Wireless
Wireless Microphone Frequency Band Chart
Quick answer
US wireless microphones work in 470 to 608 MHz, the UHF TV band. TV channel 37 at 608 to 614 MHz is prohibited, 614 to 616 MHz is a 20 milliwatt sliver, and 617 to 652 and 663 to 698 MHz are illegal to operate after the 600 MHz repack.
This is the one chart on this site where getting it wrong is not a quality problem but a legal one. The 600 MHz incentive auction sold spectrum that wireless microphones used to occupy to mobile carriers, and operating a microphone in that spectrum today is illegal at any power, regardless of when the equipment was bought or how well it works.
That matters to churches more than to almost anyone else, because church wireless systems are bought once and kept for fifteen years, and because the secondhand market is full of excellent equipment that is now worthless. A system tuned to 617 to 652 MHz cannot be made legal by turning it down. Read this before buying anything, new or used, and coordinate your own channel count with the wireless channel calculator.
On this page
Which wireless microphone frequencies are legal in the United States?
The complete position after the repack. The legal column is the only one that matters at purchase time, and the licence column determines whether you may operate at higher power or need to stay within Part 15 limits.
The working band for US wireless microphones is 470 to 608 MHz, and 617 to 652 MHz and 663 to 698 MHz are illegal to operate at any power following the 600 MHz repack.
| Band | Legal to operate | Licence position | What you need to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| VHF 169 to 216 MHz | Yes | Unlicensed, Part 15 | Legal but crowded and antenna-hungry. Cheap systems live here; range suffers indoors. |
| UHF 470 to 608 MHz, TV 14 to 36 | Yes | Part 74 licence or unlicensed under Part 15 | The main working band. You must operate in locally unused TV channels, which is what coordination means. |
| 608 to 614 MHz, TV channel 37 | No | Prohibited | Reserved for radio astronomy and wireless medical telemetry. Never legal for microphones. |
| 614 to 616 MHz guard band | Yes | Part 15, 20 mW limit | A narrow 2 MHz sliver. Usable but tiny: perhaps two or three channels, at low power. |
| 617 to 652 MHz and 663 to 698 MHz | No | Prohibited since the repack | Sold to mobile carriers. Operating a microphone here is illegal, and secondhand gear tuned to it is worthless. |
| 698 to 806 MHz | No | Prohibited since 2010 | Public safety and mobile broadband. Gear from before 2010 often sits here. |
| 902 to 928 MHz ISM | Yes | Unlicensed, Part 15 | Shares space with cordless phones and telemetry. Fine for a handful of channels. |
| 1920 to 1930 MHz DECT | Yes | Unlicensed | Self-coordinating digital systems. Very easy to deploy, limited range and channel count. |
| 2.4 GHz ISM | Yes | Unlicensed, Part 15 | Shares the band with every Wi-Fi access point in the building. Workable if you control the Wi-Fi plan. |
| 5.8 GHz ISM | Yes | Unlicensed, Part 15 | Cleaner than 2.4 GHz in most buildings, shorter range, needs line of sight. |
Operating a wireless microphone in a prohibited band is a violation of FCC rules regardless of when the equipment was purchased, how much it cost, or whether anyone is being interfered with. Spectrum rules change: verify the current position with the FCC before any purchase, and treat this chart as a planning guide rather than legal advice.
The UHF TV channel map churches coordinate against
Coordination means finding TV channels that are empty where your building actually stands, then placing microphones inside them. Each UHF TV channel is 6 MHz wide. This is the map, with the boundary that matters marked at channel 37.
Each UHF TV channel is 6 MHz wide, running from channel 14 at 470 to 476 MHz up to channel 36 at 602 to 608 MHz, above which channel 37 is permanently prohibited.
