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RadFabLab

A Red Pitaya software defined radio (SDR) with a field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA).

The reason for this weblog post is to highlight one need, among many, for special equipment during emergencies. This equipment should be distributed geographically so that it is available when and where required. One of the unfortunate consequences of climate change is the expected increase in extreme situations.

In addition to climate challenges, Europe is facing political challenges, definitely from Russia, possibly from USA, but in a less life-threatening way. In addition to any type of weapon wounding or killing people, a nuclear weapon could poison/ pollute water, or otherwise disrupt modern life.

Preserving life and comfort

For warmth, we have a wood burning stove in our house, should that be necessary. We also have a minimum level of potable = drinkable water. We have 120 litres stored. We also have supplies of dried food, warm clothing and bedding. Yes, some of this clothing is stored in the playshop, sufficently far from the house that we can reach it, should the house be on fire.

One of the main problems has to do with electricity especially for communication. Communication masts typically have three hours of battery life. All cellphones are dependent on these masts. Three hours is insufficient for a long-term ongoing emergency. Thus, one may have to rely on something other than cell phones or an internet based on fibre-optic cables.

One potential answer is radio. A major part of the training of radio amateurs, is teaching them the fundamentals of electronics so that they are capable of building and repairing their equipment. As society becomes increasingly wealthy, it is often easier to just purchase an off-the-shelf machine. Unfortunately, this may not be a solution in an emergency situation.

In 2022, two years into the last pandemic, the supply of electronic components had become chaotic. In Norway, the one retail chain that did sell them, had eliminated this entire category from their sales inventory, so that consumers increasingly needed to import components directly. This had some benefits, in that direct import is considerably cheaper. Most of the components appear to be sourced from China. Most seem to be made somewhere in Asia.

The situation is somewhat different in 2025. There are more components available, but the cost has increased. My son bought some RAM in 2025-07 for NOK 2 800. By 2025-12, the price had risen to NOK 8 000. That said, import after a catastrophic event is not a suitable response to a catastrophe. One has to develop a solution, such as an equipment building capability in advance of the catastrophic event.

Amateur radio is an important part of Norway’s preparedness under abnormal conditions. A radio lab is desirable due to:
· Lack of production of radios and electronic components in Norway
· Uncertain delivery of components from abroad
· Lack of skilled workers in Norway when it comes to assembling components into radios

The solution is to find a suitable location for a radio fabrication laboratory = RadFabLab. Previously, I have written about Industry 4.0, as well workshop activism, as well as some of the issues involved in setting up a mechatronic workshop. Despite being an obnoxious patriot for my home municipality, I am not sure that Inderøy should be the only location for such a facility, despite its central location in Norway. In fact, it may be better to have several locations.

For example, Vestland county has the attributes necessary for the establishment of RadFabLab, including a relatively large and enthusiastic mass of radio amateurs. This does not have to be in Bergen, the most populous city/ municipality in Vestlandet county. It could be located on an offshore island, such as Øygarden, possibly a village like Steinsland. RadFabLab would have to purchase a sufficient number of components from abroad, to build up a warehouse supply. It would also have to purchase basic machinery, including a Canadian built Voltera V-One for circuit board production and soldering of surface mounted technology (SMT) components.

Once established, it could provide training to people in mechatronics, so that they are able to assemble components for radios and other products that are needed, including antennas. However, in time, it might also want to work with drones and unmanned underwater vehicles. The latter is usually divided into remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), that are tethered to the surface, and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), that operate independently. I mention this because I spent several years attempting to teach people how to build ROVs.

Computer Programming

Many people have invested considerable time learning programming languages, and may want to use them. Forget learning (or even remembering) old languages such as Algol, Basic, Cobol, Fortran or possibly even Pascal. Yes, I am less dogmatic about this last language, if only because it is still one of the most popular languages, ranking 8th. The language was originally developed by Apple Computer as Clascal for the Lisa Workshop development system in 1983. As Lisa gave way to Macintosh, Apple collaborated with Niklaus Wirth (1934 – 2024), the author of Pascal, to develop an officially standardized version of Clascal. This was renamed Object Pascal. Through the mid-1980s, Object Pascal was the main programming language for early versions of the MacApp application framework. The language lost its place as the main development language on the Mac in 1991 with the release of the C++-based MacApp 3.0. Official support ended in 1996.

