Brock – Page 5 – Brock at Cliff Cottage

2024-05-182024-05-18

CB Radio: 21st century

A Midland Alan 48 Pro CB radio currently produced in Italy and sold on the European market.

The purpose of this weblog post is to provide some insights into how citizen’s band radio, and its descendants, have changed in this millennium.

Personal Radio Services

A Personal Radio Service (PRS) is any system that allows individual to operate radio transmitters and receivers for personal purposes with minimal or no special license or individual authorization. These services exist around the world where power output, antenna size, and technical characteristics of the equipment are set by regulations in each country. However, most are very similar. They offer low power operation in the UHF (or upper VHF) band using frequency modulation (FM), with simplified or no end-user licenses.

Technical information

In terms of PRS, the new millennium began in 1987 when USA’s Citizen’s band Class A became the General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS). Because of channel congestion in larger metropolitan areas licensing of business users was discontinued, and Business Radio Service (BRS) channels developed. Citizen’s band Class B ultimately became the Family Radio Service (FRS).

In 2019-09, it became unlawful in the USA to provide hybrid radio equipment capable of operating under both GMRS and FRS. They had to be separate radios.

GMRS

In the USA, a person may apply for a GMRS license if they are 18 years or older and not a representative of a foreign government. If they receive a license, any family member, regardless of age, can operate GMRS stations and units within the licensed system.

Personal Radio Service is any system that allows individual to operate radio transmitters and receivers for personal purposes with minimal or no special license or individual authorization. These services exist around the world where power output, antenna size, and technical characteristics of the equipment are set by regulations in each country. Many regions, such as the European Union, have standardized regulations to allow travelers to use their equipment throughout the region.

Examples of standardized services include PMR446 and FM Citizens Band Radio (CB) in the EU and several other countries/regions.

GMRS and FRS both use narrow-band frequency modulation (NBFM) with a maximum deviation of 2.5 kilohertz. The channels are spaced at 12.5 kilohertz intervals. There are 30 channels, 16 main and 14 interstitial (read: inferior channels located between the main channels) divided equally around 462 and 467 MHz in the ultra high frequency (UHF) band. The eight main 462 MHz channels can be used for simplex communication (read: a communications channel that operates in one direction at a time, but that may be reversible) or repeater outputs. A repeater is an electronic device that receives a signal and then immediately re-transmits it. Repeaters are used to extend transmissions so that the signal can cover longer distances or be received on the other side of an obstruction. The eight main 467 MHz channels may only be used as repeater inputs, with 462 MHz channels as outputs. As with other UHF radio services, reliable range is considered to be line-of-sight and the distance to the radio horizon can be estimated based on antenna height. A hand-held units is about 1.5 – 3 km. Mobile units have higher antennas and a longer range (around 8 km). A repeater can extend the range to 30 km. Obstructions usually reduce range. Increased power may not give a proportional increase in range, but improve reliability at the edge.

Transmitter power output is restricted to 50 W, on the 16 main channels, but 1 to 5 W is more common. The 462 MHz interstitial frequencies have a 5 W power limit. The 467 MHz interstitial frequencies have a 500 mW limit. Only hand-held portable units may transmit on these channels.

Canadian residents may use GMRS equipment, but do not need a license. Mobile units permanently mounted in vehicles, base stations and repeaters are not currently permitted on the GMRS channels in Canada.

In 2017, The FCC changed GMRS rules to allow short data messaging applications including text messaging and GPS location information, added channels in the 467 MHz band, revised the definition of the FRS service and permitted 2 W on the shared FRS/GMRS channels.

Family Radio Service

The Family Radio Service (FRS) was first proposed by RadioShack in 1994. It was authorized in the United States in 1996. It uses the same channels as GMRS. One reason for this, was that these channels do not suffer from interference found on citizens’ band (CB) at 27 MHz. FRS uses frequency modulation (FM) instead of amplitude modulation (AM). Initially, the FRS radios were limited to 500 mW across all channels. However, after 2017-05-18, the limit was increased to 2 W on channels 1-7 and 15–22.

FRS radios frequently have sub-audible tone squelch codes to filter out unwanted chatter/ noise from other users on the same frequency. Continuous Tone-Coded Squelch System (CTCSS) adding a low frequency audio tone to the voice. Where more than one group of users is on the same radio frequency (called co-channel users), CTCSS circuitry mutes those users who are using a different CTCSS tone or no CTCSS. Digital-Coded Squelch (DCS), was designed as the digital replacement for CTCSS. While these are often referred to as privacy or private line (PL) codes, they offer no privacy protection. All FRS equipment must be certified according to FCC regulations. This includes the use of permanently attached antennas. This restricts range, allowing optimal use of the available channels. The use of duplex radio repeaters and telephone network interconnects are also prohibited.

FRS range varies, but is less than that using GMRS radios, normally from about 0.5 to 1.5 km.

All 22 Family Radio Service (FRS) frequencies are shared with GMRS, and users of the two services may communicate with each other. With the exception of FRS channels 8 through 14, GMRS licensees may use higher power radios with detachable or external antennas.

PMR446

In 1997-04 the European Radio Communications Committee (ERC) decided on a 446 MHz frequency band for Private Mobile Radio, 446 MHz (PMR446), a license-exempt service in the UHF radio frequency band available for business and personal use throughout the European Economic Area and beyond.

In 1998-11, ERC allocated frequency band 446.0–446.1 MHz for analogue PMR446, established licence exemption and free circulation of the PMR446 equipment. In addition to analogue FM voice mode a digital voice mode is available with digital private mobile radio (dPMR446) and digital mobile radio (DMR Tier 1) standards designed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). Originally 8 analogue channels were available.

In 2005-10, ECC added unlicensed band 446.1–446.2 MHz for use by digital DMR/dPMR equipment. In 2015-07, ECC doubled the number of analog channels to 16 by extending analog operation onto the 446.1–446.2 MHz band previously used by digital DMR/dPMR equipment. From 2018-01, the number of digital channels was doubled by extending onto the 446.0–446.1 MHz band used by analog FM.

PMR446 specifies 12.5 kHz channel separation, 500 mW maximum power, CTCSS, DCS and/or fixed-carrier voice inversion = an analog method of obscuring the content of a transmission, use of handheld transceivers with fixed antennas, but with some exceptions in Germany and the Netherlands, In response to this exception, from 2015-11 Midland Radio has been producing the GB1 mobile PMR446 radio for vehicular use.

There is no provision for use of repeaters on the European network.

FM Citizens Band Radio

The European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) adopted the FM 26–27 MHz North American channel assignments, except channels 23 to 25. CB equipment sold legally in Europe follows the North American channel designations. Some member countries permit additional modes and frequencies.

While CB radio is less popular due to the availability of other personal radio services that offer shorter antennas and better protection from noise and interference, it is the oldest and, arguably, most common personal radio service. It is used in nearly every country worldwide, who also copy the United States 40-channel frequency plan.