| TV channel | Frequency range | Status for microphones |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | 470 to 476 MHz | Usable if locally vacant |
| 15 | 476 to 482 MHz | Usable if locally vacant |
| 16 | 482 to 488 MHz | Usable if locally vacant |
| 17 | 488 to 494 MHz | Usable if locally vacant |
| 18 | 494 to 500 MHz | Usable if locally vacant |
| 19 | 500 to 506 MHz | Usable if locally vacant |
| 20 | 506 to 512 MHz | Usable if locally vacant |
| 21 | 512 to 518 MHz | Usable if locally vacant |
| 22 | 518 to 524 MHz | Usable if locally vacant |
| 23 | 524 to 530 MHz | Usable if locally vacant |
| 24 | 530 to 536 MHz | Usable if locally vacant |
| 25 | 536 to 542 MHz | Usable if locally vacant |
| 26 | 542 to 548 MHz | Usable if locally vacant |
| 27 | 548 to 554 MHz | Usable if locally vacant |
| 28 | 554 to 560 MHz | Usable if locally vacant |
| 29 | 560 to 566 MHz | Usable if locally vacant |
| 30 | 566 to 572 MHz | Usable if locally vacant |
| 31 | 572 to 578 MHz | Usable if locally vacant |
| 32 | 578 to 584 MHz | Usable if locally vacant |
| 33 | 584 to 590 MHz | Usable if locally vacant |
| 34 | 590 to 596 MHz | Usable if locally vacant |
| 35 | 596 to 602 MHz | Usable if locally vacant |
| 36 | 602 to 608 MHz | Usable if locally vacant. The top of the working band. |
| 37 | 608 to 614 MHz | Prohibited. Radio astronomy and medical telemetry. |
Vacant means vacant at your building, not vacant in your state. A TV channel carrying a strong transmitter forty miles away is unusable, and one that looks clear on a map may carry a translator you cannot see. Scan on site with the receiver you actually own, from the position the antennas will occupy, and rescan annually.
Reading the band letter on the equipment you are buying
Manufacturers sell the same model in several tuning ranges identified by a letter or code. The range printed on the box is a tuning range, not a statement that every frequency inside it may legally be used. These are ranges stated by the manufacturer for systems in this site’s catalog.
A system stated as 512 to 542 MHz sits inside TV channels 21 to 25, comfortably within the legal working band, while any range reaching above 608 MHz crosses into prohibited spectrum.
| System | Stated range | TV channels | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shure BLX14/CVL, H9 band | 512 to 542 MHz | 21 to 25 | Entirely legal. A good band to buy into. |
| Shure BLX24R/B58, J11 band | 596 to 620 MHz | 35 to 37 and above | Crosses channel 37. Coordinate below 608 MHz only. |
| Sennheiser XSW 1-825, A range | 548 to 572 MHz | 27 to 30 | Entirely legal. |
| Galaxy Audio AS-950R | 518 to 542 MHz | 22 to 25 | Entirely legal. |
| Galaxy Audio AS-1400, Code M | Around 516 MHz | 21 | Entirely legal. |
| Shure GLXD24+, Z3 band | 2.4 GHz band | Not applicable | Unlicensed ISM. Shares spectrum with building Wi-Fi. |
| Sennheiser ew IEM G4, A1 range | From 470 MHz | 14 upward | In-ear transmitters occupy the same spectrum as microphones. |
Ranges are as stated by the manufacturer for these specific systems. A tuning range that reaches above 608 MHz does not make the equipment illegal to own, but it does mean the operator is responsible for staying below that boundary. Always check the range printed on the receiver itself, because the same model number is sold in different bands in different regions.
Why secondhand wireless is the trap it is
A church offered a rack of professional wireless microphones for a fraction of their original price should assume there is a reason. The 600 MHz repack stranded an enormous quantity of otherwise excellent equipment, and a great deal of it has been quietly resold to buyers who did not know to ask.
The equipment still works perfectly. That is exactly the problem. It powers up, it tunes, it sounds good in the room, and it is illegal to operate. There is no modification, no firmware update and no power reduction that makes a transmitter tuned to 617 to 652 MHz lawful. Some manufacturers ran rebate schemes at the time of the repack; those have long closed.
The check takes thirty seconds. Read the frequency range printed on the back of the receiver and on the transmitter battery compartment. If any part of it falls in 617 to 698 MHz, walk away. If it falls in 698 to 806 MHz it has been prohibited since 2010 and the seller has had thirteen years to find out. If it sits in 470 to 608 MHz, it is worth considering on its merits.
Then check whether the band is usable where you are. Legal and usable are different questions. A system tuned to 500 to 530 MHz is legal everywhere in the United States, but if your city has strong broadcasters across that range you will be fighting for space. Scan before you buy, not after, and see buying used church sound equipment for the rest of the checklist.