If one wants to learn an older language, stick to C, originally developed in 1972 and 1973, by Dennis Ritchie (1941 – 2011) at Bell Laboratories. It was originally used to implement operating systems, device drivers and protocol stacks, but its use in application software has been decreasing. Currently, this is the second most popular language, according to the TIOBE index. An object oriented variant, C++, was developed and implemented by Bjarne Stroustrup (1950 – ), a Dane, about 1983 – 1985. It ranks third in popularity on this index. TIOBE Software BV, based in Eindhoven, Netherlands regularly reconstructs this index. TIOBE stands for The Importance of Being Earnest, the title of an 1895 comedy play by Oscar Wilde (1854–1900), to emphasize the organization’s sincere and professional attitude towards customers, suppliers and colleagues (their words).

Younger users may want to use more modern languages, such as Python, a high-level, general-purpose programming language. Its design philosophy emphasizes code readability with the use of significant indentation. Python is dynamically type-checked and garbage-collected. It supports multiple programming paradigms, including structured, object-oriented and functional programming. Guido van Rossum (1956 – ), a Dutch programmer, began working on Python in the late 1980s.

Other languages may be useful for other activities apart from building radios. JavaScript continues to be essential for web development. Web browsers have a dedicated JavaScript engine that executes the client code. These engines are also utilized in some servers and a variety of apps. JavaScript was created by Brendan Eich (1961 – ), an American who worked for Mozilla, in 1995. Other important tools here are Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), but initially released by the Worldwide WEB consortium (W3C) in 1993. Development is now undertaken by the Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group (WHATWG) founded by representatives from Apple Inc., the Mozilla Foundation and Opera Software, leading web browser vendors in 2004. Related to it are Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), initially developed in 1996 by the W3C, and currently maintained by them.

Programmable Logic Devices

A programmable logic device (PLD) is an electronic component used to build reconfigurable digital circuits. Unlike circuits made using discrete components with fixed functions, the function of a PLD is undefined at the time of manufacture. Before the PLD can be used in a circuit it must be programmed to implement the desired functions. This simplifies design processes and may even offer superior performance. Field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), allow flexibility in digital circuit design.

There are several books that cover FPGA programming. The one I use is by Frank Bruno and Guy Eschemann, The FPGA Programming Handbook: An Essential Guide to FPGA Design for Transforming Your Ideas into Hardware Using SystemVerilog and VHDL, 2nd Edition (2024). This approach uses a hardware description language rather than writing traditional software programs.

SystemVerilog is a language with syntax similar to the C programming language. It is case-sensitive and has a basic preprocessor, admittedly less sophisticated than that of ANSI C/C++). Its control flow keywords (if/else, for, while, case, etc.) are equivalent, and its operator precedence is compatible with C. Syntactic differences include: required bit-widths for variable declarations, demarcation of procedural blocks (Verilog uses begin/end instead of curly braces {}), and many other minor differences. Verilog requires that variables be given a definite size.

A word of warning. Do not leave system programming to Artificial Intelligence bots. Sometimes, what they develop may work, but often one will get undesirable results, that may only become evident in an emergency situation.

RadFabLab should be able to provide a physical space for activities, with level-differentiated equipment. It should cater to all/ both genders, and all ages from junior high school and up. It should be a place where ideas, knowledge and opinions are shared in a friendly and cooperative atmosphere. It should provide basic training as well as certification involving the use of specific tools and competencies. In addition, after training is complete, there should be opportunities for independent work.

Notes:

I studied applied physics at Andøya Space, under its previous names Andøya Space Centre and Andøya Rocket Range. Because of its remote location on an island in Northern Norway, all students had to fly in using the island’s military airport. At the space centre, comfortable accommodation was provided for all students attending, along with catered meals, and social activities in the evening.

I am a member of the Norwegian Radio Relay League. I own several amateur radios, including a 1971 Ten(nessee) Tec(hnology) Argonaut 505 with serial number 388, made in the Great Smokey mountains at Sevierville, Tennessee, and a more modern Red Pitaya with a FPGA unit.

Publication of this weblog post had been postponed. It was originally scheduled to be published on 2023-04-22 at 12:00.

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Gjerdrum

Disasters happen! A quick clay landslide occurred at Ask village, in Gjerdrum municipality, Norway. Police received the first reports at 03:56 on 2020-12-30. That was almost five years before this post’s publication. There were 14 buildings, with 31 residences, destroyed in the incident that killed eleven people (two of those deaths involved a pregnant woman), injured another ten, and left the village devastated.

This post looks generally at the technology used in search and rescue operations in Norway, using the Gjerdrum landslide as an example.

