26.285 USB Calling Frequency

Facebook group promoting the use of the old channel 19 super low calling frequency....


https://www.facebook.com/groups/2046537718806370

This frequency often opens earlier and stays open later than 27.555 and is quieter so can be easier to make contacts.

Perhaps with a bit of social media promotion this frequency can regain popularity. Unfortunately at this point in time, conditions make for pretty thin pickings on 27.555 on many days so the best chance of landing a contact means most people will continue to cluster there. Perhaps the Facebook group will establish it as a calling frequency amongst themselves and activity will grow as the group grows. A couple of cycles ago I do remember getting S9+ on T5 all day every day and 26.285 provided welcome relief.

Hi. Del.
Yes! I would like to participate. I regularly swl
& Shout on old CO freq's..420. I can't operate
above 27.000 @ Qth with S7/9 sometimes +
IT Qrm etc @ .420 it's S2/3 on 40/80 S1/2.
It's getting difficult for me to go mobile now.
Also being in the low G.w. is difficult & EU. E.
a pain! Good luck I will be Swling. 73's Mike.

There is a bit of a problem because there are 3 radar stations on 285 - two in Italy and one in Croatia - and at 80W ERP they are going to be audible a lot of the time in the UK. They certainly were on Sunday. But the aim of getting people to work away from the T5 and that congested bit of band is very sensible. I am making up a T2LT specifically tuned lower as my current one is set up for the Mids and UKFM, and the SWR is creeping over 2:1 down near 26285.

Typically I've tuned both my mobile antennas for mids/hi but it will be interesting to see if this frequency is active as both aerials were an inch longer when I got them.

Usage is still fairly low but it's growing. I will be shouting out on there tonight 9-11pm from high ground on the Isle of Wight. I alternate between there and 27555 as my T2LT is tuned now to just about cover both ends.

I'd be interested too , I'm fed up of el commandante on T5 making silly noises , if 10m is not open then I'll drop down to 11m , also there's a group on 27.305 around st Alban's area near London on regular in a morning and on an afternoon , maybe someone could start a group on Facebook for the 26.285 calling frequency

Hi. Guys I'll be uponthill on Sun from 1130/1600 on DR 27.365 &
DX UK/EU on 26.285/.420 + Sid's on FM 34. WX permitting! Let's
Get .285 going. And get away from 11m Qrm! 73's Mike SW26.

I remember hanging about down there in the late 70s early 80s and had many normaly unheard on 555 contacts and nice chats with a op from Iceland who always seemed to be there, it was another hide away for the early UK 148 GTL DX owners as well as the chan 9 center slot on the switch but cant remember where that went now? I will have a listen but from this QTH its hard going getting anything above 40m unless its a very strong signal.

Hi. 867.

Yes the 70s/80s good times on the radio still got my WW365 call
& Cert'. was regularly on CO on .420/30 with my Elbex Pacific 360
Ch. & Ft101/707 worked all US/Can/Aus etc. Hope we can do the
same on nxt Hi. as it'll be my last been on radio since '59. Seen
many changes. Hate IT & what its done to the hobby. 73's Mike.

Hi Mike, next high! I would settle for a usable mid range cycle, its not easy these days even on the lower HF bands thats why I packed 80% of my CB and amature gear away and only stayed active on 70cm and 2m with echolink and DMR hotspot donles, busy beefing up my 10/11m tube amp with a new 2000v psu in case 385 lsb mid becomes active later this year with the regulars over the pond, we were realy lucky to get into CB early when sporadic E lifts were every couple of days and the super bowl down on am mid was a laugh a minute. 73 Phil

Been hearing a few weak signals on 27385 and there is a group who use 370 LSB who I've heard a few times now but not been able to shout back. The propagation isn't quite there yet reliably enough.

yes I am in that group and it would be good to get some great contacts away the 555 ,and the donkey the whistler and all,
the crap that seems to comes from the 555 and my home base antenna is tuned and with a great swr on them freqs I hope it becomes better

I think in the end we will have to define a calling frequency a little away from 285 because (a) the radar isn't going away and will be stronger as propagation improves and (b) it is actually licensed for that frequency, we aren't, and we shouldn't extract the urine. But generally speaking there are more and more contacts being made down that way generally as the idea gets more widely-known.

i get an average signal of 5-8 continually and often its +20 but i have heard a few contacts on 26.385 when conditions drop so its no good for me up here

Hi. Swc7
I've been on .285/.365 today & my Qrm is up to S5-7 @ times.
As Stu said it may be better higher up. I quite like .430 the old
CO freq. It's only S2-3 @ my Qth today. A lot of noise is because
of low prop due to cycle conditions. There was music etc on T5
around noon. I'm listening on 40m now. 73's Mike SW 26.

I'm on my way to the IoW now so I'll put some calls out about lunchtime. If 285 is a mess with radar have a listen around 26395, I'll be QSY around there.

Hi. Stu.
Will be swl from 1130 @ Qth with Hygain AV18 on 26.285/.395 &
.430 all pm also other freq's. Then @ 2000 i'll be on 80 net around
7.730/750 with Tim & friends. Hope to be uponthill nxt wk. Mike.

Worked a few bits and pieces around the low end. I heard Roy from Corsica, but sod's law I had the antenna on the ground at the time because I was just changing over to try out the bi-square (which needs a lot of work!)

Fantastic short skip conditions today though, just like "the good old days"!

I have a terible noise problem down on superlow even on the mag loop which is great for noisy conditions, it may be the radars that have mentioned, tried with a EFHW cut for down there and it was bad then out of interest a 9:1 unun and 53 feet of wire and that was just totaly unusable full scale noise that even the BHI noise away could not cope with, think its a no go for me.
Anyway was trolling through my posts on another radio related site over in the good old USA and found this interesting list of other nations calling and useable CB frequencies which may be of interest to somebody else doing a bit of SWL around the bands, here is the link, it works for me but may not post on here? any mods reading please check if its OK.

http://www.cbgazette.com/freq.html

Phil 26ct867

Hello everybody!
I have called on 26.285 loads of times over the last week or so and heard nobody. Except once when I heard someone say QSY but the signal was too weak to hear anymore than that. I was hoping it would become another calling frequency for when T5 is unusable. Also, every now and then I get a very strong signal from something which makes all the channels on that band completely unusable for me. I live in South West France.
73
Ady (The Mod) 14CT010

Hi. Ady.
I do listen almost daily on .285/430. Hear a few low voices but the
Conditions aren't go atm due to low. U will get odd days when the
E. comes in. like last wk on Southern. Just get ur WB set-up & just
sit & wait it could be 12/18mths then all Band's will be manic all
the time. The Qrm on .285 is probably the Radar Stations in the
Adriatic between IT/Croatia it may be better to use .365/.430 as
a calling ch. 73's for now. Mike. Sw26.

Thanks Mike!
73
Ady

Interesting read, must say I didn't understand it all though!
Can I ask what mode you chaps are monitoring please? Pic in first post shows USB.
Keen to find out a bit more if i can. Don't have fb.

Hi. Simon.

Yes. It'll be USB. But .285 is a problem for Stu. on IOW. & the guys
in SW14. It will probably be around .430/450 when we get going.
Nice to see u have Tankwhips. They're not the best but a good all
round Ant. You'll have to add another 4/5ins to get it to resonate
@ this freq's. Good luck/dx. 73's Mike.