The WARC bands are 30 meters (10.1 MHz), 17 meters (18.068 MHz) and 12 meters (24.89 MHz). They take their name from the World Administrative Radio Conference of 1979, which allocated them to the Amateur Radio Service; US amateurs gained access to 30 m in 1982 and to 17 m and 12 m in 1989.1
They matter for one reason above all others: contests do not run on them. The major contest sponsors, including the ARRL® and CQ, exclude 30, 17 and 12 m from their events by rule.2 On a busy contest weekend when 20 m is wall to wall, the WARC bands are where ordinary conversation, DXing and experimentation carry on undisturbed.
What each band is like
| Band | Allocation | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 30 m | 10.100–10.150 MHz | CW and narrow digital only; no phone. 50 kHz wide, shared with fixed services, secondary status. Reliable day and night, and the classic QRP band. |
| 17 m | 18.068–18.168 MHz | The quiet DX band. Opens for long-haul work with modest antennas whenever the ionosphere is behaving. |
| 12 m | 24.890–24.990 MHz | Behaves like 10 m: spectacular at solar maximum, dead at the bottom of the cycle. Worth checking often. |
30 m carries two additional restrictions worth remembering: US amateurs are secondary users there and must not cause interference to the fixed services that hold the primary allocation, and power is limited to 200 W PEP.3
Who can use them
17 m and 12 m are available to General, Advanced and Amateur Extra licensees; 30 m is available to General and above (with the CW/digital-only restriction above). Technicians do not have privileges on any of the WARC bands. Check the current privileges before transmitting — see license classes and band plans.
Why operators like them
- No contests. Rag-chewing, casual DX and experimentation all year round.
- Narrow. 30 m is only 50 kHz wide, which keeps activity concentrated and easy to find.
- Excellent for QRP. Low noise and steady propagation reward small stations and simple wire
- Easy antennas. A 17 m or 12 m dipole is small, and many trap and fan dipoles cover the WARC
antennas; see QRP and low-power operating.
bands with no extra hardware.
Further reading
- The Communicator (Surrey Amateur Radio Communications), May–June 2025 — a good article on the
- "What are the WARC bands?" — video introduction by The Smoking Ape.5
WARC bands.4
ARRL® is a registered trademark of the American Radio Relay League, Incorporated.
References
- The 1979 World Administrative Radio Conference allocated 10.100–10.150, 18.068–18.168 and 24.890–24.990 MHz to the amateur service; the FCC phased US access in during the 1980s. ↩
- See the general rules for ARRL® contests and the CQ contest rules, which restrict entrants to the 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 m bands. ↩
- 47 CFR §97.303 (secondary status and coordination on 30 m) and §97.313 (200 W PEP limit on 10.100–10.150 MHz). See FCC Part 97. ↩
- The Communicator, May–June 2025: <https://ve7sar.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-communicator-may-june-2025.html> ↩
- The Smoking Ape, "WARC bands": <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faVeHVb75JU> ↩