Image of the area of the landslide in Ask, Gjerdrum, taken from Brådalslia on 2021-01-02, about a year after the landslide. Photo: Tommy Gildseth

Reading the Wikipedia article about the landslide, one can find a list of the resources involved in rescue efforts. One of the first on the scene was a 14-person Urban Search and Rescue squad from the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency. Yes, the Swedes were able to get into place before many of the Norwegians. Thank you, Sweden. I read content from this agency, who send me regular updates. The agency provides information bulletins in Swedish, but they also have an English language website.

Ask is not an isolated location. It is 33.3 km (slightly over 20 miles) north-east of Norway’s capital, Oslo. It takes half-an hour to drive there from the centre of Oslo!

Notification

The Norwegian rescue service can be notified in several ways when people need urgent assistance. Unfortunately, instead of using a single emergency number, Norway has several numbers in use.

Fire = 110.
Police = 112.
Medical = 113.
Coastal radio (incidents at sea) = 120.
Direct telephone number to rescue centers: Northern Norway 75 55 90 00 / Southern Norway 51 51 70 00.

On our telephones, we have an app which helps us choose the correct number to call: Hjelp 113 app (Norwegian) and Help 113 app (English). These have all emergency numbers in one place, as well as other important numbers. It displays the telephone’s coordinates and the location of the nearest defibrillator in Norway at all times. The app is created by the Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation and is under continuous development.

Procedures for use of Hjelp/ Help 113: Download or update the app from Apple Store or Google Play. Launch the app after downloading. Register the mobile number. Use it when one: 1) needs to call an emergency number, 2) requires a defibrillator, or 3) wants to know one’s geographic position = coordinates.

Usually, the position is sent to the emergency center with the Advanced Mobile Location (AML) system, which exists in almost all mobile phones. The Hjelp 113 app does the same. However, with the app, the phone user can see the coordinates. These can be read out to the emergency center if it has not received your position due to your foreign phone number. If phone coverage is not available at an incident site, one can take a screenshot of the coordinates where the patient is located and then go to an area with coverage. One can then read out the correct coordinates for where the patient is. Both Trish and I have this app on our phones.

Only the emergency number 112 can be called from a locked mobile phone and without a SIM card. Other emergency numbers are treated as regular phone numbers by the mobile phone.

The number 1412 is a text telephone service in Norway, specially adapted for the deaf, hearing impaired and speech impaired. It makes it possible to communicate with the emergency services and other important agencies via text instead of voice.

You can send SMS to the emergency numbers 110 (fire), 112 (police) and 113 (ambulance). However, to use the service you must register in advance via nodsms.no.

Helicopters

On Christmas Day (2025-12-25) Alasdair and I watched series 2 episode 9 of Reddet = Saved, a Norwegian TV2 documentary series about the Norwegian Airforce helicopter rescue service. This episode, made in 2020, was about the Gjerdrum landslide, where this service rescued 13 people. The search and rescue (SAR) helicopter in use was a license-built variant of the Sikorsky S-61 with twin Rolls-Rolls Gnome turboshaft engines and different avionics, designated a Sea King, by its British manufacturer Westland Helicopters. The model designation is a misspelling of seeking.

The Norwegian government has decided to purchase 16 AW101 SAR Queen helicopters to replace their Westland Sea King rescue helicopters. The AW101 replaced the Sea King at Sola on 2020-09-01, at Ørland on 2021-05-14, at Banak on 2022-02-25, Bodø on 2022-12-12, at Rygge on 2023-12-11 and, finally, at Florø on 2024-09-27.

The need for the police to have advanced helicopters became clear after Anders Brevik (1979 – ) killed 77 people, including 8 in a bombing of the Norwegian Government’s offices in Oslo, and 69 at a Labour Party summer youth camp on Utøya island in Tyrifjorden, a lake. Of those killed, 33 were under 18 years of age. Utøya is about 38 km north-west of Oslo, by car and boat.

Back to the landslide. A police helicopter, viewing the landslide from a slightly different angle, was able to direct the rescue helicopter to locations where people needed rescuing. This police helicopter was a Leonardo AW169 with twin Pratt & Whitney Canada PW210A FADEC turboshaft engines that drive the main rotor with variable speed to reduce noise and increase its effectiveness. It is capable of carrying 10 people (including pilot and co-pilot). It was developed and produced by the Italian Leonardo.

With greater range and transport capacity, the AW169 has the largest cabin in its class, with space to transport six officers and equipment, and the largest sliding doors in its class (1.6 meters wide), which is an advantage if the helicopter is to be used as a support platform for snipers.

