27.555

[Matt285]

Back in the early to mid 90's in my hey days of freebanding 27.555 was the go to call frequency and then you would QSY to another frequency or pick up CQ calls near by. It seems like now even when there is a band opening on 10/11 meters I rarely hear any activity there?

[Rob.]

You will hear more activity when international DX starts back up again. We had an opening a few months back and it was active.

[Matt285]

Yes. Good point.

[Dude111]

26.285 Upper is another freq like 555

[dave524]

26.285 Upper is another freq like 555

I recall the WAC out of the Netherlands used that as a call frequency 30 years ago, a guy called Bert ran the club. I was Alfa Tango in those days, 9AT113 ,  but often hung out down below , lots of New Zealand down there, it was their legal frequencies if I remember right.

[Leonard]

Triple nickel, I remember that whole band was active, probably 27.555, but now we just had the lowest number of sunspots in years. I always find spanish speakers around 27.6 at my location here in Los ANgeles.
I was surprised to find the same sort of activity going halfway up the state. I guess if you have enough users you will find openings.
In all my radio time I have never heard of people using a freq as low as 26.285. I would have to change my antenna length if I wanted to "listen" down there. I will check it now as my export radio will go that low,

[Matt285]

ALPHA TANGO. The biggest club I remembered and very coveted. From what I remember you had to turn it X amount of confirmed QSL's (Copying machine?) to prove you were an avid DX'r and therefore worthy of membership. There were several other large groups also. I'd have to look through old QSL cards.

[dave524]

ALPHA TANGO. The biggest club I remembered and very coveted. From what I remember you had to turn it X amount of confirmed QSL's (Copying machine?) to prove you were an avid DX'r and therefore worthy of membership. There were several other large groups also. I'd have to look through old QSL cards.

We were all pretty serious DXer's in the AT Group, I had over 150 countries confirmed by direct mail QSL's if you can believe the stamps and postmarks in the late 80's/90's, quite a few were over 200 confirmed. Don't think we will ever see that many stations and countries on 11 ever again, even if conditions pick up.

[Matt285]

Yes. It was an amazing time. I remember working station all over Europe and even Africa in the morning and afternoon from my mobile set up (HR2510, Palomar 225 amp and a tuned 102'' whip) and then working stations in Australia and New Zealand on my base in the evening (President (Model?) with a 150 watt amp running off a car battery into a Maco 5/8 wave vertical at 25' .My wife would get so irritated with me while driving. I would say 'Do you not realize how F&$#ing cool this is?  I want to compile maybe 25/50 of my favorite 11m QSL cards and upload them. I spent so much money on stamps, but I felt like a kid on Christmas when I checked the mail. Should have saved those stamps I received.

[Leonard]

I remember those times as well, to me it was some kind of magic when the conditions where just bubbling over. Don't forget there was no internet or cell phones yet. I had a set up at my work, I'd leave the radio on, at some elevated freq and people and stuff would coming in and all day long it would be changing. I'm spoiled after hearing all that, now we are in the lows of the sun spots. And why was there the extra freqs?, because the lower forty where too busy. It was an amazing time.
edit,,
I may have been one cycle before you,

[Matt285]

One thing I remembered regretting was not being able to work Japan during that time. It's a lot harder for us East coast guys. I did have a Japan station call my number back to me, but then a pile up ensued. Im not complaining though. I have a rig on now im working on. Just heard a station down in the Caribbean with a big signal.

[dave524]

One thing I remembered regretting was not being able to work Japan during that time. It's a lot harder for us East coast guys. I did have a Japan station call my number back to me, but then a pile up ensued. Im not complaining though. I have a rig on now im working on. Just heard a station down in the Caribbean with a big signal.

Worked a lot of Japan back around '89, from my QTH near Niagara Falls, had a 18 foot boom yagi with 4 elements I homebrewed, worked good. Also worked a Russian on Sakhalin Island just north of Japan , he QSL'ed first and the stamps and postmark checked out , he was legit. Got 3 of those cardboard fileboxes full in the basement in all the original envelopes. Here is a couple from a binder of Alfa Tango I have.

[Matt285]

Great confirmation! Seeing those cards brings back great memories. I will post some of mine when I have time. An 4 element yagi on an 18' boom. I cant even imagine. I did so well with my simple vertical, it was guys like you though that helped people like me out.

[26TC62]

27555 is still busy when the band is open in Europe, indeed sometimes too busy. There are a couple of well-known idiots in Europe (especially "el Commandante" in Spain) who can be a nuisance, but it's a viable calling channel. 26285 is a frequency a few of us still call on and work some DX - in times when the propagation is poor, there is an argument for using it more. But it will probably come into its own when the band is banging again and the T5 is overcrowded.

[R4002]

I've heard about the 27.555 MHz USB jammers in Europe and the UK as well.  I've never actually heard them myself during band openings to Europe, even when the band is very open to the UK/Ireland area and I can hear UK FM CB activity (and even work UK stations on the UK FM channels when the band is really open!) 

26.285 MHz USB is certainly an option for alternate calling frequency.  26 MHz is popular in Poland and elsewhere.  Here in the Americas, 26.555 MHz LSB, 26.225 MHz USB, 26.230 MHz USB, 26.235 MHz USB and 26.500 MHz LSB are popular SSB calling frequencies for Spanish speaking stations on 26 MHz.  There are numerous 27 MHz SSB calling frequencies for Spanish speaking stations, 27.455 MHz USB being the big one. 

26.285 MHz is channel 19 "down two bands" (see also: 26.735 MHz, 27.635 MHz and 25.835 MHz).  In the US, it is common for trucking companies, logging companies, etc. to use 6-band export radios and flip the band switch up and down from channel 19 to access a "clear channel" or even a "company channel".  I have heard trucking company chatter on 25.835 MHz, 26.285 MHz, 26.735 MHz and 27.635 MHz when the band is open, all in AM mode.  There appears to be a local or local-ish logging company that uses 25.835 MHz (channel 19 on Band A) for truck-to-truck comms as well.  The lower channels upper part of the 25 MHz band and the 26 MHz band is also popular with hunting clubs and other users in the USA and taxi cab dispatchers in Latin America.  I know that European 11m operators have had to deal with the QRM from Russian taxi dispatchers when the band is open, Americans have similar issues with Latin American taxis.  The Spanish speaking taxi dispatchers almost exclusively use AM mode though, compared to the FM mode used by the Russians.

Other than that, 26.285 USB could certainly be used.  27.555 USB is just a lot more well-known, especially in the USA.  Same with 27.385 LSB.