Worldwide, day and night
30m	10.100 MHz	10.150 MHz	WARC band, CW/data only
20m	14.000 MHz	14.350 MHz	Primary DX band
17m	18.068 MHz	18.168 MHz	WARC band
15m	21.000 MHz	21.450 MHz	Good daytime DX
12m	24.890 MHz	24.990 MHz	WARC band
10m	28.000 MHz	29.700 MHz	Solar cycle dependent

VHF/UHF Bands

Band	Start	Stop	Notes
6m	50 MHz	54 MHz	”Magic Band” - sporadic E
2m	144 MHz	148 MHz	Primary VHF band
70cm	420 MHz	450 MHz	Primary UHF band
23cm	1.240 GHz	1.300 GHz	Microwave

Aggregate Ranges

Name	Start	Stop	Notes
full	50 kHz	900 MHz	NanoVNA-H full range
hf	1.8 MHz	30 MHz	All HF bands
vhf	50 MHz	300 MHz	VHF region
uhf	300 MHz	1 GHz	UHF region

Usage

In prompts:

calibrate(band="2m")
analyze_antenna(band="20m")
measure_antenna_range(band="70cm")

Or override with explicit frequencies:

calibrate(start_hz=144000000, stop_hz=148000000)

NanoVNA Frequency Limits

Model	Min	Max
NanoVNA-H	50 kHz	900 MHz
NanoVNA-H4	50 kHz	1.5 GHz

Bands outside these ranges can’t be measured directly.

Harmonic Measurements

For bands above the VNA’s range, harmonics can sometimes be used:

23cm (1.2 GHz) on NanoVNA-H: Measure at 1/3 frequency (400 MHz) and look for harmonic response

This is imprecise but can give a rough idea of antenna behavior.

Band Plans

These presets cover the full amateur allocation. Actual band plans vary by country and license class. Consult your local regulations for permitted frequencies.

US Band Plan Example (2m)

Segment	Start	Stop	Use
CW/SSB	144.000	144.100	Weak signal
SSB	144.100	144.275	SSB calling
Beacons	144.275	144.300	Propagation beacons
FM simplex	146.400	146.580	FM simplex
Repeater inputs	144.600	144.900	Linked repeaters
Repeater outputs	145.200	145.500	Linked repeaters
FM calling	146.520	146.520	National calling

For antenna analysis, measure across the full band allocation to see behavior at all frequencies you might use.