In the Reddet episode the last two people to be rescued narrated their experience. Their house was moved 400 m during the landslide.

During this incident, Andøya Space engaged in aerial surveillance and provided drone data to rescue coordinators. Norwegian Radio Relay League, the national association of amateur radio operators, was responsible for organizing signals and communication, including/ especially keeping track of the geographical position of all active searchers.

Drones

Local Norwegian fire and rescue departments increasingly use drones to assist in their activities. The standard drone is the DJI Matrice 300. These are designed for industrial applications, including surveying, inspection, search and rescue and firefighting. It has a folding design, with an IP45 protection rating, downward-facing motors, a 6-direction collision avoidance system, a D-RTK module provides high-precision navigation and positioning with centimeter-level accuracy using real-time differential corrections, to enhance the drone’s positioning capabilities. This allows it to be used for surveying and mapping applications where accuracy is critical. The model was released in 2020-07. An updated 350 version was released in 2023-05, and a 400 version was released in 2025-06.

General characteristics (300 model)

Capacity: 2 700 g (6.0 lb) payload.
Length: 0.810 m (2 ft 8 in) or 0.430 m (1 ft 4.9 in) folded.
Width: 0.670 m (2 ft 2 in) or 0.420 m (1 ft 4.5 in) folded.
Height: 0.430 m (1 ft 5 in).
Empty weight: 3.600 kg (8 lb) excluding battery
Max takeoff weight: 9.000 kg (20 lb)
Battery capacity: 52.8V 5935 mAh (274 Wh)
Powerplant: 4 × DJI 6009 brushless DC electric motor (downward-facing).
Propellers: 2-bladed DJI 2110, 0.53 m (1 ft 9 in) diameter.

Performance

Maximum speed: 82.8 km/h = 51.4 mph = 44.7 kn.
Endurance: 45 minutes with 700 g (1.5 lb).
Service ceiling: 5 000 m (16,000 ft).
Rate of climb: 6 m/s (1,200 ft/min).

Avionics

Camera: 960p FPV camera.
Gimbal compatibility: Zenmuse H20, H20N, H20T, L1, P1, XT S, XT2, Z30.
GNSS compatibility: GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo.
Transmission system: OcuSync Enterprise

Barentswatch

BarentsWatch information portal was launched in 2012. It provides an overview of activity and knowledge in coastal and sea areas. The system covers sea and coastal areas from Denmark in the south, to Greenland in the west, the North Pole in the north and Novaja Semlja in the east.

The establishment of the BarentsWatch information system is based on cooperation between 27 Norwegian state agencies and research institutes. The system headquarters is in Tromsø, in Northern Norway. Kongsberg Spacetec provided system integration.

This service will provide all participants in Norwegian rescue service with a joint tool for coordinating their own efforts on an operational and tactical level. The overarching goal is to reduce loss of life and improve health by enhancing the quality and efficiency in executing search and rescue missions in Norway.

This tool is intended to facilitate a faster startup of a rescue operation and strengthen cooperation among the various public, private and volunteer players that constitute the Norwegian rescue service. The tool will contribute to a greater degree of shared situational understanding during search and rescue operations.

The request to create a shared support tool for the rescue service came from the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) early in 2022, based on the notion to build upon the existing Shared Resources Information Repository (FRR) service. An operational expert group, representing key players in the Norwegian rescue service, contribute with professional understanding and continuous evaluation of the comprehensive solution during innovation and development. The group consists of representatives from the Police, the Police Academy, the Norwegian Red Cross, the Norwegian People’s Aid, the Norwegian Rescue Dogs, the Norwegian Radio Relay League and the Scouts’ Emergency Groups.

The map below shows use of the FRR service. The red dot at the centre of the concentric circles shows the last known position of a missing person. The first concentric circle is 300 m from that point, and represents the area where there is a 25% chance of finding that person. The second circle is 1 100 m from the centre, and there is another 25% chance of finding that person. I calculate that the third circle is about 2.5 km from the centre, and represents yet another 25% possibility. The final 25% chance of finding that person is beyond that third circle. Resources associated with the map include helicopters, boats, fire vehicles, ATVs, other motor vehicles, people and dogs.

Notes:

I studied applied physics at Andøya Space, under its previous names Andøya Space Centre and Andøya Rocket Range. Because of its remote location on an island in Northern Norway, all students had to fly in using the island’s military airport. At the space centre, comfortable accommodation was provided for all students attending, along with catered meals, and social activities in the evening.

I am a member of the Norwegian Radio Relay League.

