Metropol

So then, I'm being VERY cool and watching BBC Election 70 today. Were all the OBs microwave links or were satellites coming in by that point? At any rate, how come they're not all in colour?

SCIENCE ME.

No Satellite at that time, all Microwave links, some multihop to PO insertion points or local studios. Colour wasn't universally used till much later, some local studios even weren't equipped, remember this was only a year after Colour came to BBC1 and ITV.

1970 was only three years after the introduction of colour, so it's much like how widescreen and HD are being phased in at the moment. TV Centre wasn't entirely colour capable by that time - TC3 and 4 were converted in 1969 and 1970, TC5 wasn't done until 1973.

Some of the OBs around London would probably have been via LOCO - see http://www.bostonmanor.plus.com/exbhcomms/LOCO.html

What I don't understand is why there is so much picture disturbance either side of a contribution from another studio. By this stage they would surely have been using Natlock so the incoming contribution would be synchonised with TC1 so there shouldn't be that much frame rolling? Some of it will be because of the recording, but still.

I don't think the network timebases were introduced until much much later, their lack might exacerbate the recording glitches too.