Michael Black wrote:
[snip]
If they'd given thought to propagation, they'd
not have allocated 27MHz to a band intended for local use.

Even with nobody working skip, when the skip was in the band got cluttered.
You couldn't avoid propagation getting those distant signals to you, and
that did not help the intended use of the band.

Michael VE2BVW

Michael,

I don't feel it was a question of propagation: the FCC wanted to create
an inexpensive radio service that could be used by those who could not
afford the standard "two-way" radios that were available at the time.

The problem, in a nutshell, was that tube designs for VHF and UHF were
very expensive to manufacture, tune, and repair. I think the idea with
the class C & D Citizens' Bands was to make the rigs affordable _using
the vacuum tube designs of the day_, and that meant keeping the
frequencies low. Since ham operators had an assignment at 10 meters, and
the primary user of 11 meters (Medical Diathermy) wouldn't be affected,
it probably seemed like the ideal spot: the only commercial allocations
near it were in the 30-50 MHz range, but assigning a new service there
would have meant displacing existing FM licensees, including many local
government users, who were _also_ interested in keeping their radio
costs down.

Don't forget: the class A & B Citizens' Bands had been authorized for
many years, with dismal results: since class A & B CB radios used 460
MHz, users had to pay for the same Motorola or GE or Johnson sets that
telephone, utility, taxicab, and others with deep pockets were using.

Long story short: experience had shown that the cost of UHF units was
too high a barrier for farmers and other rural users, and IMHO, _that_
was the reason for choosing 27 MHz.

YMMV.

William

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