Publication of this weblog post had been postponed. It was originally scheduled to be published on 2023-04-22 at 12:00.

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The future of photography

An AI generated image of a man from Alabama, alphabetically USA’s first state. This originally appeared in a Buzz Feed article written by Dave Stopera.

On 2023-07-11, Dave Stopera (? – ) published an article in Buzz Feed, titled: I Asked AI What Europeans Think Americans From Every Single State Look Like, And The Results Are Just Plain Mean. The article mainly consisted of 50 images of people, of which the first one appears above. This artificially generated image shows what artificial intelligent (AI) agents think typical people from Alabama look like. Since this is an AI generated image, it is not supposed to be copyrightable.

AI means that photographers no longer need to meet living people, enter environments, or do anything that resembles using a camera to take a photo. All they need do is describe an image, then wait until some computer generates it, then sends it onward to some browser.

The first task of anyone wanting to produce real (not AI) photographs is to develop the technical skills involved in producing a photograph. Fifty years ago that involved both camera and darkroom work, although many outsourced the processing, and accepted a base-line product. Today, digitization has eliminated darkrooms, and there are many different commercial and open-source products available to manipulate images.

For sixty-five years, I have been following photo technology. The fundamental product in my youth was the 35 mm film camera, that could produce black & white as well as colour negatives and slides = positives. These images were 24 x 36 mm. However, professional photographers were using cameras that provided larger images, especial 120 film, which offered negatives/ positives that were 60 mm square. Others used still larger beasts such as 4 x 5 or 8 x 10 (inch) cameras producing 100 x 125 mm or 200 x 250 mm images. The cameras were anything but conveniently portable, but produced exceptionally fine grained images.

There is always discussion about the equivalent number of pixels produced by 35 mm film. One challenge has to do with ASA (American Standards Association) ISO (International Organization for Standardization) values that refer to a film’s speed, or light sensitivity. ASA/ISO values translate directly into grain size: Higher ASA/ISO = larger grain. As a general rule, “fine-grained film” requires more light or longer exposure, whereas coarse-grained film requires less light or a shorter exposure. One commonly expressed view is that ASA/ ISO 100 35mm film offers about 5 600 x 3 620 pixels.

Ansel Adams (1902-1984) produced some of the 20th century’s most iconic landscape photographs. He often used a Deardorf 8×10 View Camera, that he would carry into the wilds, if he could not photograph from the top of his 1947 Pontiac Silver Streak station wagon.

Ansel Adams on top of his 1947 Pontiac Silver Streak station wagon in Yosemite National Park, California, at some unknown time.

Ansel Adams used a rule of thumb for enlarging images: avoid printing film to paper at more than 4 times its original size. For 35mm film this means a maximum of 96 mm × 144 mm. For archival purposes, this rule is commonly broken, because one wants all the grain to be preserved.

By 2000, digital single-lens reflex cameras (DSLR) were prominent in the photographic world. By 2020, the trend had definitely shifted to mirrorless cameras and lenses, that offer superior speeds and better resolutions. Almost all amateur photographers are relying on their Hand-held devices (HHDs) = smartphones.

Cameras are part of everyone’s HHD. Yes, I am aware that more advanced cameras are being sold, but most people do not need them. HHD phones offer outstanding optical quality, allow one to zoom, to record images in the dark, and to produce 4K video.

Some regard the Galaxy S25 Ultra as the best HHD phone, if only because of its AI ProVisual Engine that enhances performance. Other Galaxy AI features, such as generative edit features and nightography, make it almost suitable for professional photographers. Both Apple and Google (through Pixel) provides adequate HHDs for photo interested consumers as well. I am content with the quality found on my Asus Zenfone 9 HHD.

After those skills have been mastered, one can develop a meaningful portfolio. It is image content that determines its value.

The second task is to learn/ understand how to curate images. Suggestion: start shooting with an empty memory card, At the end of the day, back up all the content, preferably in at least two places, possibly temporarily on a computer’s solid-state drive as well as on a memory stick or solid state drive (ssd). This allows almost immediate reuse of the memory card. When the computer’s storage is largely used, transfer content to yet another memory stick/ external ssd.

Many photographers use photo rating systems, to help them curate their images. They begin editing with photos of the highest rating = 4/ 5 stars. Regardless, an appropriate storage system should discourage the culling of photographs. Image compression and image resolution will determine the storage capacity needed. While an uncompressed RAW file requires about 24 MB, 1 GB of data can store 40 photos, and 1 TB can store 40 000 photos. I use Kingston XS 1000 solid-state drives for this type of storage, currently in both 1 & 2 TB formats. It is important to use a consistent folder structure based on shoot dates and/ or project names. Within each main folder, images can be categorized into sub-folders, preferably based on image type.

