When someone first gets into the world of ham radio operating, they can easily become overwhelmed by all the different frequencies. Most ham radio operators start on the 2 meter and 70 centimeter bands and using local repeaters. If there are more than one or two repeaters in the area, they might forget which repeater they are using by checking the frequency.

Fortunately, many newer radios allow alphanumeric naming for memory channels which can help you remember which memory channel is for which purpose. This can be very useful, but I would caution against simply remembering a repeater or other frequency by the name you gave it in your radio or which channel in the memory it is.

There are several reasons why it is always a good idea to get to know the frequency you are using. One reason is that while most mobile radios offer the alphanumeric naming feature, most hand held radios do not. To overcome this, you can try and make sure that the same memory channel is used for the same frequency in all of your radios, but that doesn’t usually work out, especially if you add or change memory channels very often.

Also, in regards to changing radios or using different radios, if you were to use someone else’s radio, it is very unlikely that they will have the same frequencies in the same order as you do. Here again, knowing the frequency will be helpful because you will be able to be on the right frequency for what you need.

Knowing the frequencies can also be beneficial if for some unknown reason your memory channels were no longer in the memory or you managed to accidentally reset your radio. If you know the frequencies, you can easily continue operating and not wait till you can reprogram the radio or research what frequency you need to be on.

Another reason to know the frequencies that you use often is that many ham radio operators will often refer to a repeater by its frequency (or the last part of the frequency) as much or more than its location. If you know what frequency the different repeaters are on, you will know what repeater they are talking about.

I know that it may seem difficult to remember the different frequencies at first, but it will be beneficial in the end. When I got my first radio, I programmed the memory and set alphanumeric names for each of the channels. For some time, I relied on this naming system to know what was what. After a while, I knew which memory channel was which (at least for the ones I used alto) and begin gradually changing the display of each from the name to the frequency. Now, in the areas where I am on a regular basis, I know the repeaters by frequency.