Truckers working DX 26.735 MHz AM 26735 kHz AM

[R4002]

Oklahoma City, Iowa, "eastbound on Highway 340" and several other truckers heard shooting skip on channel 19 "down one band" (26735 kHz, that is, 27185 - 450 = 26735).

26.735 MHz, like 27.635 MHz, are two of the most common out of band or freeband CB frequencies on the 11 meter band that you'll find truckers using.  There is a practical reason for this, and that is that the most common channel for truckers, CB channel 19, is 27.185 MHz.  Since most export radios operate on the "bands" principle - multiple sets of 40 channels or 45 channels accessible via a bandswitch or other similar control, many truckers simply leave their radios on channel 19 and change the band they're using.  Same can be said for 27.605 MHz, 27.615 MHz, 27.625 MHz and 27.655 MHz.  Those are channels 16, 17, 18 and 20 "up one band".  26.735 is often busy during band openings because the real channel 19 is completely unusable.  It doesn't help that the most popular export radios (such as most of the Superstar radios, the Connex 3300, Connex 4300, Connex 33HP-ATC, Galaxy DX-series [except the more expensive ones], General Lee, General HP40, etc) do not have frequency counters or frequency displays.  That means all the user has is a channel display and a band selector, and without doing some math in their heads or a printout (aka "roadmap"), they have no idea what frequency they're using.  Chances are they don't care either.

I've heard truckers both locally and during band openings using channel 19 on each of the de facto standard 6 bands:

25.835 MHz - Channel 19 Band A
26.285 MHz - Channel 19 Band B
26.735 MHz - Channel 19 Band C - common "freeband" trucker channel
27.185 MHz - Channel 19 Band D - legal CB band (the actual channel 19)
27.635 MHz - Channel 19 Band E - common "freeband" trucker channel
28.085 MHz - Channel 19 Band F - obviously in the 10 meter amateur band, CW subband.  Pretty easy to spot AM voice traffic here!