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FM broadcast band
The FM broadcast band is a range of radio frequencies used for FM broadcasting by radio stations. The range of frequencies used differs between different parts of the world. In Europe and Africa (defined as International Telecommunication Union (ITU) region 1) and in Australia and New Zealand, it spans from 87.5 to 108 megahertz (MHz) - also known as VHF Band II - while in the Americas (ITU region 2) it ranges from 88 to 108 MHz. The FM broadcast band in Japan uses 76 to 95 MHz, and in Brazil, 76 to 108 MHz. The International Radio and Television Organisation (OIRT) band in Eastern Europe is from 65.9 to 74.0 MHz, although these countries now primarily use the 87.5 to 108 MHz band, as in the case of Russia. Some other countries have already discontinued the OIRT band and have changed to the 87.5 to 108 MHz band.
Narrow band frequency modulation was developed and demonstrated by Hanso Idzerda in 1919.
Wide band frequency modulation radio originated in the United States during the 1930s; the system was developed by the American electrical engineer Edwin Howard Armstrong. However, FM broadcasting did not become widespread, even in North America, until the 1960s.
Frequency-modulated radio waves can be generated at any frequency. All the bands mentioned in this article are in the very high frequency (VHF) range, which extends from 30 to 300 MHz.
While all countries use FM channel center frequencies ending in 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, and 0.9 MHz[citation needed], some[which?] countries also use center frequencies ending in 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8 MHz. A few others[which?] also use 0.05, 0.15, 0.25, 0.35, 0.45, 0.55, 0.65, 0.75, 0.85, and 0.95 MHz.[specify]
An ITU conference in Geneva, Switzerland, on December 7, 1984, resolved to discontinue the use of 50 kHz channel spacings throughout Europe.
The original frequency allocation in North America used by Edwin Armstrong used the frequency band from 42 through 50 MHz, but this allocation was changed to a higher band beginning in 1945. In Canada, the United States, Mexico, the Bahamas, etc., there are 101 FM channels numbered from 200 (center frequency 87.9 MHz) to 300 (center frequency 107.9 MHz), though these numbers are rarely used outside the fields of radio engineering and government.
The center frequencies of the FM channels are spaced in increments of 200 kHz. The frequency of 87.9 MHz, while technically part of TV channel 6 (82 to 88 MHz), is used by just two FM class-D stations in the United States. Portable radio tuners often tune down to 87.5 MHz, so that the same radios can be made and sold worldwide. Automobiles usually have FM radios that can tune down to 87.7 MHz, so that TV channel 6's audio at 87.75 MHz (±10 kHz) could be received while driving. This is largely no longer possible due to the 2009 digital television transition, though in 2023, the FCC authorized 14 low-powered Channel 6 television stations to continue to operate radio services indefinitely.
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FM broadcast band
The FM broadcast band is a range of radio frequencies used for FM broadcasting by radio stations. The range of frequencies used differs between different parts of the world. In Europe and Africa (defined as International Telecommunication Union (ITU) region 1) and in Australia and New Zealand, it spans from 87.5 to 108 megahertz (MHz) - also known as VHF Band II - while in the Americas (ITU region 2) it ranges from 88 to 108 MHz. The FM broadcast band in Japan uses 76 to 95 MHz, and in Brazil, 76 to 108 MHz. The International Radio and Television Organisation (OIRT) band in Eastern Europe is from 65.9 to 74.0 MHz, although these countries now primarily use the 87.5 to 108 MHz band, as in the case of Russia. Some other countries have already discontinued the OIRT band and have changed to the 87.5 to 108 MHz band.
Narrow band frequency modulation was developed and demonstrated by Hanso Idzerda in 1919.
Wide band frequency modulation radio originated in the United States during the 1930s; the system was developed by the American electrical engineer Edwin Howard Armstrong. However, FM broadcasting did not become widespread, even in North America, until the 1960s.
Frequency-modulated radio waves can be generated at any frequency. All the bands mentioned in this article are in the very high frequency (VHF) range, which extends from 30 to 300 MHz.
While all countries use FM channel center frequencies ending in 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, and 0.9 MHz[citation needed], some[which?] countries also use center frequencies ending in 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8 MHz. A few others[which?] also use 0.05, 0.15, 0.25, 0.35, 0.45, 0.55, 0.65, 0.75, 0.85, and 0.95 MHz.[specify]
An ITU conference in Geneva, Switzerland, on December 7, 1984, resolved to discontinue the use of 50 kHz channel spacings throughout Europe.
The original frequency allocation in North America used by Edwin Armstrong used the frequency band from 42 through 50 MHz, but this allocation was changed to a higher band beginning in 1945. In Canada, the United States, Mexico, the Bahamas, etc., there are 101 FM channels numbered from 200 (center frequency 87.9 MHz) to 300 (center frequency 107.9 MHz), though these numbers are rarely used outside the fields of radio engineering and government.
The center frequencies of the FM channels are spaced in increments of 200 kHz. The frequency of 87.9 MHz, while technically part of TV channel 6 (82 to 88 MHz), is used by just two FM class-D stations in the United States. Portable radio tuners often tune down to 87.5 MHz, so that the same radios can be made and sold worldwide. Automobiles usually have FM radios that can tune down to 87.7 MHz, so that TV channel 6's audio at 87.75 MHz (±10 kHz) could be received while driving. This is largely no longer possible due to the 2009 digital television transition, though in 2023, the FCC authorized 14 low-powered Channel 6 television stations to continue to operate radio services indefinitely.