What are Radio Frequency bands and its uses?

What are Radio Frequency bands and its uses?

What is Radio Frequency?
RF is the lowest portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, familiar as a
medium of analog and modern digital wireless communication systems. It
spreads in the range between 3 kHz and 300 GHz. All known transmission
systems work in the RF spectrum range, including analog radio, aircraft
navigation, marine radio, amateur radio, TV broadcasting, mobile networks,
and satellite systems. Let’s take a look at each of the Radio Frequency
bands and their uses.

Extremely Low Frequency (ELF)
Frequency starting from 3Hz to 3 kHz is known as Extremely Low
Frequency or ELF range in the electromagnetic spectrum. According to
IEEE band designation, these ranges are divided into three sub-bands:
ELF – Extremely Low Frequency, ranging from 3Hz to 30Hz.
SLF– Super Low Frequency, ranges from 30 to 300Hz.
ULF – Ultra Low Frequency, ranging from 300 to 3000Hz (3 KHz).
This range is highly vulnerable to disturbance and easily distorted by
atmospheric changes. Designing a system in this range is challenging
because the larger wavelengths require long antennas, which are
practically impossible to achieve.
Scientists use this frequency band in seismic studies to understand natural
activities in the Earth’s atmosphere and communication with submarines.

Very Low Frequency (VLF)

Very Low Frequency is the starting range of RF and practical radio
transmission systems which span from 3 kHz to 30 kHz. However, the
design and implementation of the antenna system are extremely
complicated due to the wavelength.
It has been used in submarines and still using in time radio stations which
synchronizes clock signals between two remote locations.

Low Frequency (LF)
Low frequency is in the range of 30 kHz to 300 kHz. One of the important
properties of LF signals is that they will get reflected by the earth’s
ionosphere and thus, it is suitable for long-distance communication. Since
it’s a long wavelength and less attenuation from big terrains like mountains,
it is generally called a ground wave.
Amateur radio operators use low-frequency signals; it is one of the most
important sources of information transfer when another kind of
communication source fails during some situations like natural disasters.
Other areas are military applications like submarines, RFID tags in near-
field communication, and some low-frequency radio broadcasting.

Medium Frequency (MF)
Medium frequency was one of the most popular frequency bands since the
beginning of wireless radio transmission in the early nineteenth century. MF
operates in the range of 300 kHz to 3 MHz.  The transmitters, receivers,
and antenna design is relatively less complex than other high-frequency
transmission bands.
Medium Frequency has been widely used in AM radio transmission,
navigation systems for ships and aircraft, emergency distress signals, coast
guards, and other experimental applications.

High Frequency (HF)

High-frequency signals range between 3 MHz and 30 MHz. This frequency
band is also known as a short wave. It also gets reflected by the earth’s
ionosphere, and it is one of the suitable bands for long-distance
communication.

Conclusion
RF is a broad spectrum, and many of its characteristics have not been
experimented with yet. It has a lot of possibilities in medical applications
like MRI technology (even up to 12 Tesla for medical research),
seismography, and oceanic studies. RF transceivers are significant
components in interplanetary missions such as the Mars exploration. Our
future digital communication systems may rely on high-frequency bands of
the RF spectrum since they can support higher bandwidth