5.8GHz FPV Channels Table (Traditional Analogue System)

There are up to 72 FPV channels in the 5.8GHz analogue system. This article contains tables and charts to enable you to look up the specific frequency for each channel and band to ensure the best possible video signal from your rig.

Table of Content

5.8Ghz Channels and Frequency for FPV

Each band has a unique set of frequencies, individual frequencies can be repeated on other bands but the sets remain unique.

Channels in the same band are set apart by a constant frequency, it could be 20Mhz, 19Mhz, 37Mhz, 23Mhz, 18Mhz or 40Mhz.

Band CH 1 CH 2 CH 3 CH 4 CH 5 CH 6 CH 7 CH 8
A 5865 5845 5825 5805 5785 5765 5745 5725
B 5733 5752 5771 5790 5809 5828 5847 5866
E 5705 5685 5665 5645 5885 5905 5925 5945
F 5740 5760 5780 5800 5820 5840 5860 5880
C (R) 5658 5695 5732 5769 5806 5843 5880 5917
D 5362 5399 5436 5473 5510 5547 5584 5621
U 5325 5348 5366 5384 5402 5420 5438 5456
O 5474 5492 5510 5528 5546 5564 5582 5600
L 5333 5373 5413 5453 5493 5533 5573 5613
H 5653 5693 5733 5773 5813 5853 5893 5933

There are as many as 72 possible channels over which a VTX can transmit video. Sadly however, this doesn’t mean that we can have 72 craft flying together, all streaming video over 5.8Ghz simultaneously, but that would be awesome, wouldn’t it?

Brands and the Battle of the Bands

In the “old days”, video transmitters only supported 8 channels. Different brands used different bands for their VTX’s. Nowadays, most VTX’s work with multiple bands, if not all of them.

  • Band A: Team BlackSheep (TBS), RangeVideo, SpyHawk, FlyCamOne USA
  • Band B: FlyCamOne Europe
  • Band C (R): Raceband
  • Band E: HobbyKing, Foxtech
  • Band F (Airwave): ImmersionRC, Iftron
  • Band D: Diatone
  • Band L: Low band
  • Band H: High band

Tips and Best Practice

You must ensure your 5.8GHz Video Transmitter (VTX) and  the video receiver are operating on the same channel in order to establish a reliable video link. Some channels are very close to others on different bands, just because you are getting a picture, it doesn’t mean you are on the right channel.

Getting the best VTX is important, but remember that the type of antenna you use, and even where/how you place it on your craft, can be just as important when it comes to receiving a good quality video feed. Here is my guide on choosing the best FPV antenna.

It is good practice to test your FPV setup before installing it in your craft, not only to confirm everything is working – but also because it can be difficult to access the buttons on the VTX once it is in the stack. We strongly advise you however, to structure your build so you CAN change your VTX settings. (This may not be so crucial if you are using Smart Audio or TRAMP – find out more about Smart VTX Control here.)

Be aware that many VTX have a different operating voltage, a small VTX for a TinyWhoop will likely have a 3.3v – 4.2v max, where some have a wide operating voltage ranging from 7.4v – 24v, in some cases even offering a filtered and regulated 5v output.

It is uncommon, but you may occasionally experience atmospheric interference, to combat this try using Band E Channel 4, followed by Band E Channel 8, or another combination that offers a wide gap between frequencies. Some interference might be power related, see here for a more detailed article on fixing FPV video issues

You may also need to change your channel when flying with other pilots, in order to avoid interference from one another. Remember to be considerate to other pilots, find out what VTX channels are being used before you power on your craft. It can be hard to make friends at a flying field when the best pilot there has lost his best racing drone, because you jumped on his video channel! This article explains which are the best channels to use for FPV

The Beginning – 4 Bands 32 Channels

Way back when this article was first created, life was simple. There were only 4 bands, and some VTX and VRX could only support one single band offering 8 channels, making it vital that the VTX and VRX are compatible (used the same band).

frequency band table 5.8 video transmitter a b e f

Jan 2016 – Raceband Added

Raceband Frequencies: 5658, 5695, 5732, 5769, 5806, 5843, 5880, 5917 (in MHz).

Raceband was set up with racing events in mind. The channels are equally spaced out in frequency (38MHz apart) and in the ideal conditions, it should theoretically allow all 8 channels to be used simultaneously.

Part of the RaceBand idea was to be in compliance with regulations. The allowable range for ITU region 2 (US) is 5.650-5.925 GHz which is why RaceBand starts at 5.658GHz and ends at 5.917GHz. If you add, or subtract the 8MHz video bandwidth you’ll arrive at the legal limits for the band.

Feb 2017 – New 6th Band

A new band was used by Diatone, starting with 5362Mhz, ending with 5621MHz.

Diatone 5362MHz 5399MHz 5436MHz 5473MHz 5510MHz 5547MHz 5584MHz 5621MHz

Apr 2017 – 4 New Bands Added

Here we have 4 new bands introduced by the VTX03 from Eachine. This takes us to a total of 9 bands, 72 channels available in the 5.8Ghz frequency for FPV. These new channels are frequencies that we didn’t previously use for FPV.

  • L – Low Band
  • H – High Band
U 5325 5348 5366 5384 5402 5420 5438 5456
O 5474 5492 5510 5528 5546 5564 5582 5600
L 5333 5373 5413 5453 5493 5533 5573 5613
H 5653 5693 5733 5773 5813 5853 5893 5933

Not All the 5.8Ghz Channels are Legal!