Overconsumption

This post, and two prior posts = Dick Tracy wristware & CB Radio: 20th century, have been written to find convincing arguments to support the acquisition of a CB radio. For the past several years, and especially after the acquisition of Buzz on 2023-02-13, I have wanted to return to those controversial years of my youth in the late 1960s and 1970s. In terms of economics, I could probably convince myself that such a radio is affordable. The mathematical equation is: 1 Midland Alan 48 Pro CB radio = 1/4 Asus Zenfone 9 (my smartphone). The main challenge is psychological. Why do I have an obsession for outdated, prehistoric tech? I can ask the same question about Drake.

Drake was my preferred brand of amateur radio equipment. It started manufacturing tube transceivers in 1943 in Springboro, Ohio. I prefer modern solid state units, with transistors and digital frequency synthesis, as found in the TR-7, first made in 1978! After that, Drake was just rebadged Japanese equipment. Currently, any attempt to reach Drake digitally results in a a redirection to Blonder Tongue Laboratories, in Old Shore, New Jersey. Should I ever do anything serious, I think I will follow my son’s example and acquire a transceiver from Elecraft founded in 1998 in Watsonville, California, a place I have even visited!

Seconds after writing the previous paragraph, on 2024-04-15, an email from the Norwegian world wide fund for nature tells me in translation: Today is Norway’s Overshot = Overconsumption Day. It is the day when we, as one of the first countries in the world, have used up our share of the earth’s renewable natural resources for 2024. This is shown by the calculations from the international think tank Global Footprint Network, which every year calculates a date for the so-called Overshot day. Norway is at the very top of the world when it comes to consumption of natural resources. Our overshot day comes a full 16 weeks before the global average. So, choose carefully what you buy, Brock! Maybe you don’t need a CB radio!

Except, a day later I investigated the WWF claims and discovered that the opposite is true. Norway’s biocapacity exceeds its ecological footprint by 29%. This makes it 46th best in the world. Not as good as: Russia (45) at 30% or Sweden (34) at 58% or Canada (27) at 84% or Australia (24) at 87% or Finland (21) at 129% or French Guiana (1) at 4 900%. However, it is better than: Ireland (92) at -49%, World average -70%, Denmark (102) at -71%, USA (130) at -110%, UK (170) at -140%, Israel (202) at -1 600%, Singapore (205) at -6 100%, or Nauru (206 and last) at – 46 000%.

A lot of people wonder how mega fossil fuel producers like Norway or Russia or Canada or Australia can be ranked so high. That portion of fossil energy that is exported, gets added on to consumption values of the importing country, and subtracted from the producing country.

I then calculated Norway’s under-consumption day for 2023. It should be 2024-04-15 (or on that same date, in leap years) or on 04-16 a year later, in other years that have only 28 days in February.

This does not mean that consumption by Norwegians is acceptable. In a previous post title Immoral Consumption, written in 2018, I presented a table showing five countries with data about them:

	Eco footprint	Biocapacity	Deficit (-) / reserve (+)
USA	8.22	3.76	– 4.46
Canada	8.17	16.01	+ 7.83
Ireland	5.57	3.73	– 1.83
Norway	4.98	8.18	+ 3.19
Cuba	1.95	0.76	– 1.19

These used the global hectare (gha) as a measurement unit for the ecological footprint of people or activities and the biocapacity of the Earth or its regions. One global hectare is the world’s annual amount of biological production for human use and human waste assimilation, per hectare of biologically productive land and fisheries.

It measures production and consumption of different products. It starts with the total biological production and waste assimilation in the world. Global hectares per person refers to the amount of production and waste assimilation per person on the planet. In 2012 there were approximately 12.2 billion global hectares of production and waste assimilation, averaging 1.7 global hectares per person.

Yet, consumption was 20.1 billion global hectares or 2.8 global hectares per person. This means there was a 65% over-consumption, because of natural reserves that backup food, material and energy supplies, although this is possible only for a relatively short period of time. Due to rapid population growth, these reserves are being depleted at an ever increasing tempo. The term global hectare (gha) was introduced in the early 2000s based on a similar concept from the 1970s named ghost acreage.

Having concluded that my lifestyle is excessive, in terms of the planet’s capacity, I returned to the question of buying a CB radio. I wondered if it would be ecologically more acceptable to 1) buy one used, or 2) make one? Buying used would not create more waste, but redistribute what has already been created. Making one could be ecologically acceptable, especially if it were built from recycled components. Unfortunately, a self-made radio would also occupy a considerably larger volume/ space.

I have many radios suitable for amateur/ ham purposes, but no CB radios. These include a Tennessee Technology = Ten-Tec = TT 505 Argonaut low power (QRP) transceiver, s/n 388. It is solid state from 1973, operating on the 10 – 80 meter bands with 2 watts output on 80-15 meters and 1.8 watts on 10 meter. I inherited it from a silent key = deceased member, of the Inntrøndelag radio group. I will keep it. However, I have many other radios that I want to give away to people who want to use them. The bar is set at them earning an amateur radio licence. That said, anyone with a CB radio wanting to trade it for an amateur radio of varying capabilities is invited to take contact.

2024-05-162024-05-16

Haparanda – Tornio – Kemi

Haparanda, Tornio and Kemi are three municipalities in Bothnia Bay, the northernmost part of the Gulf of Bothnia, which is in turn the northern part of the Baltic Sea.

During winter it is possible to get around the gulf with: ice skates, sleds, skis, snowmobiles as well as by car on the ice roads over the gulf to the larger islands. There are 4 001 islands, with an island defined as a landmass surrounded by water, larger than 20 m².

Freshwater rivers mean that the bay has brackish water with extremely low salinity levels (0.2-0.3 %). This can be compared with the world’s oceans where the salinity level is around 3.5 %. Most salt-dependent sea species cannot survive in the bay. Ringed seal, grey seal, cod, herring and salmon are found here, along with freshwater species such as the pike, whitefish and perch.

Further south is Merenkurkku (Finnish) = throat of the sea (literal translation) = Kvarken (Swedish) = Quark Ridge (English) a narrow region separating Bothnian Bay from the rest of the Bothnian Sea. Here, the distance from the Swedish mainland to the Finnish mainland is around 80 km. The maximum water depth is about 25 m. Land is rising at 8 to 10 mm a year. Within 2 000 years this will create the largest lake in Scandinavia to its north. There are 5 600 islands in Kvarken.

Summers are mild for a coastal location so far north, and winters are normally not extremely cold in spite of the relative proximity to the Arctic Circle. Trish and I first visited this area ca. 1979-12-10. Alasdair and I visited it almost forty-five years later on 2024-05-12.

Haparanda 65°50′N 024°08′E

Haparanda, for historical reasons, is often still referred to as a city despite its small population, about 5 000 people in 4.43 km². It is Sweden’s most easterly settlement.

