Now that
freebanding has become the next phase of it, I'm thinking about joining
a local DX group down here in NJ.

Next phase? The freebanders have been there for years and years.
The main mindset of the freebanders was to get away from all the
"ruckus" on the legal channels, and have a quieter play to talk, and
thus play "serious radio boy". LOL... I've got many friends that have
talked there, and I've even talked there myself on a few occasions
back in the 80's. The "freeband" was mainly taking the "secret" channel
thing a large step farther. IE: many used to like to talk on 22a, or
whatever it was, and many often talked on the channels below the
legal band. But those got crowded after a while, so the push was
upward towards 28 mhz. Very few actual "freebanders" will talk on
the 10m ham band. They know better, and stay away. Most will
hang out in the .405-600?? range, but some do go higher. Here
in Houston , 27.800 used to be a real popular freq that was used
by "serious" Cbers, and hams that wanted to chit chat with the local
CBers. It's mainly the truckers that are plopping on 10m ham band,
and that is a fairly recent thing. .
They don't care where they go, as long as they can talk.
Myself, I don't see much incentive to hang on the freeband, when
getting a legal ham ticket is so easy these days. Who would wanna
be stuck from 27.405 to 28.000 when you can have 28.000 to 29 plus
legally. :/ Not to mention all the other bands. Sounds like to me,
you would be better off getting a ham ticket. Much more useful being
you aren't tied down to a band that is dead half the time.
Even a legal ham on 10m is pretty limited this time of the solar cycle.

BTW.. .Many freebanders use ham radios and have VFO's, etc..
I've seen some freebanders that ran better gear than I do on the ham
bands... :/ IE: Icom 756pro's, etc, etc...Whatta waste of a radio...
But some use modded CB's...
MK