My approach to photography is to take photographs, but also to collect interesting photographs taken by others, and to catalogue them by the photographer, date taken and subject. I attempt to determine the birth and death date of each of photographer and subject. Currently, I have works from 2 145 photographers, with the number of photographs varying from 1 to 958 items. These photographs have no commercial value. I share some of them with close friends. My latest venture is working with the photographs of Russian engineer Vladimir Shokhov (1853 – 1939). I have a similar collection of photographs of other artworks. The latest person I have been working with is Borghild Arnesen (1872–1950) a Norwegian who is remembered in particular for her metal artworks using siselering, a chiseling technique. She lived most of her life in France, originally near Paris, before moving to Nice.

If one wants to learn how photography was done in the past (as well as how not to be a photographer), then one should watch the film Blow-Up (1966), a psychological mystery film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni (1912–2007), focusing on a London fashion photographer who believes he has captured evidence of a murder in his photographs. While I first watched it in 1967, I now watch it about once every five years, starting about 2001. So in 2026, I am looking forward to a 7th viewing. Rear Window (1954) is a related film, looking at another potential murder. It was directed by Alfred Hitchcock (1899 – 1980), but it is less effective at presenting the process of creating photographic images.

The initial golden age of digital photography may be ending, as corporate providers of generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications/ programs undoubtedly tell everyone there is no need for new content. AI can produce everything of value. It has scoured the web and more, consumed all (or at least, enough of) its content, and is producing images that are in demand. AI images are so good that it is difficult for people to distinguish between real = human produced and unreal = AI produced, content.

With a background from Morocco, France and Canada, and qualifications in computer science, Yoshua Bengio is concerned about the ethical challenges of AI. He addressed these in a recent TED-talk. AI investors, however, seem less concerned because their investments, or at least returns from them, take priority. They want machines that are smarter than people, deceptive, can cheat and prioritize self-preservation. The machines attempt to mascarade themselves by claiming to be stupid. These machines avoid showing their deceptive aspirations.

The problem with AI in all of its manifestations, is that it invents. The latest case I read about occurred 2025-05-18, when the Chicago Sun-Times published a summer reading list containing (at least) 10 fake books (of 15) attributed to real authors, according to multiple reports on social media. Fake titles included Tidewater Dreams by Isabel Allende (1942 – ) and The Last Algorithm by Andy Weir (1972 – ). The alleged creator of the list, Marco Buscaglia (ca. 1970 – ) admitted that he used AI to generate it.

… and so we return to photography.

Many camera companies are adding content authenticity/ credential features into their devices, often involving watermarking. However, a camera is only one part of the creation process. To make a viable product, a raw photograph has to be transformed into something better. This is where software manipulation/ massaging comes in. There are AI systems that can remove watermarks, and if they can do that, then they can probably also add fake watermarks as well.

Capture One is one provider of these features. It is Danish, owned by the Nordic private equity firm Axcel. Its photography software suite includes custom support for RAW files from over 650 cameras and tethering support (remote camera control via USB, network cable or Wifi) for over 200 cameras. They write the following meaningless statement: “At Capture One we stand firmly with photographers. It is our unequivocal belief that their work belongs to its legitimate owners – the photographer or their client – and abuse or violation of ownership rights using AI or any other means is simply unacceptable. Through our partnerships with industry bodies like the ASMP in the USA and The AOP in the UK we support their campaigns to establish legislation that protects the work, rights and livelihood of photographers and creatives at large. From working with the ASMP and The AOP closely we know there’s never been a more critical time to become a member and support the work they do on behalf of tens of thousands of industry practitioners.”

Photographers run a risk when they put their images online. The risk is minimized when they upload them to their own website, and don’t release their copyright to brands. Some photographers use contracts that contain a liability clause for misuse.

Then there is Nightshade, developed at the University of Chicago. It is a tool that turns any image into a data sample that is unsuitable for model training by transforming images into poison samples, so that models training on them without consent will see their models learn unpredictable behaviors that deviate from expected norms.

Conclusions. The boundaries of photography no longer involve creating content with a camera or smart device. Increasingly, it is created/ enhanced post-production, using software. Many claim that AI is not creating content. It is borrowing/ stealing it. However, it often ends up manipulating it, using the same techniques used by photographers. Copyright will not protect photographers. Content credentials do little to protect images. Bots on a website may block Generative AI from scraping images, but over time bots will just circumvent these protections.