Anna Jäämeri-Ruusuvuori (1943 – ) *Separation*. Unveiled 2005, 60 years since the end of world war II. A memorial to the approximately 80 000 Finnish children who were sent to Sweden during the war. The artist was herself one of the war children in Sweden. They were sent to Sweden to be spared the suffering that the war brought to Finland. Most war children returned to Finland after the war, but several thousand remained in Sweden.

Bo Holmlund (1935 – 2013) *Broar* = *Bridges*. Located in the marketplace in Haparanda. It was erected in 1992 on Haparanda city’s 150th anniversary. Until the border was drawn in 1809, Sweden and Finland were a common country. After the Finnish war (1808 – 1809) between Sweden and Russia, Russia took over Finland. Bridges were broken and the countries went their separate ways. Sweden has had a relatively stable history, while Finland has suffered from both world wars and civil wars. Now it is a new time, the border is increasingly disappearing.

Hanna Kanto (1981 – ) with Oday Shalan, Yazan Jbour, Mamoon Al, Diamond Eagle, Masoud Karimi. *Strandad* = *Stranded* (2016). The sculpture is made of old boats that have been used on the Torne River. It visualizes old traditions and contemporary events in the Torne Valley.

Victoria Andersson (1971 – ) *The Struve Triangle* (2012). The Struve Geodetic Arc is a chain of survey triangulations stretching from Hammerfest in Norway to the Black Sea, through ten countries and 2,821.853 ± 0.012 km, which yielded the first accurate measurement of a meridian arc. The chain was established and used by the German-born Russian scientist Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve (1793 – 1864) in the years 1816 to 1855 to establish the exact size and shape of the earth. The Struve Geodetic Arc was inscribed as a World Heritage site in 2005.

Map of the Struve Geodetic Arc. The 34 red dots are places registered in the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Wilhelm Struve was appointed *European Surveyor of the Year 2014* by the Council of European Geodetic Surveyors (CLGE). Image: Badock, Wikimedia commons.

Along the Torne river one finds numerous unusual crosswalk signs (but no crosswalks). There is a person displayed, but walking does not seem to be appropriate. In the future, I intend to replace this sign with a composite that merges at least four signs. I will also attempt to find the person, or people responsible.

Anja Örn (1972 – ) *Transit: Brevduvor på bord* = *Transit: Homing pigeons on the table* (2016). A small aerial lift (zipline) was built in 1916 over the river to transport mail, because during parts of the year the ice was too strong for boats and too weak or too split up for walking. This artwork celebrates the zipline. Note the culture vulture eying the pigeons from the background.

Mats Wikström (1954 – ), *Järnvägsbrons beskyddare* = *Protectors of the Railway Bridge* (2012). These squirrels protect the bridge, and perform spiritual actions according to various religions.

Tornio 65°51′N 024°09′E

The delta of the Torne River has been inhabited since the end of the last ice age, 16 settlement sites have been found in the area, similar to those found in Vuollerim (c. 6 000 – 5 000 BC).

Tornio is unilingually Finnish with a negligible number of native Swedish speakers. Large numbers are bilingual, speaking Swedish as a second language, with an official target of universal working bilingualism for both border municipalities. Much of the economy is related to stainless steel products.

The Torne River Railway Bridge is 405 m long, and was built as a swing bridge in 1919. It was converted to a fixed structure in 1985. It is a dual gauge railway bridge between Haparanda, Sweden and Tornio, Finland; the bridge can be used by the 1524 mm broad gauge trains, usually Finnish using rails 1 and 3 counting from the left, as well the 1435 mm standard gauge trains, using rails 2 and 4. While we were visiting we could see the bridge being modified to increase its height. It will then be electrified together with the railway line from Laurila in Finland. The electric railway will be in operation by the end of 2024. The bridge is painted white from the Finnish (near) side to the international border, and is blue from there to the Swedish (far) side.

Nina Sailo (1906 – 1988) *The Aino statue* (1959), Located in Aino park, is a belated representative of classic handicraft style. Unveiled in 1959. Alasdair is standing with his left foot (on the right of the photo) in Tornio, Finland, while his right foot (on the left) is in Haparanda, Sweden. There is no physical infrastructure at the border, showing just how free the movement is between countries.

Niilo Savia (1898 – 1977) The Jaeger Monument. Unveiled in 1965. At Helsinki University, many Finnish students wanted Russia out of Finland. However, it had no army of its own. Finland pleaded with Sweden to train its troops, but Sweden used its neutrality, to deny this request. However, Germany as an opponent of Russia, agreed to train Finnish troops. The German government financed the journey of recruits to the Lockstedt training camp.

Pekka Isorättyä (1980 – ) and Teija Isorättyä (1980 – ) *Särkynyt Lyhty* = *A broken lantern*, unveiled in 2013. It shows cult figures from Tornia, such as the priest of Kalkkimaa and the album cover of the band Terveet Kädet. The work uses local steel and steel objects collected from individuals and companies in the area.

Pekka Isorättyä and Teija Isorättyä, *Kojamo* = *Shed*. It is a steel salmon statue commissioned for Tornio’s 400th anniversary in 2021.

Kemi

About 10 km south of Tornio is Kemi. It is a deepwater port for the north of Finland. Known for its ice and snow. Famous for its winter ice castles, rebuilt annually, and regarded as the largest in the world.

A Martin’s type anchor from the Russian cruiser *Asia*, left in Kemi in 1905, in front of Kemi’s City Hall. Height = 3 m, mass = 3 500 kg. It was unveiled in 1969 as a memorial to the city’s founding in 1869, by a regulation issued by Alexander II (1818 – 1881), giving it the rights of a staple town, which allowed overseas trade, the collection of tree/ merchant charges, property taxes, port, bridge and load charges, as well as port and weigh house taxes. In addition, the city had to build infrastructure for the port = a bonded warehouse, a weigh house, a storage warehouse. This privileged right was cancelled in 1995.

2024-05-112024-05-11

Luleå

65°35′4″N 22°9′14″E

Luleå is considered the world’s largest brackish water archipelago with 1 312 islands, several rivers and vast forests.

The Luleå region has become the Node Pole, because of its northern location, and its role as a data traffic hub in Europe. The region offers stable, low-cost electricity that is 100% renewable. In addition, because the region is one of the coolest in Sweden. This means it is easier and cheaper to keep server centres cool! Sweden’s long political stability is cited as another long-term benefit of the location.

Cityscape

All of the cities in Sweden resemble each other. There seems to be an architectural standard for each type of structure, that lasts about a decade, before it is replaced.

Umeå University School of Architecture, The Waterfall that went silent (2023)

Wildlife

2024-05-112024-05-06

CB Radio: 20th century

Betty Ford’s QSL card. Because of mobility issues during Gerald Ford’s presidential campaign, Betty used CB radio to communicate with potential voters. Yes, that could actually work in 1976.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable across the United States.

