ridgescan
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25500-25850khz and 26000-26700khz hearin it now (Spanish) just before 0000utc
freebanders
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Whenever I see the term "freebander", I have to ask how far out of the band do they have to be to still be called that?
The term "freebanders" was originally applied to CBers who worked outside the "normal" US 40 CB channels. Typically up to 40 channles below CH 1 (sometimes called "40 low") and up to the bottom end of ham 10M. This meant from maybe 26500 to 28000. Right now, while typing this, I am seeing freebanders from 24450 to 29300. But, one hears the same activity, indeed it is not hard to talk yourself into thinking maybe some of the same voices, in the 6800 to 7000 range also, with the same roger beeps and operating style. Should those be "freebanders" also?
Other frequencies commonly used by illegal operators of this nature are 3400 to 3500, 6500 to 6700, 13900 to 14000, 18000 to 18050, and 20900 to 21000.
Back in the day, before someone tried to give it a “nice” face by hanging a cool “free” name on it, we used to just call all of this operation bootlegging. Yes, even those of us who did it called it that. I know of MANY well established ham operators today, and many more now SK, who got their start on the radio with a little bootlegging, from grabbing an unused callsign while waiting for the magic paper to arrive from the FCC to more long term operations.
T!
The term "freebanders" was originally applied to CBers who worked outside the "normal" US 40 CB channels. Typically up to 40 channles below CH 1 (sometimes called "40 low") and up to the bottom end of ham 10M. This meant from maybe 26500 to 28000. Right now, while typing this, I am seeing freebanders from 24450 to 29300. But, one hears the same activity, indeed it is not hard to talk yourself into thinking maybe some of the same voices, in the 6800 to 7000 range also, with the same roger beeps and operating style. Should those be "freebanders" also?
Other frequencies commonly used by illegal operators of this nature are 3400 to 3500, 6500 to 6700, 13900 to 14000, 18000 to 18050, and 20900 to 21000.
Back in the day, before someone tried to give it a “nice” face by hanging a cool “free” name on it, we used to just call all of this operation bootlegging. Yes, even those of us who did it called it that. I know of MANY well established ham operators today, and many more now SK, who got their start on the radio with a little bootlegging, from grabbing an unused callsign while waiting for the magic paper to arrive from the FCC to more long term operations.
T!
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