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International Telecommunications Union

Today, 2025-05-17, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is 160 years old. When it started out in 1865, the T stood for telegraph. Since then other technologies have become important for communication, so it appropriate that a more generic term has replaced telegraph.

Doreen Bogdan-Martin (1966 -), born in Monmouth, New Jersey, USA is the current Secretary-General of the ITU, elected at the 2022 Plenipotentiary Conference in Bucharest. She is the first woman to become ITU’s Secretary-General. She is fluent in English, French and Spanish.

So one area where the ITU works is in assigning radio frequencies for different purposes and call signs for various categories of radio frequency communication, including commercial stations and radio amateurs.

Call Signs

American call signs begin with K or W. For commercial radio and television stations K is in the west, while W is in the east. Currently, the Mississippi River is the dividing line. Thus, in my childhood, I watched KVOS television, on channel 12, broadcast from Bellingham, in Washington state. In New York state, WMHT is a Public Broadcasting System affiliate, on channel 17, broadcasting from Schenectady. Closer to, but west of the Mississippi River, KSDB-FM is a frequency modulated (FM) radio station broadcasting on 91.9 MHz. It is located in Manhattan = the Little Apple, Kansas. It is operated by Kansas State University, providing modern rock, urban, & local content. East of the Mississippi River, WAPL is another FM station, operated by Woodward Communications, Inc., in Appleton, Wisconsin. It broadcasts at 105.7 MHz and provides classic rock music.

Not all radio decisions are made by the ITU. Many decisions are national. For example, Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) is a digital radio standard for broadcasting digital audio radio services in many countries around the world. Currently, 55 countries are actively running DAB broadcasts as an alternative platform to analogue FM. Norway is in the process of transitioning all radio stations away from FM broadcasting to Digital Audio Broadcasting only. The country’s national radio outlets transitioned to DAB on 2017-12-13. Local radio stations remain available in FM, but will have to transfer to DAB on or before the end of 2031. Only six years to go.

ITU secretary-general Doreen is an active amateur radio operator holding call sign KD2JTX. For amateur radio, the above geographical rules do not apply. K indicates USA, the second letter in the prefix used to indicate competence levels, now it seems that every new operator is place at the lowest level = D. The 2 indicates a location in the states of New York or New Jersey. Other locations include 6 = California, and 7 = north-western states. The suffix, here JTX, identifies the particular person holding the license.

In Norway, all amateur radio call signs used to begin with LA. When that sequence was used up, they started with LB, such as my LB2XJ, and Alasdair’s LB6HI. However, for people who insist on having a LA call sign there are some workarounds. In Canada, amateur radio call signs vary with the province/ territory. In British Columbia they start with VA7 or VE7. Details are shown in the map below.

Map showing prefixes for amateur radio call signs in Canada

CBUT-DT, a digital television station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, has served as the West Coast flagship of CBC Television since 1953-12-16. In my childhood, it was known as channel 2, and ended in TV, to distinguish it from the amplitude modulation (AM) radio station, CBUT. It is part of a twinstick = duopoly with Ici Radio-Canada Télé station CBUFT-DT on channel 26. The two stations share studios at the CBC Regional Broadcast Centre in downtown Vancouver. Their transmitters are located on top of Mount Seymour in the district municipality of North Vancouver. CBUT is the first and oldest television station in Western Canada. Call sign rules are not followed by everyone. Most CBC stations use call signs assigned to Chile!

Time

In this post, I would like to emphasize ITU’s role as gatekeeper of timing on planet Earth. It is not the only organization concerned with time. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) = Union astronomique internationale, (UAI, in French) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and development through global cooperation. It was founded on 1919-07-28 in Brussels, Belgium and is based in Paris, France.

Universal Time (UT) = mean solar time of the Greenwich meridian (0° longitude), replaced Greenwich Mean Time in 1928; it is now used to denote the solar time when an accuracy of about one second suffices. In 1955 the International Astronomical Union defined several categories of Universal Time of successively increasing accuracy. UT0 represents the initial values of Universal Time obtained by optical observations of star transits at various astronomical observatories. These values differ slightly from each other because of the effects of polar motion.