Radio waves are often defined as electromagnetic radiation at frequencies below 300 GHz with wavelengths, greater than 1 mm. Yes, those two measurements are related to the speed of light in the equation c= λν = lambda multiplied by nu, where c = speed of light. λ = the wavelength in meters. ν = the frequency in Hertz. The fastest recorded speed of light is 299 792 458 m/s, almost 300 Mm/s = 3 x 10⁸ m/s, which is the figure used in most calculations. Wavelength and frequency are inversely proportional: the shorter the wavelength, the higher the frequency, and vice versa. All electromagnetic radiation, regardless of wavelength or frequency, travels at the speed of light. Frequency refers to the number of full wavelengths that pass by a given point in space every second.

Television also used radio waves, initially, but was called terrestrial = earth based (in Europe and Latin America) = over-the-air = broadcast (north America). This required both the TV station transmitter and receivers to be equipped with antennas.

Wire probably refer to POTS = Plain old/ ordinary telephone service/ system, but originally Post Office telephone system, a retronym for voice-grade telephone service employing analog signal transmission using copper wire, available in the U.S. from 1876 until 1988. Telegraphy initially also involves wire. Telex was originally associated with telegraphy, and is cryptically described as a switched network of teleprinters. The difference between wire and cable is probably related to bandwidth. Cable is exponentially greater, allowing it to carry multiple high-definition television channels, while telephone wires compressed the range of sound so that it was barely audible.

In 1945, the FCC developed a radio band for personal communication, that included radio-controlled model airplanes and family and business communications. By 1948, CB radios were developed for operation on the 460–470 MHz UHF band. There were two classes of CB radio. Class A had its transmitter power limited to 60 W. Initially tube based transceivers were used. At the time, it followed normal American radio usage with 50 kHz channel spacing, and frequency modulation (FM) with ±15 kHz transmitter deviation. Class B Citizens used a different set of 461 MHz channels and was limited to 5 watts output. Business users were restricted to Class B.

Some people want to name a single individual as the inventor of CB radio. They often point to Al Gross (1918 – 2000). Most CB radio characteristics had been developed separately for use in other types of radios. Thus, a CB radio incorporated a package of characteristics that initially met the frequency, modulation and power characteristics specified by the FCC. Gross patented a number of telecommunications related patents, but none of them should be described as inventing the CB radio. Sorry, Al!

In the 1960s, the UHF 450–470 MHz band was re-allocated to 25 kHz channels. This meant transmitter deviation was reduced to ±5 kHz. This doubled the number of channels available across the entire 450–470 MHz band. The previous Class B channels were re-allocated to other radio services.

Initially, CB users were required to be licensed. About 800 000 users were licensed from 1966 to 1973. It hit 12 250 000 by the end of 1977. Add an additional 10 % for unlicensed users.

The 1973 oil crisis caused by the OPEC oil embargo, followed by an American nationwide 55 mph speed limit, was designed to improve fuel consumption. CB radios were especially important to truckers, allowing them to find available fuel, and to avoid speed traps. Other people soon realized that CB radios provided economic benefits, before they were eclipsed by social benefits. CB slang soon reached new heights of popularity.

In popular culture, C. W. McCall = Billie Dale Fries (1928 – 2022), recorded Convoy, a 1975 hit song told about a group of rogue truckers. Before the release of this song, US CB sales volume was about 150 000 units a year. After its release, this increased to 7 million units a year. New companies including Cobra, Midland and Royce were formed, and rapidly increased production capacity. By 1976, General Motors was offering a factory installed CB-radio option that including an integrated tape deck. I hope anybody contemplating buying a new GMC product, will ask their dealers if that option is still available, and report their response in a comment.

In the 1970s, and later, there were many films that featured CB radios. Two of the most influential were: Smokey and the Bandit (1977) and Convoy (1978) also encouraged CB usage. These were both action films populated with anti-establishment characters. My preferred CB film is Citizen Band/ Handle with Care (1977) that looked more at the people in front of the radios. Film critic John Simon (1925 – 2019) described it as: a lovely, hilarious, semisatirical folk comedy, only needing a better ending.

In the 1970s, Class B transmission power was increased to 50 W. However, most of the 460–470 MHz band was reassigned for business and public-safety use.

From the start, Afro-American CBers engaged in informal radio experiments. CB radio was seen as a way for these radio operators to achieve distinct social and economic benefits, using methods that flouted FCC regulations. By 1959 they were ready to form the Rooster Channel Jumpers, a national network of Afro-American CB users across the US, with chapters in major cities. It had a formal governance structure, and blue and gold uniforms for members. They regularly used their equipment to engage in shooting skip. This allowed the signal to go much further than the permitted 150 mile FCC limit.

In 1978, about 10 000 Rooster Channel Jumpers met in Dallas for the club’s annual convention, to promote the use of CB channels specifically to help African-American communities benefit economically, and socially.

Hate groups, notably the Ku Klux Klan, also used CB radios to organize racial terror activities by keeping each other informed about the movement of law enforcement operatives, as well as the location of their targets, that included civil rights activists.

Afro-American CBers responded by setting up new community organizations. For example, the Deacons for Defense and Justice, in Jonesboro, Louisiana, used CBs to ensure a rapid response to any apparent or real community threat. This invisible, yet connected and mostly unsurveilled communications network created a community of voices that allowed them to respond to racist violence. They created an audible African-American geography where everything, including their slang, resulted in a shared technoculture.

Citizen’s band radio reached all levels of American society in the 1970s. It is fascinating because it was that era’s great equalizer. Gerald Ford (1913 – 2006) became vice president in 1973, when Spiro Agnew (1918 – 1996) pleaded no contest to tax evasion and resigned. Ford then became president when Richard Nixon (1913 – 1994) resigned due to the Watergate scandal in 1974, but was defeated in the election of 1976. Ford is the only American president and vice president to serve without being elected to either office.

First Lady Betty Ford = originally, Elizabeth Anne Bloomer (1918 – 2011) was an active CB user, with license KUY9532. Her QSL card, shown above, uses the handle = radio nick name, First Mama. 88 = hugs and kisses. Most operators just stick to 73 = best wishes.

Betty Ford was outspoken, and more widely admired than her husband. In 1976, there were no women in the Senate, although there had been starting in 1921. There were 19 women in the House of Representatives.

CB radio provided a communications tool to reach people who were otherwise overlooked.

Enlightening questions, embarrassing answers and a note on Marine VHF radio

Have you ever owned a CB radio, Brock? Yes, one came with a sailboat I bought in the 1990s. People who could not afford a Marine VHS radio often installed a CB radio. Since I had a Marine VHF certificate, I expected to have a Marine VHS radio installed on board. That never happened. What was the fate of the CB radio? I gave it away, to a friend, a local farmer, who died soon after. What brand and model was it? I can’t remember.

To understand why people used CB radios, it is instructive to look at something similar, Marine VHF radio. On any waterway, emergencies can happen to any vessel, and it is important for affected operators to be able to communicate their distress, to everyone.

