Assistive Listening Knowledge Base
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Should I Use 72 MHz or 216 MHz?

From https://assistivelisteningknowledgebase.org/evidence/listen-2010-72-vs-216/ · record checked 13 October 2026

  • Listen Team (Listen Technologies)
  • Listen Technologies (blog)

Manufacturer (Listen Technologies, which sells the FM systems compared here as well as infrared, hearing loop, Wi-Fi and Auracast assistive listening products)

Summary

A maker's comparison of the two US bands for its venue FM systems: range, channels, audio bandwidth, antennas, cable loss and interference.

Key findings

  • Gives, for its stationary transmitters with a dipole antenna, a range of 305 m (1,000 ft) at 72 MHz and up to 914 m (3,000 ft) line of sight at 216 MHz; with its portable transmitter both bands reach 45.7 m (150 ft).
  • Says up to six channels can be used at once in a venue at 72 MHz but only three at 216 MHz, because the 72 MHz band is larger.
  • Gives a frequency response of 50 Hz to 15 kHz at 72 MHz and 50 Hz to 10 kHz at 216 MHz (both within 3 dB), and says the difference is audible in high sounds such as cymbals or flute.
  • Notes that 72 MHz needs a longer antenna (39 inches of clearance with its antenna kit, against 13 inches at 216 MHz), and that coaxial cable loses more signal at 216 MHz: 7-8 dB over 100 ft of RG-58, which it says can cut the range from 3,000 to 1,500 ft.
  • States that FM signals travel through most walls, ceilings and floors.
  • Says interference depends on the region and the amount of radio use nearby, that the usual cause is a nearby facility on the same channel, and advises scanning both bands with a receiver's seek function and surveying nearby venues before choosing.
  • Says the company sells FM products on an 863 MHz carrier in Europe and a 150 MHz carrier in Australia.
  • The Transmission Range section identifies the portable transmitter as LT-700. The Cable Length example identifies an LT-800-216 stationary transmitter with 100 ft of RG-58 cable and predicts a reduction from 3,000 to 1,500 ft.

Limits

A manufacturer's blog post about its own products (published 24 February 2010; last modified 4 June 2021 according to the page's metadata). Ranges and channel counts are the maker's figures, not independent measurements, and the post says range "doubles" at 216 MHz while its own figures triple it. It describes the US bands as 72-75 MHz allocated for ADA use; the FCC rule (47 CFR 15.237) sets three sub-bands between 72.0 and 76.0 MHz, and the FCC definitions also cover language translation.

Read the original

www.listentech.com/should-i-use-72-mhz-or-216-mhz

Link checked . We link to the original and do not host copies.

Cited in

Cite this source

Listen Team (Listen Technologies). Should I Use 72 MHz or 216 MHz? Listen Technologies (blog). 24 February 2010. https://www.listentech.com/should-i-use-72-mhz-or-216-mhz/ (accessed 13 October 2026).

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