Where this chart does not apply
It is the United States position only. Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union and Australia all allocate spectrum differently, and a system legal in one is often illegal in another. A church buying equipment from an overseas seller, or a visiting team bringing microphones across a border, needs the rules of the country the microphone will transmit in.
It does not replace local coordination. Knowing the legal band tells you where you may operate. It does not tell you which TV channels are actually empty at your address, which is set by the broadcasters around you and changes when stations move. Scan on site, from the antenna position, with the receiver you own.
Licensing is a separate question. Most churches operate unlicensed under Part 15, which limits transmit power and gives no protection from interference. Operating at higher power, or with a large channel count, may require a Part 74 licence, and eligibility rules are specific. See wireless microphone legal requirements.
The unlicensed bands are legal but not equivalent. Moving to 2.4 GHz to avoid UHF coordination trades one problem for another: the band is shared with every access point, phone and tablet in the building. It is workable when the church controls its own Wi-Fi plan and unworkable when it does not.
Spectrum policy keeps moving. The 700 MHz band went in 2010 and the 600 MHz band went in the repack. Treat any long-term wireless purchase as an asset with regulatory risk, favour equipment with a wide tuning range inside 470 to 608 MHz, and verify the current position with the FCC before committing a building fund.
Sources
- FCC guidance for wireless microphone users, including the bands prohibited after the 600 MHz incentive auction repack
- 47 CFR Part 15.236, unlicensed wireless microphone operation including the 20 mW limit in the guard band
- 47 CFR Part 74 Subpart H, low power auxiliary stations, which governs licensed wireless microphone operation
Frequently asked questions
What wireless microphone frequencies are legal for churches in the USA?
470 to 608 MHz is the main working band, subject to using TV channels that are locally vacant. VHF 169 to 216 MHz is legal but crowded, the 614 to 616 MHz sliver is legal at 20 milliwatts, and 902 to 928 MHz, 1920 to 1930 MHz, 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz are all unlicensed and legal. Everything between 617 and 806 MHz is prohibited.
Why is 600 MHz wireless illegal now?
The FCC auctioned that spectrum to mobile carriers in the incentive auction, and the repack moved television broadcasters out of it. The 617 to 652 MHz and 663 to 698 MHz blocks now carry licensed mobile traffic, so operating a microphone there is a violation at any power. There is no modification or power reduction that makes affected equipment lawful again.
Can I still use my old 700 MHz wireless microphones?
No. The 698 to 806 MHz band was reallocated to public safety and mobile broadband and has been prohibited for wireless microphones since 2010. Equipment tuned there has been illegal for well over a decade. Check the frequency range printed on the receiver and the transmitter battery compartment, and retire anything that falls inside that range.
How do I know if a used wireless system is legal?
Read the frequency range printed on the back of the receiver and inside the transmitter battery compartment. If any part of it falls between 617 and 806 MHz, walk away. If it sits within 470 to 608 MHz it is legal to operate, though you still need to confirm that those TV channels are actually vacant at your building before committing.
Is 2.4 GHz wireless better than UHF for a church?
It is simpler, not better. The 2.4 GHz band is unlicensed everywhere and needs no frequency coordination, which suits a small church with two or three channels. The cost is that it shares spectrum with every Wi-Fi access point, phone and tablet in the building. It works well when the church controls its own wireless network plan and poorly when it does not.
Do churches need an FCC licence for wireless microphones?
Most operate unlicensed under Part 15, which limits transmit power and offers no protection from interference. A Part 74 licence permits higher power and gives some protection, but eligibility is specific and not every church qualifies. The practical answer for a typical church running under a dozen channels is unlicensed operation inside vacant TV channels.
Researched, not professional advice. This page is compiled from published manufacturer specifications, operator manuals, FCC rules, published standards and owner-review consensus, not hands-on testing. Sound system design, rigging loudspeakers overhead, and any electrical work are jobs for a qualified professional: have flown loudspeakers and their attachment points signed off by a structural engineer or a certified rigger, and have all wiring done by a licensed electrician to your local code. Wireless microphone rules change, so confirm the current FCC position before buying. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.