Wikipedia tells us: Marine VHF radio is a worldwide system of two way radio transceivers on ships and watercraft used for bidirectional voice communication from ship-to-ship, ship-to-shore (for example with harbormasters), and in certain circumstances ship-to-aircraft. It uses FM channels in the very high frequency (VHF) radio band in the frequency range between 156 and 174 MHz, inclusive, designated by the International Telecommunication Union as the VHF maritime mobile band.

Channel 16 is the International distress frequency. Monitoring it is essential. It is used all over the world to report emergencies and call for help. It can also be used by appropriate agencies to issue important information and weather warnings.

Channel 9 is specifically used for the hailing of non-commercial vessels. It is optional but useful to monitor this channel. When two vessels want to communicate, they agree on another channel, then then move over there to communicate. Monitoring of channel 9 is optional.

I see a similar value with CB radio. One can find out about traffic difficulties and, if necessary, plan an alternative route. One can find the status of energy stations.

A comment on race/ ethnicity

Many terms have been used to describe people of African-American origins. These include: Negro = black in Spanish and Portuguese, Colored and Black. This last one seems to be increasing in popularity, and is found in phrases like, Black lives matter. In 1989, Jesse Jackson (1941 – ), a civil rights activist, promoted African American. I am a product of my age, and have tried to follow Jackson’s advice. The first known use of African American was found in a sermon published in Philadelphia in 1782 that was written by an unknown person, described as: an African American. American in this context can refer to USA, North America or every part of the Americas (North, Central, Caribbean, Latin or South). This is an easy way to distinguish people of varying ethnicities, such as European Americans, Asian Americans or Native Americans, but only where referencing ethnicity is not prejudicial.

Conclusion

26–27 MHz CB radio is the oldest personal radio service and is used in nearly every country worldwide, with many countries and regions copying the United States 40-channel frequency plan. In many countries, CB radio is less popular due to the availability of other personal radio services that offer shorter antennas and better protection from noise and interference.

2024-05-102024-05-11

Kiruna

67°50′56″N 20°18′10″E

Kiruna, a short, practical name that could also be pronounced by Swedish-speaking inhabitants, means rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta), a type of grouse, in Sámi and Finnish.

The area around Kiruna has been inhabited for at least 6 000 years. For centuries the presence of iron ore at Kiirunavaara and Luossavaara had been known by the local Sámi population. Despite finding large amounts of ore, no mining was started because of the remote location and harsh climate. Some ore was extracted in the 19th century.

In the 1880s plans were made to construct a railway from Narvik to Luleå. It was built by 1903. Mining started in the early years of the 20th century. It provides 80% of Europe’s iron ore.

In 2010-06 Kiruna municipal council decided that the town would be moved eastwards (to 67°51′1″N 20°18′2″E), in the direction of Tuolluvaara, because the Kirunavaara mine undermines the existing town centre. A denser city centre with a greater focus on sustainability, green and blue infrastructure, pedestrians and public transport rather than automobiles, is being constructed. We are using this last opportunity to stay in the old town.

In the old city, abandoned buildings have their windows covered up with original works of art. Some are by unidentified artists.

God Jul! = Merry Christmas! (Jul is pronounced exactly like Yule.)

Many works are by Kena Kriström (1953 – ), born in Östersund. She is especially noted for her ice sculptures in Jukkasjärvi, 20 km east of Kiruna.

Some works are by Carina Kero Esberg (1990 – ) originally from Kiruna, now living in Luleå.

Some parts of the old city have been taken over by wild animals!

Note: Today, we had to take a train replacement bus about 72 km = 1h 10m from Narvik to Björkliden. From there we took a real train about 104 km = 1h 30m to Kiruna. On the trip Alasdair used his Blue Square app. This used his Samsung phones GPS system to tell us the speed of the train. At one time it showed 99 km/h, at another 112 km/h. We also had to wait for iron ore trains to pass.

2024-05-092024-05-11

Narvik

Tjeldsund

Coordinated public transport is not a priority in Norway. This was our shelter from the drizzle, after the first bus from Harstad, in Troms county, dropped us here. It remained parked until after the arrival of our connecting bus to Narvik, in Nordland county, 70 minutes later. The first bus is part of the Troms county bus system. The second bus is part of the Nordland county bus system.

Cityscape

The distance from Narvik to other places in the world, including the north pole. The old coat of arms with an anchor is shown at the top. Cliff Cottage is not listed, but it is 810 km south of Narvik.

City Hall anchor, formerly on the coat of arms.

Syglede = the joy of sewing. All around the world, including Narvik, people like to sew!

Sculpture

Lille Petter = LIttle Petter/ Peter by Jozef Marek (1922 – 2020). Acquired in 1961.

Narvik Freedom Monument, *Liv opp av kaos* = *Life out of chaos* made by Gunnar Olaf Finn Eriksen (1909 – 1970). Unveiled in 1956.

The relief is a copy of the relief that was unveiled on 1960-05-28 at Place de Narvik in Paris. As a tribute to the French war veterans’ association, Paul Landowski (1875 – 1961) made the relief. French veterans from the battles at Narvik handed over a copy in plaster to Narvik 1960-07-17. Narvik municipality had the relief cast in bronze and placed it on the front wall of Narvik City Hall on 1962-08-20. The relief has the following text: In memory of the allied forces who in May 1940 succeeded in the first landing in Norway, in the Narvik area, where they won a victory which they were ordered to renounce.Town

Jenter i vinden = Girls in the Wind, by Tone Thiis Schjetne (1928 – 2015).

Background: 68°25′14″N 17°33′36″E

Narvik began as a bronze age settlement. In the 1870s the Swedish government began to understand the potential of the iron ore mines in Kiruna, Sweden. Port facilities were Kiruna’s one major challenge. Luleå, the closest port, was: covered with ice all winter, far from the mine, suitable for only medium-sized bulk freighters. Narvik was developed as an all-year ice free port for the Swedish iron ore mines at Kiruna and Gällivare. Gällivarre Aktiebolag, a Swedish company, built the 298 km iron ore railway line (Malmbanan) in Sweden to the Norwegian–Swedish border. The 43 km Norwegian Ofotbanen railway line connects Narvik to the border.

On 1940-04-08, Britain attempted to lay anti-shipping minefields around Narvik in Norwegian territorial waters. On 1940-04-09 Germany invaded Norway. The Battles of Narvik were fought from 1940-04-09 to 1940-06-08, as two naval battle in Ofotfjord and a land battle in the surrounding mountains. Although the Germans were defeated at sea, lost control of Narvik and were pushed back towards the Swedish border, they eventually prevailed because of the Allied evacuation from Norway in 1940-06.

Since then, Narvik has called itself the city of peace.

This is an example of a snubblestein = trip stone, found all over Norway, but in this case on a street in Narvik. Each commemorates an individual killed in the Holocaust. This one reads: Here worked Jacob Caplan, year of birth 1903, deported 1942 Auschwitz, killed 19.3.1943.

