Technician licensees have privileges on the 10‑meter band from 28.000 MHz to 28.500 MHz. However, frequencies below 28.300 MHz are restricted to CW and certain digital modes, so voice (phone) operation is permitted only on the portion at and above 28.300 MHz (28.300–28.500 MHz).

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There are no special licensing requirements to contact the International Space Station on VHF — the ISS is just another amateur station, except it's in orbit. What matters is that you are authorized to transmit on the uplink frequency the station listens on. Technician-class operators (and above) have privileges on the 2 meter and 70 centimeter bands, which include the VHF frequencies commonly used to talk to the ISS. Therefore any amateur with a Technician or higher license may contact the ISS on VHF.

Memory aids:

• None provided.

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Convert wavelength to frequency using f (MHz) = 300 / λ (meters). For a 6-meter wavelength:

f (MHz) = 300 / 6 ≈ 50 MHz

The amateur 6-meter band runs from 50.0 MHz to 54.0 MHz in the U.S., so 52.525 MHz falls inside that allocation. The other listed frequencies are outside the 6-meter band (for example, 49.00 MHz is just below the 6-meter allocation).

Memory aids / mnemonics:

• f (MHz) ≈ 300 / λ(m) to convert between meters and MHz
• "Subtract 1 from the band (6) to come up with 5" — only the correct frequency starts with 5 (i.e., ~50 MHz)

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Converting 146.52 MHz to wavelength gives about 2.05 meters, so this frequency lies in the 2 meter amateur band. The amateur 2 meter band runs from 144 MHz to 148 MHz (with 144.0–144.1 MHz typically reserved for CW), so 146.52 MHz falls within that range.

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Technicians are authorized to use digital modes like FT8 on several bands, including:

• 10 meters: Technicians can operate RTTY and data modes (which includes FT8) from 28.000 to 28.300 MHz. This includes FT8’s typical frequency of 28.074 MHz.
• 6 meters (50–54 MHz) and 2 meters (144–148 MHz): Technicians have full privileges, including all authorized modes — voice, CW, and digital.

So, all three bands listed in the question allow Technician-class licensees to use FT8 and other digital modes, as long as they stay within the correct sub-bands and follow mode restrictions.

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Technician class operators are much more limited in their HF band privileges than General or Amateur Extra class operators. While Technician class operators may have CW privileges on some other HF bands, they have Phone, RTTY, and Data privileges only on a portion of the 10-meter band.

If you want full HF phone privileges on more bands you'll need to upgrade to General or Amateur Extra class.

See the ARRL Frequency Chart (http://www.arrl.org/graphical-frequency-allocations) for a handy one-page reference to band privileges.

Memory aids:

• Look for the “1” first: Technician is the first license, and phone privileges are limited to the 10‑meter band.
• Remember that higher license classes (General, Extra) open more HF phone privileges.

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The 50.0–50.1 MHz segment (start of the 6 meter band) and the 144.0–144.1 MHz segment (start of the 2 meter band) are allocated for CW-only operation for all amateur operators. There are no segments in the UHF range (300–3000 MHz) that are reserved for CW-only operation, so the only CW-limited VHF/UHF segments are those two 0.1 MHz portions at the bottoms of the 6 m and 2 m bands.

Memory aids:

• Remember the two 0.1 MHz "CW-only" slots are at the very bottom of 6 m (50.0–50.1 MHz) and 2 m (144.0–144.1 MHz).
• Above VHF (i.e., in the UHF range 300–3000 MHz) there are no CW-only allocations.
• See the ARRL graphical frequency allocations chart for a quick reference: http://www.arrl.org/graphical-frequency-allocations

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When the Amateur Service is secondary in a frequency segment, amateur stations are allowed to operate there but are not the primary users. That means amateurs must not cause harmful interference to the primary users and must accept any interference from those primary services. In practice you may find non-amateur (primary) stations operating in those segments, and amateurs are required to avoid interfering with them.

This rule is about priority of services, not about nationality or mode. It does not mean that foreign amateur stations are given priority, nor does it impose a blanket ban on international communications or on digital modes; the restriction is simply that secondary users must not interfere with primary users and must accept interference from them.

• Secondary = allowed to use band but must not interfere with primary users and must accept interference from them

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All of the given reasons are correct. Here is each one explained:

1. The frequency you set on a transmitter is actually the carrier frequency, which is either at the center of the total bandwidth that you're using (for FM or other full-carrier modes) or at the top or bottom of the bandwidth (for SSB). When you transmit on a frequency, the actual signal occupies some bandwidth above and/or below that carrier frequency (this is the modulation sideband or deviation), so transmitting exactly on the band edge could put part of your signal outside the band.

2. Not all transmitters are perfectly calibrated. If you set the displayed frequency to the band edge, calibration error could mean your actual transmitted frequency is outside the allowed band.

3. Transmitters can drift in frequency during operation (for example as components heat up), so even if the transmitter is correct at the start, it might move out of the band edge while transmitting.

Memory aids:

• Remember to leave a margin at band edges for Calibration error, Sidebands (modulation), and Drift (CSD).

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Amateur operators have at least some portion of every amateur band above 50 MHz where SSB phone operation is permitted. SSB stands for Single Sideband, a form of amplitude modulation commonly used for voice because it is more power- and bandwidth-efficient than full AM. "Phone" means voice communication. Thus SSB voice is allowed in at least some segment of each band above 50 MHz.

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Technician-class operators are limited to 200 watts PEP (Peak Envelope Power) on any portion of an HF band that they are authorized to use. This is an FCC regulation that must be memorized for the exam.

Also remember that FCC rule 97.313 requires stations to use the minimum transmitter power necessary to carry out the desired communications, even though the maximum allowed for Technician HF segments is 200 W PEP.

Memory aids:

• "HF" has 2 letters → 2-hundred watts (200 W)
• The word "maximum" corresponds to the largest numeric choice

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Technician-class operators have above-VHF privileges on frequencies above 30 MHz and, except for some specific restrictions on particular bands or uses, may operate with the same maximum transmitter power allowed for amateur stations: 1.5 kW peak envelope power (1500 watts PEP). Regulations also require using the minimum transmitter power necessary to carry out the desired communications.

See 47 CFR §97.313 for the transmitter power standard and the 1.5 kW PEP limit.

Memory aids:

• Remember “1.5 kW = 1500 W” as the general maximum PEP for amateur transmitters.
• Keep in mind the rule “use minimum power necessary” to avoid overdoing power even though 1.5 kW is allowed.

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