Why is 2 Meter Band so popular in amateur radio?

Almost all new radio amateurs start off with a handheld radio for 2 Meter Band these days. It was not so when I started off as a radio amateur decades back. Simply because they were not easily available and it was quite expensive. Fast forward to 2025, hand held radios are freely available and quite inexpensive. Commercial radios for high frequency band are much more expensive than 2 meter band transceivers now. In my early days in amateur radio we used to start off with inexpensive homebrew low power transmitters for 40m band. Another reason is the charm of carrying a handheld radio on the move. But that charm is not high these days due to the availability of mobile phones. Much more than that there are plenty of repeaters for 2m band all over the world.

What you heard just now was a demo of communication through repeaters. Communication distance is increased very much the availability of repeaters. Repeaters are typically located on hills or other high locations. They relay signals from the hand held radios to other operators at a distance. Range can be increased from the usual few kilometers of a hand held radio to hundreds of kilometers with the help of repeaters.

Special propagation modes on 2m band

Then there are special propagation modes like tropospheric ducting, transequatorial propagation, sporadic E, auroral propagation and meteor scatter, which can even increase the range of 2m band to thousands of kilometers. High gain directional antennas are relatively easy to make compared to that for HF or high frequency bands. That is because size of the antennas are much smaller than that of HF bands. 2m band is a very high frequency or VHF band. Antenna rotators need not be that heavy for lighter VHF antennas.

Satellite Communications on 2 meter band

2m band in conjunction with the 70cm Ultra High Frequency or UHF band, is used for satellite communications in amateur radio. Using lightweight DIY antennas and handheld radios, radio amateurs can contact stations thousands of kilometers away by satellite communication. Low Earth Orbit satellites like the International Space Station have crossband repeaters. They receive signals on 2m band and relay it back to Earth on 70cm band. APRS or automatic packet reporting system from the International Space Station works on 145.825 MHz. You can send APRS messages and get it relayed on that frequency.