2024-05-082024-05-16

Harstad

Foreground:

Cityscapes

The hotel we are staying at, is the tall building on the left.

Architecture

Machinery

Sculptures

To rom = Two spaces, made by Harald Oredam (1941 – ) in 2003. On the Norwegian Arctic University campus.

Skarven = The Cormorant,, a sculpture made in 1976 by Hans Gjertsen (1917-2006).

Background: Harstad at 68° 48′ 0″ N, 16° 32′ 45″ E is in Troms county, on the coast, in the north of Norway. The surrounding area has traditionally been among the most productive agricultural regions in the county. Isostatic rebound, after the last glaciation, has caused the old seabed, now dry land, to rise up to 60 to 80 metres above sea level. This creates fertile soil, well-suited to farming.

2024-05-042024-05-04

Basic: A tidbit

Thomas E. Kurtz (left) and John G. Kemeny, developers of BASIC

On 1964-05-01 mathematicians John G. Kemeny (1926 – 1992) and Thomas E. Kurtz (1928 – ) successfully ran a program written in BASIC = Beginner’s All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code, on Dartmouth college’s General Electric GE-225 mainframe computer.

Deception is a key word to describe General Electric’s (GE) computers. GE was founded 1892-04-15 in Schenectady, New York. In the 1960s, Chairman Ralph J. Cordiner (1900 – 1973) had forbidden GE from entering the general purpose computer business. General Manager of GE’s Computer Department in Phoenix, Arizona, Homer R. “Barney” Oldfield (1916 – 2000) claimed that the GE-200 series would produce industrial control computers. When Cordiner discovered he had been duped, he immediately fired Oldfield. Despite this, production of the computer series continued as a profitable venture for several years.

For the technically interested, only. The GE-225 used a 20-bit word, of which 13 bits could be used for an address. Along with a central processing unit (CPU) the system could also contain a floating-point unit (FPU) = Auxiliary Arithmetic Unit (AAU). Alternatively, there was a fixed-point decimal option with three six-bit decimal digits per word. It had eleven I/O channel controllers. The machines were built using about 10 000 discrete transistors and 20 000 diodes. They used magnetic-core memory, and a standard 8 kiloword system held 186 000 magnetic cores. A base level mainframe weighed about 910 kg. GE sold a variety of add-ons including storage disks and printers.

I imagine that both GE and the computer department at Dartmouth were attempting to use each other. GE probably wanted a functioning operating system, but didn’t have the human resources to make it. Dartmouth College wanted a computer, but didn’t have the money to buy it. The result was a compromise that benefited both. In 1963, Kemeny applied for a National Science Foundation grant to bring a GE-225 computer to Dartmouth and build a general-purpose time-sharing system, essentially an operating system. This time-share approach was to allow others (Read: faculty and students) to access the mainframe computer and run programs using BASIC. It just took a year to implement.

While Dartmouth College copyrighted BASIC, it was made freely available to everyone. The name originated from Kurtz’s wish for a simple but meaningful acronym. Kurtz, in an open letter, reiterates that BASIC was invented to give students a simple programming language that was easy to learn. It was meant for amateurs, not computing professionals.

Language standards were created: The European Computer Manufacturers Association (ECMA), was founded in 1961 to promote computing standards in Europe. They released their version of BASIC standards in 1986. This was followed in 1987 by the American National Standards Institute ( ANSI) releasing its version of the standards. In 1991, ECMA was renamed ECMA International.

In 1975, Paul Allen and Bill Gates adapted BASIC for personal computers like the Altair 8800. I am uncertain of Gates’ motivations. At this early stage, he undoubtedly appreciated BASIC, as he fell into the amateur category, rather than being a professional (system) programmer. My perspective is that he capitalized on the work of others: Kemeny and Kurtz with BASIC; Tim Paterson (1967 – ) with a Quick and Dirty Operating System (QDOS) at Seattle Computer Products, that became MS-DOS for Microsoft.

In 1976, Steve Wozniak developed a BASIC interpreter for the Apple I which subsequently became Integer BASIC for the Apple II in 1977. More BASIC followed with the personal computer (PC), in 1982.

In 1991, Microsoft developed Visual Basic. Over the years new variants emerged such as Microsoft Small Basic, in 2008. It teaches beginners programming concepts. Basic and similarly languages are important because they emphasize simplicity, readability, and ease of use.

Kemeny and Kurtz’ work on BASIC was recognized by the American professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (IEEE) as part of their milestone program which marks historic places for human innovation from around the world. Places honored include Thomas Edison’s lab in Menlo Park, New Jersey, where he invented the light bulb and phonograph, and the hilltop outside Bologna, Italy where Guglielmo Marconi sent the first transatlantic radio transmission. On 2021-02-22 a plaque was placed outside of the computer lab at Collis Center, 2 N Main St, Hanover, NH 03755, U.S.A. The citation reads: Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code (BASIC) was created in this building. During the mid-1970s and 1980s, BASIC was the principal programming language used on early microcomputers. Its simplicity and wide acceptance made it useful in fields beyond science and mathematics, and enabled more people to harness the power of computation.

Notes

Kemeny was president of Dartmouth College from 1970 to 1981 and pioneered the use of computers in tertiary education. He chaired the presidential commission that investigated the Three Mile Island nuclear meltdown of the Unit 2 reactor (TMI-2) of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station on the Susquehanna River, near Harrisburg, PA. The reactor accident occurred 1979-03-28, and released radioactive gases and radioactive iodine into the environment, resulting in the worst accident in the American commercial nuclear power plant history.

I have written about Dartmouth College before. The Synclavier synthesizer was developed there.

2024-04-242024-04-21

Dick Tracy wristware

Cartoonist Chester Gould’s created the Dick Tracy comic strip. It was first published in 1931. Gould received permission to use Gross’ concept of a miniaturized two-way radio. It first appeared 1946. This was followed by a two-way television, celebrated here, in 1964.

Alan Hall begins his 1999-05-03 article, Hello, This is Dick Tracy, in Scientific American, with: Cartoon detective Dick Tracy has been calling on his wristwatch radio to get out of sticky situations since 1946. Back then, when a two-way communication was about as portable as a filing cabinet, it was pretty amazing stuff–and it had the comic strip’s young fans mumbling into toy watches for years.

Technology improves, or at least changes, and this weblog post is published on the 60th anniversary of Dick Tracy’s 2-Way Wrist TV, that first appeared in the comic strip on 1964-04-24.

Cartoonist Chester Gould’s (1900 – 1985) created the Dick Tracy comic strip. It was first published 1931-10-04. Gould received permission to use Al Gross’ (1918 – 2000) concept of a miniaturized two-way radio. It first appeared 1946-01-13.

In Dick Tracy’s world, the 2-Way Wrist Radio was an invention of industrialist Diet Smith’s son, Brilliant. Like many of Smith’s inventions, it was only available to the MCU = major crime unit, of the police. It allowed audio communication, and was powered by a strong atomic battery. An aerial wire ran up the inside of the wearer’s sleeve. It was considered superior to bulky walkie-talkies or other radio devices, and was used very effectively by Dick Tracy and others involved with law enforcement.

