About Key & Carrier

Key & Carrier is a tools-first reference site for radio operators. Every tool on this site runs in your browser with no server round-trips, no accounts, and no tracking. Enter numbers, get answers.

Who this is for

Amateur radio operators, GMRS users, CB operators, and anyone who picks up a radio and needs a quick answer. If you're building a dipole in the backyard, programming a handheld for a POTA activation, or picking coax for a tower run, the tools here are designed to give you the answer and get out of your way.

How the tools work

Every calculator uses standard, published formulas from antenna theory, RF engineering, and regulatory documents. The math runs client-side in plain JavaScript. No data leaves your browser. The source formulas are documented in comments at the top of each calculator's code.

Region-aware tools pull from a regulatory data set covering the United States (FCC), United Kingdom (Ofcom), Canada (ISED), Australia (ACMA), Germany (BNetzA), Japan (MIC), and three ITU generic region profiles. Band allocations, power limits, and license classes are sourced from each country's current regulations.

Accuracy

The calculators produce textbook answers. Real-world results depend on factors a browser can't model: terrain, weather, antenna construction quality, coax condition, ground conductivity, and nearby structures. The tools are honest about this. When an estimate has significant uncertainty, the tool says so.

If you find a math error, a stale regulation, or a misleading result, please let us know via the contact page.

What this site is not

It is not a place where you scroll past filler to reach the answer. A page earns its place here by computing something, charting something, or answering a question operators actually ask. Longer write-ups appear only when there is something worth explaining: the engineering behind a tool, or how a build went in the field.