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25 and 26 MHz operators?

The lower end of 26mhz WAS quite popular during the sunspot cycles of 1980's & 1990's. There was relatively high activity between 25.800 ~ 26.400. There were some HUGE groups that rivaled anything seen above ch 40 in that Freebanding area and it was preferred by some the better operators as it was more quiet and there much less of the totally trashy types of operators. 26.285U was the calling frequency and this group and that group had other freqs. staked out as their club channels. I was in 2 such groups, one was the WWS (World Wide Sidebanders) and the other was the BFR's (Bare Foot Radio). Then during the next cycle, I don't remember the years, there were many several high profile busts of a good handful of prominent operators who ran in this area. The leader or president of the WWS group was busted and all his equipment confiscated. Word of these busts got around fast and was common knowledge ….. and lower 26 mhz became a ghost town real quick. Everyone scattered back up above ch 40. I rarely hear much going on down there these days but I'll take the OP'ers word for it that there is a busy group using .420 now. Word was the FCC wanted the freebanders to stay above 26.500.
 
...Word was the FCC wanted the freebanders to stay above 26.500.

Thanks for all the good info, Wire Weasel. Interesting that it was believed the FCC wanted the freebanders to stay above 26.5. That's a "government exclusive" area. Maybe they wanted to be able to justify enforcement expenditures when the government's own territory was being infringed upon?

Blackcat360:
Freeband Radio Communications Information : Home
Good read....interesting. I was unaware of the other activities on the the other bands. Might have to tune around a bit and listen.

Yep, "Echo Charlie" operators have been around the spectrum for years. I don't know if much activity is still taking place, though. I may have to give it a listen, too... that is when I can tear myself away from 11 meters!

9C1Driver:

You're Q5/S9 here in the corn patch.
 
The lower end of 26mhz WAS quite popular during the sunspot cycles of 1980's & 1990's. There was relatively high activity between 25.800 ~ 26.400. There were some HUGE groups that rivaled anything seen above ch 40 in that Freebanding area and it was preferred by some the better operators as it was more quiet and there much less of the totally trashy types of operators. 26.285U was the calling frequency and this group and that group had other freqs. staked out as their club channels. I was in 2 such groups, one was the WWS (World Wide Sidebanders) and the other was the BFR's (Bare Foot Radio). Then during the next cycle, I don't remember the years, there were many several high profile busts of a good handful of prominent operators who ran in this area. The leader or president of the WWS group was busted and all his equipment confiscated. Word of these busts got around fast and was common knowledge ….. and lower 26 mhz became a ghost town real quick. Everyone scattered back up above ch 40. I rarely hear much going on down there these days but I'll take the OP'ers word for it that there is a busy group using .420 now. Word was the FCC wanted the freebanders to stay above 26.500.

Don't remember any of that. The cycle died and the groups really never came back. Remember a few left go AOL. Everyone have out the home address and phone numbers back in the day. Still have boxes of QSL's...never any truth to anyone getting busted unless they truly where an ass.
CC cares as much about above 26.5 as they do below...Cap's...really.
 
During the last solar cycle I used to listen to a bunch of shrimp boats that used USB right above 26 megs, they were there all the time when the band was open.
They never would ID, but you could tell that they all knew each other and just used handles.


73
Jeff
 
CAP runs alot of 26.915 and 26.925 in my area and Mo Nat Guard runs alot of 26.865 digital in my area

Well you would think the cival air patrol would find something quieter than 26.915. I hear a LOT of am dx going on stateside. Lot of big power guys down south and out west run 915
 
Lets get 26.285 active again! 27.555 is a madhouse and theres this one paticular lunatic from 9th div. thats all I hear even when the propagation is poor.


K.M
 
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Lets get 26.285 active again! 27.555 is a madhouse and theres this one paticular lunatic from 9th div. thats all I hear even when the propagation is poor.


K.M

The "#3 North Pole Repeater"?

If anyone deserved a straight pin in the coax...

1122 "Wing Nut Radio" in the Pan Handle of Florida is another guy that deserves it as well
 
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I've used 26.285 USB as a call frequency since 79, was buzzing in solar max in the early 80's, was off radio for solar max in 90's but I reappeared around the earlt 2000's solar max and some of my best contacts were on 26.285, very few nuggets there, 26.285 tends to open up when the madness on 27.555 starts, I've worked s.africa, s.america,n.america and all over europe on 26 mhz, but always from 26.285 and always on USB, Back in the eay 80's 27.555 was nothing, the international call channel then was ch4 high or 44 depending what radio you had, 27.455,

27.555 came later with Aldo and his nuggets in Alfa Tango, the elite, lmao. I'd be very surprised when 27.555 is full of nuggets if the decent ops still don't drop to 26.285, I was still making contacts there 3 years ago, I know my pal Tony in Tobago monitored it a hell of a lot as have spoke to him several times from there,

most European FM above 27.800 is UKFM stations running high power and big antennas, as despite 27.60125-27.99125 being a legal 4w FM band here no-one uses 4w, most have the capability to get back to you and the ability to qsy anywhere as are running either export sets with linears or hf sets with 100w, the Dutch and Germans have been regular visitors on UKFM since the day it started as its easily accessed with an export radio with FM and kc shift/coarse tune :)

I've heard Swiss,Belgian,Austrian and a few other countries turn up there too along with the odd stateside station. I've worked plenty on it,especially during summer sporadic E, same can be said about high end off FCC channels on FM too as they are legal in Europe, and very soon the UK will have legal AM/FM/SSB on FCC frequencies, burners are easy to buy here, every shop sells them, there is no crime in selling, buying or owning them, only crime in UK is using them on any frequency that isn't an amateur band, not that that stops anyone, same applies to export radios, openly on sale in all the shops as possession isn't a crime, using on unauthorised frequencies is, but like burners no-one bothers about that either.

45M is also used here, although not as prolifically as in the 80's, mostly inter European work, activity centres around 6.670 LSB and most contacts will be on LSB, although some will use USB too.

PMR is the latest craze here with radios from china that do the legal 8, .5w PMR channels plus another 8 above that, all around 446.000-446.200, although the radios used are generally chinese dual banders that cover 136-174 and 400 to either 470 or 520 mhz, most are 5w handhelds but anytone do two mobiles the AT 588 VHF at 60w and AT588 UHF at 40w, all are ctcss and 1750 toneburst capable so can open up 2m and 70 cm ham repeaters too, many hams use them as well for 2M,70CM and PMR as well as lugging into allsorts of other stuff like shop security, shipping etc that hasn't went digital tetra like the emergency services. But then many icom, Kenwood and Yaesu handy's and mobiles can be opened up to do it too :)
 
The "#3 North Pole Repeater"?

If anyone deserved a straight pin in the coax...

1122 "Wing Nut Radio" in the Pan Handle of Florida is another guy that deserves it as well

Klondike Mike/div 9 has apologized to me many times for the '#3 Repeater', all of the Canadians ops are fully aware of that poser/clown behavior. They are not pleased either. We have our own posers/clowns too I admit, like "Wing Nut Radio" and others just as dumb or worse.
 
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Oh yes, the #3 repeater, Saskatchewan.... UGHH!!! He aparenty likes my comments though... dont like his vulgarities and his constant fueding with a "Stan in Hawaii". I tried 26.285 to no avail... I.mainly like to work 26 div stations though.
I did find one Puerto rico station that spoke english on an even lower frequency.

27.555 has been dead for days now...

Ive listened on sone of the Echo.Charlie call frequencies and dint here much either.


K.M
 
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