In an article on pirate radio broadcasters being fine, Radio World threw in this report about a Philadelphia amateur radio operator also being penalized:
Another fine is in a ham radio case. The commission affirmed a proposed fine of $4,000 against Jose Torres for operating his amateur station on an unauthorized frequency, 26.71 MHz. Torres is the licensee of Amateur Extra Class station N3TX in Philadelphia. The agency says he’d been warned about not operating on that frequency and fined $4,000 in 2009. He asked that the fine be reduced or cancelled, telling agents he wasn’t home during the alleged unauthorized operations in 2008 and submitted cellphone records to support his claim; Torres also submitted three years of federal tax returns to bolster his argument of an inability to pay. The FCC didn’t buy his arguments; field agents say they heard his voice on the unauthorized transmissions and that the cellphone records don’t prove he wasn’t at home, only that he wasn’t using his landline at the time.
I wonder why he was operating on 26.71 MHz. That’s not even in the Citizen’s Band.
As far as I know there was a illigal worldwide packetnetwork on that frequency. Of course run by CB pirates. But if it is still there? Anyway, they recorded his voice there. It could be someone that transmitted his recorded voice again, say a CB operator in his neigbourhood? But he has to prove that I guess. Strange story…73, Bas
You made me look
I got curious and took a quick listen. Might be well outside the Citizen’s Band, but it sure SOUNDS like CB.
Wow, definitely an odd tale.
Perhaps he was simply confused about his location and thought that he was in New Zealand. Down there, the frequency of 26.710 is the local CB channel #34.
A complete list of the New Zealand CB channels can be found at:
http://www.mobilesystems.co.nz/Public_AM_FM_Frequency_List
Mike W2MJZ