Although there are many frequency options and power outputs available from VTX these days, you should find out your local restrictions before going flying. Many places restrict 5.8GHz output power to 25mW unless the user has a license.

Note – some VTX require you to follow a procedure that will unlock the higher output power options.

Bands of “L”, “U” and “O” fall entirely outside the legal frequency allocation, making them illegal to use in the US (and possibly many other countries), that’s why you won’t see VTX with these channels when you buy from legit RC shops.

Not to mention these bands are much lower than 5.8Ghz and your antennas are probably not tuned for that low frequency.

My advice is to stay away from VTX’s that offer these illegal frequencies. A VTX that has 48 channels is more than enough.

Edit History

  • Jan 2015 – Article created
  • Dec 2019 – Updated, added “best practice”

22 thoughts on “5.8GHz FPV Channels Table (Traditional Analogue System)”

  2. Nat

    Unless a piece of equipment is FCC certified it is illegal to broadcast using it without a Ham licence.

    Fatshark made an FCC certified system, once

    Get your HAM license

    Reply ↓
  4. Al

    I just came across this table for 5.8GHz, thanks! Do you have, or do you know of, similar tables for the other control frequency ranges (800MHz, 900MHz, 2.4GHz, 3.3/3.4GHz, 5.8GHz, others)?

    Thanks!!
    –Al

    Reply ↓
    1. Oscar Post author

      Aomway is just reinventing the wheel, putting bands in different order and calling them different names :)
      Still the same frequency and channels.

      Reply ↓
  6. James Wood

    I wanted to be able to better visualise how all these channels sat within the spectrum, so I wrote a small thing, here: j-w.co/hardware/Australian-FPV-Channels/

    Seeing all the channels graphed out really helped me, and it might help others. Thanks for the frequency info!

    Reply ↓
    2. Krotow

      James, I’m now trying to reproduce your FPV frequency graph for FPV pilots in Latvia. Run into difficulties to display continuous allowed frequency range bar. Charts in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Docs doesn’t support that. How you did that?

      Reply ↓
  7. Ruediger Gmach

    Hi Oscar,
    Thank you for your article concerning the use of normal E-Band and F-Band Channels to get 40MHz distance for 8 simultaneous FPV pilots – really great work !
    You could probably add the channel numbers to your article (E4, E2, F1, F3, F5, F7, E6, E8)

    Finally I just wanted to note a small typo in the section “Update (Jan 2016) – New Raceband Added” the second frequency should read 5695 (instead of 5696). In the tables it is correct anyways.

    Ruediger

    Reply ↓
  8. Timmy

    Perhaps time to include some other new bands now too. I’m seeing 72 ch video transmitters out there with Bands, A, B, E, F, R, U, O, L and H. No idea what these new bands are for. I know L is meant to be another set of Raceband style channels going below the current range (to have 16 pilots all at once with sufficient spacing for the same polarization)… but these other ones… no idea.

    Reply ↓
  9. Bob W

    Hi Oscar, I’m Bob… I’m new to fpv.. Went to the local rc park and there is a board with black and white squares.. Some rows have “6 meter” at the head.. Most have 2.4 ghz.. The squares Dow the row have numbers and a clip on it.. What the #%*€# is this for? Sorry if this is a stupid ? … Just don’t want to look stupid when I don’t know how to use it.. I suppose it’s for claiming a frequency… I have a futaba 10j.. Flying a mr25 with fpv..

    Thanks, Bob

    Reply ↓
    1. Oscar Post author

      i believe what you described is a “Dip Switch chart” for certain brand model VTX :)
      almost all VTX has different dip switch chart, if you move one of the swtiches you get different frequency/channel..

      a lot of VTX these days don’t use dip switches anymore but a push button and LED’s to indicate the channel they are on…

      Reply ↓
    2. Adam

      These are for the old FM transmitters that some pilots who haven’t moved to 2.4GHz spread-spectrum yet. They are fixed channels, and they mark their frequency with their park-permit or AMA card so other pilots know they won’t “shoot down” somebody else’s aircraft. It has nothing to do with VTX, but all about RC control transmitter/receivers.

      Reply ↓
  10. Gabriel Renaud

    Hello oscar,
    I’m using the Fatshark vtx 250mw and an RC832 from boscam but my video sign is horrible. Could you help me on the best frequency for using this equipment and which antennas i should use?

    Thanks,

    Reply ↓
  11. Jacques

    Hi Oscar, thanks for this very helpful blog post.
    If I get the Diversity FR632 video receiver, will it work for all these frequency bands?
    hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__66191__FR632_Diversity_5_8GHz_32Ch_Auto_Scan_LCD_A_V_Receiver.html

    I’m planning to use it with the Quanum V2 Goggles.

    Thanks!

    Reply ↓
  12. Zac

    Hi Oscar,

    Ive been trying to find the differences of these five bands, apart from particular companies that use specific ones. On the TBS receiver for FatShark goggles, they say that the use of BOSCAM frequencies is recommended and the quality of Airwave frequencies will be undesirable. Ive seen pilots running TBS DomV2 receivers with ImmersionRC 600mW vTx with great results. Ive also been running the ImmersionRC 600mW with Nextwave Rx just fine.

    I was just wondering if you know the reason why band F frequencies may yield worse results?

    Many thanks, Zac

    Reply ↓
    1. Oscar Post author

      Hi Zac
      some device perform better at certain frequencies, also the antenna might cause this issue as they are tuned to certain frequency as well.
      Nothing wrong with the bands, just hardware differences.

      Reply ↓

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