[Lowfer] Lowfer transmissions ?

[k2ors at verizon.net]

 With a 9' whip running 1W on voice you would be very lucky to be heard across your driveway on the lowfer band!

    On Monday, January 27, 2025 at 03:42:42 PM EST, Facility 406 <facility_406 at bruteforcedevelopment.com> wrote:   

 Dave Curry used to have transmitter kits as did North Country Radio - 
both out of that business now.
I don't think that there has ever been a mobile lowfer transceiver for 
voice - it wouldn't make any sense given the  need for big antennas for 
any efficiency at all.
You would probably be better off with a FRS (460MHz), MURS (160MHz) or 
27MHz CB radio, all of which do voice, are available inexpensively, and 
most likely would have a much greater range than a voice transceiver for 
the lowfer band. (Also, you could get a ham license - just a few 
multiple choice questions for an exam).

I recall Curry, used to work near his place.  Vaguely recall North 
Country Radio.  I THINK the Curry model, was a small box, about the size 
of a compact CB, white in color, a couple knobs, and a mic, making it 
very much CB like in design/style, and could be used as base, or mobile. 
  The now-XYL and I wanted to play with them for car-to-car, maybe 
home-to-home, some 9' whips, and a loading coil for mobile.  Efficiency? 
  We'd be happy with a mile or so, so long as it was "radio".

Some 30 years later, I recall the 1W, but not the antenna restrictions. 
  Was it 3m like other Part 15 devices?

2m, 220, and 440 was a bit congested in our area at the time, and CB was 
getting rough.  Played with 10, and 6m.  We finally settled on 17m for 
simplex chatter, with the occasional person jumping in as we'd run 
errands, and meet up for lunch or coffee.

But, yeah, other services are out there, played with CB from the 
70's-90's, been a ham, as well as the XYL for a few decades, even ran VE 
sessions for years.  Jumped into FRS when it was created, MURS as well, 
played with 49 MHz, had a GMRS license for a while, on my second 
restricted radiotelephone operator permit, one for aircraft, one just to 
have, ran a HiFER beacon, looking at 900 MHz SHSS systems now, and 
recently heard of IP "walkie talkies"...

What I HAVEN'T played with, or engaged in, is the LowFER voice nets of 
decades past, or played with the base/mobile transceivers that were once 
available.  Might be awesome, might suck, can't say, I missed the boat, 
but, should it come around again, I'll try to jump on.

Anyone got a time machine?  I'll go back a grab a half-dozen or so of 
those old transceivers.

Kurt