The 2-Way Wrist TV was an upgrade developed by Diet Smith Industries. It allowed users to transmit images of themselves, rather than only their voices. It also featured a 180-degree range of vision and an atomic light. The Wrist TV coincided with Dick Tracy’s first adventures with the Lunarians of Moon Valley.

In 1984, the criminal known as Big Brother developed a technology that could intercept transmissions made via the 2-Way Wrist TV which enabled him to monitor the activities of Dick Tracy and the MCU. He sold his technology to members of the criminal underworld, but was eventually caught and arrested.

After Gould died, the 2-Way Wrist TV was upgraded to a 2-Way Wrist Computer by his successors writer Max Allen Collins (1948 -) and illustrator Dick Lochner (1928 -2017) on 1986-06-13. Once again, in the fictional world, this upgrade was developed by Diet Smith. It added a long-range wireless datalink that allowed the wearer to have easy access to various databases for fingerprints, license plates, firearms and more. It also incorporated a lie detector and a probe for on-scene chemical evidence analysis.

At some, for me unknown, point, 2-Way was removed from the description of wearable devices. The Wrist Computer constantly monitored the wearer’s heartbeat to guard against unauthorized usage of the device (since the heartbeat is as distinctive as a fingerprint). This feature also worked with a homing device to enable police dispatch to be immediately alerted that the wearer required assistance if the detected heartbeat showed irregularities or stopped.

The Wrist Computer was later upgraded with the ability to read micro data discs, referred to as a Wrist-Disc.

The next improvement was the Wrist Geenee, introduced 1997-03-26 by Mike Kilian (1939-2005), who had taken over as writer in 1993, and Dick Lochner. In the story world, this upgrade was developed, once again, by Diet Smith. Shortly after Dick Tracy was presented with a prototype, it was stolen off his desk by Rocksie. Rocksie used the Geenee’s holographic projector to free Nutsy and his gang from jail. They then used the Geenee to commit more crimes.

The Geenee included RADAR and SONAR capabilities, holographic projection, an ability to trace phone numbers, heat/ motion sensors, GPS link, laser and X-ray capabilities, computer password detector/decoder that could accurately sense a safe’s lock combination.

Tracy tracked Nutsy, Rocksie, and the rest of their gang to a store that they were attempting to rob. Rocksie threw the Wrist Geenee at Tracy, who caught the delicate prototype. Rocksie escaped, but Nutsy and his gang were arrested.

A later version of the Wrist Geenee had a taser. Tracy continued to use the Wrist Geenee for several years until it was upgraded to the Wrist Wizard, yet another invention of Diet Smith. Detective Frisk kept her Wrist Geenee after she was abducted by Clair Howell. She used it to contact Dick Tracy. He was initially puzzled to receive a message coming from outdated technology.

The Wrist Wizard was introduced by writer Mike Curtis (1953 -) and illustrator Joe Staton (1948 -) on 2011-07-06, during Dick Tracy’s encounter with B-B Eyes, previously presumed-deceased. In addition to features in previous devices, including two-way video communication, GPS, a National Crime Information Center (NCIC) link, it also came with a light-projected keyboard, and responded to eye blinks when its user was injured/ incapacitated.

Diet Smith issued a Wrist Wizard to his goddaughter, Honeymoon Tracy, who was also Dick’s granddaughter and the daughter of his adopted son, Junior. She used it during her encounter with B-B Eyes. Shortly after that, Blackjack was able to steal Dick Tracy’s Wrist Wizard, to add to his collection of Tracy memorabilia.

Some time later, the MCU’s Wrist Wizards were re-fitted into casings that made them resemble the original 2-Way Wrist Radio. Earlier models had faulty batteries that could explode. This was a factor in Tracy’s defeat of Mr. Bones, who was using Blackjack’s outdated Wrist Wizard.

In 2011, Tracy and the MCU temporarily reverted to using 2-Way Wrist Radios so they could communicate without having their calls intercepted by the high-tech devices being used by Willie the Fifth and Flyface.

In 2016-12, Tracy’s Wrist Wizard suffered an explosive malfunction which prompted Diet Smith to issue a safety recall. The Wrist Wizard was replaced by a Wrist Communicator that superficially resembled a 2-way Wrist Radio, but with many of the equivalent functions of the newer design.

Much of the above content was taken from the Dick Tracy section of the Fandom website.

The Real Dick Tracy Wrist ~~Radio~~ Watch

In 2015, Nick Mathis made a Dick Tracy watch prototype in his workshop, an apartment closet, using Fusion 360 and a desktop CNC machine. Shapeways was used to 3D print it. In 2016, Nick and Charlie Mathis purchased a license from the Dick Tracy rights holders, TMS News & Features, LLC.

Fusion 360 is digital prototyping software, incorporating commercial computer-aided design, manufacturing, engineering and printed circuit board software. It comes in Windows, macOS and web browser standard versions , as well as simplified versions for Android and iOS. It was developed by Autodesk, best known for their AutoCAD software.

Shapeways is a New York based, but global, 3D printing service, publicly traded company, with Dutch origins. Users design and upload 3D printable files. Shapeways prints the objects. It can also provide marketing services, where needed. Objects can be printed in about 55 different materials and finishes, including plastics and precious as well as non-ferrous base metals.

In 2018, the Mathis brothers created a working Dick Tracy watch with an integrated Bluetooth module, microphone and speaker. It can be considered a Wrist Radio, because it allows users to make and receive calls from a paired smartphone. Yes, that means that it will not work independently of a smartphone.

In addition to an oil-tanned leather strap, the device has a vintage styled stainless steel body, sapphire crystal face, and a mesh grill to cover speakerphone components. It also has a button to activate a voice assistant.

On 2018-07-13 the Mathis brothers, through their company Ivory & Horn, had received pledges of USD 106 490 of a goal of USD 30 000 on Indiegogo from 321 backers. On 2020-11-20, Nick Matis reported that all watches had been shipped! he concluded with …

Thank you.

It was a wild ride for you and, while I am relieved to wind it down for us both, I am also grateful for the opportunity to deliver our analog watches to such a passionate and generous group of people. I hope it brings you as much joy as it does me for many years. Thank you.

This campaign and the first analog 2016 model would not have been possible without my brother Charlie and our investor. I cannot understate my gratitude for the risk they took, the patience they showed, and the perseverance they maintained in trying to make the world’s first “real working” Dick Tracy watch come to life for us all. In the end, we did make a watch and I am very proud to have shared it with people all over the world. Thank you.

Onward and upward to the next project, folks.

Over and out,

Nick Mathis

Other Wristware

I am no longer tempted to own any wristware, including a Dick Tracy Radio, TV, Computer, Disc, Geenee, Wizard or Communicator. Both Trish and I have owned Wyse watches, but our enthusiasm for them died almost immediately. They occupied less volume than a smartphone, but did not offer anywhere near the same functionality. Our compromise is to use a small smartphone, currently an Asus Zenfone 9, and to wear clothing with pockets that will hold them, when they are not in use.

