This page contains information about (military) radio sets and networks.
The list is by no means complete and only shows devices that contain,
or are used in combination with, cryptographic equipment.
It also shows radios that were used by
Stay-Behind Networks (Gladio), Special Forces (SF)
and emergency services.
For radios that were used for clandestine (espionage) operations, please refer
to the section on spy radio sets.
This section also describes a number of integrated (radio) communication
systems that are commonly referred to on this website.
Click any of the links below for further information or check out
the Glossary.
If you have additional information available, please contact us.
The allocation of the frequency spectrum is internationally coordinated
by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) [4],
which is part of the United Nations (UN).
Within the ITU, the use of the radio spectrum is delegated to the
Radio Section ITU-R, who has divided the world into the three regions
shown in the map below.
Europe, Afrika and part of the Middle-East are in Region 1,
North and South America are in Region 2. Asia, Australia and New Zealand
are in Region 3.
Some sources define the upper limit of the THF band at 30 THz.
This band lies within the transition region between microwave
and far infrared light, and can be regarded as either.
Broadcast bands
Band
ITU
Frequency
Channel
Spacing
Remark
I
VHF
47 - 68 MHz
2-4
7 MHz
Analogue television
II
VHF
87.5 - 108 MHz
-
-
FM radio broadcast band
III
VHF
174 - 230 MHz
5-12
7 MHz
Analogue television 1
IV
UHF
470 - 581 MHz
21-34
8 MHz
Analogue television
V
UHF
582 - 960 MHz
35-81
8 MHz
Analogue television 2
VI
SHF
11.7 - 12.7 GHz
-
?
DBS, astronomy
VII
?
?
-
?
reserved
At present, band III is used for digital radio (T-DAB) rather than
for digital television.
In Europe, band V runs from 582 to 862 MHz. The rest is
used for mobile communication.
IEEE band designation
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) uses
different designators for the various frequency bands, which is mainly
based on (suitability for) radar applications.
IEEE band V ('vee') should not be confused with
ITU band V (five).
The K-band was originally one contiguous band, which has meanwhile been
split into Ku, K and Ka. The reason for this is that
the centre part (18 - 26.5 GHz) is hardly usable due to absorption by water
vapour in the atmosphere. It is only useful for short-range applications.
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Crypto Museum. Created: Wednesday 21 March 2012. Last changed: Thursday, 03 September 2026 - 09:13 CET.
