"Old style" naming convention
| Band | Frequency(MHz) | Wave Length | Comments & common usage |
| VHF | 214- 236 | 130 cm | ? |
| P | 300 | 100 cm | ? |
| UHF | 425- 610 | 60 cm | BMEWS (ballistic early warn) |
| L | 1250-1380 | 23 cm | Airport Surveillance, Nike HIPAR |
| . | 1,421 | 21.11 cm | Hydrogen (Radio Astronomy) |
| . | 2,450 | 12 cm | (magnetron in your microwave oven) |
| S | 2700-3900 | 10 cm | Sage, DEW line, Nike LOPAR |
| C | 5300-5520 | 5 cm | Height Finder, Patriot |
| X | 9230-9404 | 3 cm | Precision Approach, Nike Tracking |
| Ku | 16,000 | 18 mm | Mortar-location |
| Ka | >20,000 | 15 mm | ? |
| . | 31,500 | 10.5 mm | (Cosmic Background - "Big Bang") |
| Q | 40,000 | 7 mm | used in outer space |
Wavelength in cm = 30,000 / frequency in MHz
Although the higher frequencies permit much smaller antennas to get the same beam width, the higher frequencies suffer increasingly from from moisture in the air absorbing the radar waves. And also rain drops reflect them more giving an effect similar to chaff. The choice of radar frequency range for a particular application is a complicated compromise involving many factors.
Radio Frequency Naming Convention since 1969 from Rolf Goerigk
| Band | Frequency(MHz) | Old Band Name |
| A | 0 - 250 | |
| B | 250 - 500 | VHF |
| C | 500 - 1000 | UHF |
| D | 1000 - 2000 | L |
| E | 2000 - 3000 | S |
| F | 3000 - 4000 | S |
| G | 4000 - 6000 | C |
| H | 6000 - 8000 | C |
| I | 8000 - 10000 | X |
| J | 10000 - 20000 | X |
| K | 20000 - 40000 | Ku |
| L | 40000 - 60000 | Ka |
| M | 60000 - 100000 |
| Current Frequencies Of Interest | ||
| S | 2.2-2.3 GHz | Common Data Link - CDL |
| X | 7.25 - 8.4 GHz | Military Sat Comms. |
| X | 9.7 - 10.g GHz | CDL |
| Ku | 10.95 - 14.5 GHz | Civilian Sat Comms. |
| K | 14.4 - 15.35 GHz | CDL |
| Ka | 20 GHz | Global Broadcast Service |
| Ka | 20 & 44 GHz | EHF Sat Comms. Such as Milstar |
| Ka | 17.7 - 20 Ghz 27.5 - 30 GHz |
Commercial Ka Band for Sat Comms. |