Brief
Historical Background to Four Metres and Up in
(70MHz and above)
The first amateur
radio station in the world is said to have been set up in London, England in
1898, some five to six years before the Wireless Telegraphy Act was passed
requiring radio stations to be licensed. The gentleman responsible was M.J.C.
Dennis who eventually held the callsign DNX but then later became EI2B, thus
emphasising that the impression, forged by Marconi's early work at Ballycastle
and Rathlin Island, was not unfounded that this fair island was far from being
a backwater during the development of early 'wire-less' technology and
interest.
With the exception of
the periods 1914 to 1919, and 1939 to 1945, amateurs have continued to enjoy
'playing radio' whilst pushing out the boundaries of our knowledge and
understanding of the electro-magnetic spectrum. Indeed, during the Second World
War, the second edition of the Amateur Radio Handbook became the standard radio
textbook for the services.
Early experimentation with radio started with the lower frequencies and when
harmonically related frequency bands were granted for international use in 1928
these bands covered 1.7MHz to 56 MHz.
Amateurs had to wait some time before the frequencies with which we are here
concerned became available for general use.
In 1947, the World
Telecommunications Conference in
1948 :- 145-146MHz,
420-450MHz & 2,350MHz bands were released for amateur use and the use of
single sideband began to be developed for amateur use.
1949 :- 144-148MHz,
1215MHz, 5,650MHz, 10,000MHz bands were released for amateur use.
Permission was granted for input power to be increased to 150 Watts on bands
above 28 MHz with the exception of 420-460MHz (70 cms.).
Permission was also granted for the use of single sideband transmissions (SSB).
1950 :- Amateur television
transmissions were permitted on 70cms as /T operation.
And for an additional licence fee /P operation was permitted and so the
licensee could now operate away from his main station - (handy for VHF
operation if you didn't own a mountain top residence!)
1951 :- Amateur
television transmissions were permitted on 1225-1290MHz (part of 23cms).
The use of Frequency Modulation (f.m.) was permitted on 144.5-145.5MHz (part of
2metres)
1952 :- Permitted
input power on 420MHz (70 cms) increased to 150 Watts - same as other VHF bands
since 1949.
The restrictions on operation away from the home address were lifted.
1954 :- The first
mobile (/M) licences were issued - a separate document issued and separate /M
logbook required!!
1956 :- Amateurs in
the
The Amateur (Sound) Licence was amended to include 'self-training' and use
during disaster relief.
1964 :- Class B
licences (8+3 letters) issued permitting phone only operation on 420 MHz and
above
The 4 metre band was reduced to 70.1 - 70.7 MHz
1965 :- 70 cms band
reduced in size - 420 - 427 MHz withdrawn from amateur use.
1966 :- Reciprocal
licenses (G5+3 letters) first issued - prior to this there had been no foreign
operation in the
The first Maritime
1968 :- Class B
extended to include 144 MHz band..
1987 :- 70 MHz band
made available to Class B licensees.
2002 :- By this year the following countries
were operational on 70 MHz :
2003 :- During this year the list grew to
include
2004 :- 70 MHz band
beacon GB3CFG in IO74CR on 70.027 MHz went on test. This beacon runs 20 Watts into two 3-element Yagis - one beaming North-East and the other South-East.
2006 :- 70 MHz band permits ("about three" CT stations licensed for 4m, with the allocation 70.055 to 70.067MHz.) reported from Portugal - CT - and G to CT contact reported - 3-Jan-2006 at 1820UTC, Ken G4IGO made contact with Tony CT1FFU on 4 metres via meteor-scatter, using the WSJT mode.
13 March 2006 - Luxembourg became the latest addition to countries with a Four Metre allocation.
12 May 2006 - Greece joined the Four Metre club.
Sourced from The Four Metres Website
Latest from CT licensing authority
By G8TOK
Published: February 16, 2006
Earlier this year (as there was some confusion) I asked ANACOM (the Radio Regulator in Portugal) to confirm the arrangements for operation in CT. Their reply (slightly delayed) has now arrived.
It shows clearly that the only authorised operation is from the five stations named below, transmitting on the frequencies 70.60625 to 70.63125.
CT1HZE Aljezur - Algarve
CU8AO Santa Cruz das Flores - Açores
CT1FFU Caldas da Rainha
CT1FJO Santarem
CT1JAD Carvoeiro - Algarve
This confirms the most recent information on www.70mhz.org but unfortunately also indicates that the operation earlier in the year on and around 70.060MHz was not permitted (very unlucky for those ‘G’ stations involved).
Two more CT stations on 4m
By Tony CT1FFU
Published: March 9, 2006
Congratulations to the OM´s who have received new 4m licences:
CT1QP- Lisboa
CT1FJC-Algarve
These new licences come with 25W EIRP limits, after some field tests by ANACOM: this will be the CT´s power limit from now on.
However, we must remember that 6m and 4m are not general amateur bands in CT: these are special scientific licences and it's a great honour to hold them.
The 70 MHz bandplan for Portugal
from Tony CT1FFU
| Frequency [MHz] | Usage | Segment |
| 70,606.250 - 70,612.000 |
Beacons and CW only, no SSB or FM. . 70,610.000 MHz is CW calling, no beacons allowed. |
A |
| 70,615.000 | Meteor Scatter calling. | B |
| 70,620.000 | SSB calling. | B |
| 70,631.125 | SSB, CW and MGM narrow modes. | B |
During this period of licensed operation from CT, the first Northern Ireland to Portugal 4 metre contact took place between Darrell, GI4KSO and CT1HZE at 12:00 UTC on 21 May 2006.
I just spoke today with Anacom officers and got the final verdict about the CT allocation on 4m:
**
After 31-August-2006 all stations licensed in Portugal (continental /Madeira and Açores) must QRT, including the CQ5FOUR beacon.
News from Anacom CT-PTT
By ct1ffu/tony
Published: August 29, 2006
I have just received good news from Anacom officers today!
For all stations now licensed on 4m, they can ask for another 8 months period, until 30-Apr-07.
The PTT has observed that no interference has happened on CT PMR communications, so they consider that Amateur traffic will be again permitted
Anacom is also studying a permanent and wider allocation inside the IARU band, that might be available during the next Es season.
CQ5FOUR beacon is also licensed for another 8 months.
70,2 MHz now also in Denmark
By Bo, OZ2M
Published: December 4, 2006
Today 70,2 MHz was officially allocated for amateur radio service in Denmark.
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