We have younger family members and friends who do use wristware. The main advantage is that these can be used when exercising to measure distances and elevation differences, especially when walking/ running/ skiing on trails.

2024-04-142024-04-04

Rachel Carson (1907 – 1964)

Official photo of Rachel Carson ca. 1940, taken by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

This weblog post has been published on the 60th anniversary of the death of Rachel Carson on 1964-04-14. She died of cancer, at the age of 56. This was the second death of a prominent, yet relatively young person in a matter of months. The first was the assassination of American president John Kennedy (1917 – 1963). The comment, relatively young, is written by someone at the age of 75. For someone 15 years old, fifty years probably seemed an eternity into the future.

As I started writing this post, I was reading the 1998 collection, Lost Woods, the Discovered Writings of Rachel Carson, edited and with an introduction by Linda Lear (1940 – ). This was the fifth book I read, written by Rachel Carson.

The first book I read of hers was the third that Carson wrote, The Edge of the Sea (1955). It revealed the shoreline, that part of the sea accessible to a young person, probably not yet a teenager. The focus was on three edges: rocky, sandy and coral. The focus was on the east coast of North America. The rocky shores were typical of the Cape Ann region of Massachusetts, the sandy shores were of the intermediate coast off the Carolinas, while the corals were part of the Florida Keys.

The second book of hers that I read was her second book, The Sea Around Us (1951). It is often described as poetic. That term was foreign to me. I regarded it as providing me with deeper insights into life into oceans depths. It too was divided into three sections: Mother Sea, The Restless Sea, and Man and the Sea About Him.

These two books prompted an interest in marine biology, and in microscopy. I still have my compound microscope from 1962. I used it to study and make photomicrographs of plankton I had harvested using a home-made plankton net, that was essential equipment on my home-made 2.4 m = 8′ long Sabot dinghy.

The third book of hers that I read was her fourth book, Silent Spring (1962). It had nothing to do with the sea, but with birds, and how the overuse of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and other synthetic pesticides, was responsible for a decline in bird populations — the silencing of birds. At one point I voiced my concerns to my uncle Harry, an etymologist, who chastised me for my concerns, saying that DDT had saved the lives of millions of people.

The fourth book I read by Carson, was her first book, Under the Sea Wind (1941). It describes the behavior of three Atlantic coast organisms that live both on and in the sea on the Atlantic coast. Under the Sea Wind consists of three parts, each following a different organism that interacts with the sea, and viewing it from a personified organism’s perspective. The first section, Edge of the Sea, follows a female sanderling (Calidris alba, Pallas, 1764), a small wading bird Carson names Silverbar. The second section, The Gull’s Way, follows an Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus, Linnaeus, 1758) named Scomber. The third section, River and Sea follows an American eel (Anguilla rostrata, Lesueur, 1817), Anguilla.

These were not the only books I read about the sea. To understand what was happening on the Pacific coast I used Edward Rickett’s (1897 – 1948) Between Pacific Tides (1939), as a guide. To gain a better understanding of what was happening in the depths of the ocean I also read William Beebe (1877 – 1962) as he descended in his bathosphere in Half Mile Down (1934).

As is the case with most of the books I read as a child, the books cited here were borrowed, often repeatedly, from New Westminster public library, located a convenient three blocks away from my childhood home. These books were not in the Children’s department, so I had to have special permission to borrow them.

I now have paper editions of Carson’s four earliest books, along with digital editions of these and some others written by her, or about her. I also have a paper edition of Between Pacific Tides.

Many people believe that there is a direct connection between Carson and Earth Day, first celebrated in 1970. For the most part Earth Day is harmless, and doesn’t require anyone to make changes to their consumer way of life. I am even more skeptical about Carson inspiring the Responsible Care program was established in 1988 by the Chemical Manufacturers Association (now American Chemistry Council) to help the chemical industry improve its safe management of chemicals from manufacture to disposal. I see it as an attempt to focus public attention away from the damage done by chemical manufacturers.

When these chemicals first came on the market, they appeared almost miraculous. Swiss chemist Paul Hermann Müller (1899 – 1965) had shown in 1939, that DDT eradicated insect populations in the control of vector diseases such as malaria and yellow fever. For this he received the 1948 Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine. It was noted that DDT sprayed from airplanes eliminated the malaria- and dengue fever–carrying mosquitoes that sickened and killed American soldiers in the Pacific war theater. These wartime successes led to postwar applications, with chemical companies selling DDT to farmers to reduce crop loss to insects. Tropical nations used it to prevent mosquitoes from spreading malaria.

In the 1950s the chemical industry created new pesticides and herbicides, such as chlordane and heptachlor for killing insects and 2,4-D to control sagebrush growth on western U.S. roadsides.

Carson’s most important skill was connecting existing data from many areas and synthesizing them to create a coherent narrative. In Silent Spring, this was about the effects persistent chemicals had on the landscape and its inhabitants, only some of which were human.

Carson did not condemn all chemicals, only the reckless and irresponsible poisoning of the world that man shares with all other creatures. She followed DDT from the time it was sprayed on alfalfa, through alfalfa-fed hens, into the eggs, and finally into the egg-eating humans. Then she explained, in terms readers could understand, that chemicals like dieldrin, were used to kill pests, but ended up being stored in the body. Plants, animals and people formed an interconnected web, affected by these chemical compounds.

There was a vindictive reaction from Chemical manufacturers. Velsicol Chemical Corporation, which produced chlordane and heptachlor, threatened Carson’s publisher with a lawsuit. Monsanto Company published an essay, The Desolate Year to show that without pesticides and herbicides farmers would be unable to produce enough food for a growing population and that preventable diseases would continue to kill people. Others chastised Carson for failing to mention chemical successes.

Robert A. Roland (1931 – 2013), president of the Chemical Manufacturers Association from 1978 to 1993, later admitted that the chemical industry had made a mistake in not properly engaging with Carson and addressing the environmental issues she wrote about.

President Kennedy ordered the Science Advisory Committee to review pesticide and herbicide experiments. It published its findings a year later and acknowledged some links such as that between DDT and liver damage. Later, the report was regarded as being less than forthright.

Silent Spring changed how people saw the world around them. It initiated the modern environmental movement, and influenced government regulation of pesticides and other chemicals, especially environmental effects.

In 1972 the U.S.Senate banned DDT, encouraged by the emergence of new environmental organizations like the Environmental Defense Fund. Chlordane was banned completely in 1988. Restrictions were placed on the use of heptachlor.

Silent Spring changed how governments, industry and agriculture respond to chemical ills.

Thank you, Rachel Carson, for helping to enlighten me to the dangers of chemicals in the environment. Without your efforts, I am uncertain how long it would have taken for this awareness to emerge.