Canada’s CHU time station to close

[IM42A]

The handset used 49 MHz channels. Later mobile phones used 46 and 49 MHz channels. Peter Cavanaugh had a chapter online or in his book "Local DJ" about listening into executives discussing risqué topics.

I had a GE radio (and still do, it's here somewhere, I just don't know where it is) that could pick up these frequencies, and I could pick up mobile phone conversations seemingly from all over our neighborhood. One night a woman was using particularly florid language and dropped an f-bomb or two. That was a hoot! I don't know who she was, but she was cussing like a sailor.

 

[Mediafrog+]

Very early mobile phones used the 1600-1700 kHz band

Those would have been cordless phones connected to landline outlets, not what we would think of as mobile phones of the time which had a wide service range.

Base station frequencies for the early cordless phones were between 1665 and 1770 kHz, while the handsets were around 49 MHz. The base stations were later moved to the 46 MHz range.

More info: https://www.hfunderground.com/wiki/index.php/Cordless_telephone

Not sure if it was cell phones using TV Channels 70-83, or some earlier mobile phones on other bands.

The first generation of AMPS cellular service was on frequencies between 806 and 890 MHz, what had previously been allocated to TV channels 70-83.

 

[Josh Owens]

As some of us in the Eastern part of the US remember, WWV used to broadcast from Beltsville, Maryland. The 5 MHz signal was usually very strong in Michigan, and I'm sure parts East. When they moved to Fort Collins, CO, the signals were much weaker. I wonder if WWV should take over the 3330 kHz and 7850 kHz frequencies. 3330 in particular blasts in at shorter distances, and transmit from some place in Upstate New York perhaps, and would serve the East Coast and Great Lakes Region better. Strange thing about WWV though, is that 25000 kHz often blasts into the Great Lakes Region much better than any other frequency, and often signals VHF imminent band openings including Sporadic E.

I may have mentioned this before, can't remember. I got my first short wave radio for Christmas of '87, at the age of ten. I discovered WWV the following New Years Eve and listened to them for the looooongest time, just captivated! )

 

[gr8oldies]

That’s what those transmissions were for…long distance phone calls via shortwave radio. Commonplace 50+ years ago. The ”circuit adjustment purposes” announcements were just audio placeholders.

Ship to shore phone calls on shortwave were also quite abundant in that era. No privacy for your call, but anyone with half a brain knew that and avoided talking about anything private or sensitive. Made for interesting listening on the maritime bands back in the day.

Make sure to not give details on where you stashed the drugs