Radio amateurs in the UK were given an allocation on the 70 MHz (4m) band on the 9th of November 1956. The initial allocation was 200 kHz wide and went from 70.2–70.4 MHz. This was expanded to 500 kHz eventually.
The 70 MHz allocation was seen as a compensation for losing the old 5m band (58.5 to 60 MHz) in 1949 which was used for Band 1 VHF Television.
Initially, the band was just the UK but looking at the records, the first EI to G contact on the band took place in October 1957.
G England G6NB + EI2W - 27th Oct 1957
For about 40-years, it was an unusual band in that there were only a few DXCC entities... G (England), GW (Wales), GM (Scotland), GI (Northern Ireland), GD (Isle of Man), GJ (Jersey), GU (Guernsey), ZB2 (Gibraltar), Cyprus (5B/ZC4) and Ireland (EI).
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| UK station operating on 70 MHz |
Back in the 1950's and 1960's, the 70 MHz band served the same function as say the 145 MHz (2m) band today. Most of the equipment was valve based and these didn't work well at higher VHF frequencies so 70 MHz was more attractive.
Much of the equipment was ex-military gear and some of these were from old British tanks and used AM instead of FM. These were used for local nets as 2m rigs and repeaters didn't really appear until the 70's.
In terms of DX and EI firsts, the late Harry Wilson EI2W worked nearly all EI firsts on the band back in the 50's and 60's. The one exception was when John, EI6AK managed to work Gibraltar.
A group of locals in Cork on the south coast of Ireland were using 70 MHz (4m) as a local chat channel. John had his antenna hanging off the clothesline and was using AM like all the rest. On the 16th of June 1967, there was a Sporadic-E opening and ZB2VHF from Gibraltar appeared on the local chat frequency much to John's surprise!
Reports were exchanged and EI6AK had made the first contact between EI and ZB2!
ZB2 Gibraltar ZB2VHF + EI6AK - 16th Jun 1967
Needless to say, the big guns in Dublin were wondering who was this guy in Cork who managed to snag ZB2.
As the years went on, 2m operation became more popular and this led to a decline in 4m activity.
In 1987, the 70 MHz band made available to Class B licensees (no morse requirement) in the UK.
Slovenia - On the 13th of June 1998, radio amateurs in Slovenia (S5) were given permission to use the band. A few days later on the 18th of June, I managed to work S57A for an EI to S5 first on 4m.
S5 Slovenia S57A + EI7GL - 18th Jun 1998
Other UK to Slovenia firsts were recorded around the same time. In time, more and more European countries managed to get a foothold on the band.
GB070MHZ - To mark the 40th anniversary of the 70 MHz allocation, a special event station in Essex using the callsign GB070MHZ will operate for the month of November 2026 (1st to 28th).
More info... https://www.qrz.com/db/GB070MHZ
Link... For more some of my previous 4m posts, see my 70 MHz page.
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