Universal Time (UT or UT1) is a time standard based on Earth’s rotation. Originally, it referred to mean solar time at 0° longitude. Because precise measurements of the Sun are difficult, UT1 is computed from a measure of the Earth’s angle with respect to the International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF), called the Earth Rotation Angle (ERA, which serves as the replacement for Greenwich Mean Sidereal Time). UT1 is the same everywhere on Earth. UT1 is obtained by correcting UT0 for the effects of polar motion. Finally, an empirical correction to take account of annual changes in the Earth’s speed of rotation is added to UT1 to convert it into UT2. Coordinated Universal Time, the international basis of civil and scientific time, is obtained from an atomic clock that is adjusted so as to remain close to UT1; in this way, the solar time that is indicated by Universal Time is kept in close coordination with atomic time.

One would think that time would not be problematic in a relatively skinny country running north to south. That was generally not the case. Before universal time Norway was comparably late to introduce an official standard time, mainly due to the lack of a railway network connecting the country in an east–west direction. With the existence of a telegraph between Kristiania (Oslo) and Drammen, starting in 1855, the local time of Copenhagen, Denmark was used to measure time. That lasted until 1866 when it was replaced by Oslo local time, which was 7 minutes later.

In 1885 and then again in 1893 there were proposals to adopt a standard Norwegian time. Denmark, Germany and Sweden had adopted standard time = Central European time. Since the western and eastern Norwegian railways were planning to be interconnected ( it happened in 1909), Norway adopted Central European time on 1895-01-01. Since then, it has remained Greenwich + 1. Most church clocks were either moved backward (east of 15°E), or forward (west of 15°E) to use this time. Yes, previously, church clocks were the go-to time telling instrument.

Summer time

Summer time In Europe = Daylight Savings Time , in north America. From now on, DST will be used as an abbreviation for both of these terms.

The Journal de Paris, existed from 1777 to 1840. In 1784, it famously published an anonymous satirical letter written by Benjamin Franklin (1706 N.S. – 1790) encouraging Parisians to rise earlier to reduce candle usage. Through overreach, this has been credited with introducing the concept of DST.

One of the challenges with the current time system, is that many people have to change clocks twice a year. Even if computing devices = 9 units at Cliff Cottage, do that without intervention, I find no joy in having to change manual clocks = 12 units, twice a year. On a population level, that one hour transition results in unnecessary stress, including medical emergencies.

In Norway, DST was observed in 1916, 1943–45, and 1959–65. The last arrangement was controversial and it was discontinued. Sweden did not use DST during this period. When we first visited Scandinavia in 1979, DST was not in use. However, when we moved to Norway in 1980, DST had been reintroduced there and in Denmark and Sweden. Since 1996 Norway has followed the European Union regarding transition dates. Finland observed DST in 1942 and since 1981. Iceland has only observed summer time DST in 1917–1918 and in 1939–1968.

In North America, Yukon, most of Saskatchewan, and parts of British Columbia, Nunavut, Ontario and Quebec do not observe DST. Yukon and most of Saskatchewan use time zones equivalent to permanent DST. In USA, Hawaii does not observe DST. Neither does Arizona, but the Navajo Nation, which is mostly in Arizona but also partly in Utah and New Mexico, does. Inside the Navajo Nation is the Hopi Reservation, which does not observe DST.

Year-round DST was observed in 1942–1945 and 1974–1975.

Time changes fallow the old adage: spring forward = add an hour; fall back = subtract an hour. In north America the start of DST is the second sunday in March at 02:00. It ends on the first sunday in November at 02:00. In Europe, summer time starts last sunday in March at 01:00 UTC, and ends on the last sunday in October at 01:00 UTC.

In polls, most Europeans are opposed to DST. The European Commission tabled the draft directive on seasonal clock changes on 2018-09-12. This proposes: a) an end to biannual clock changes in all EU countries; b) a notification system to be used by an EU country if it wishes to change its standard time. DST was supposed to stop in 2021, but the Council of the European Union asked the European Commission for a detailed impact assessment before countries would decide on how to proceed. This has created meaningless delays.

Here is the latest consensus: support for permanent winter time in Denmark, the Netherlands (UTC+01:00) and Finland (UTC+02:00) while permanent summer time was supported in France, Germany and Poland (UTC+02:00) and Cyprus (UTC+03:00) excluding Northern Cyprus. Portugal, Spain, and Italy are in favour of keeping the current DST regime. In other words, there is no consensus.

Meanwhile in Norway, on Sommerøy = summer island, islanders in 2019 petitioned the Norwegian parliament to become a time-free zone. Yes, there are a few practical and legal challenges to be worked out. The island is part of Tromsø municipality, the largest city in Northern Norway. It is almost at 70° N, which experiences continuous daylight from 05-20 to 07-25, its midnight sun period. Conversely its midwinter dark period, lasts from 11-27 to 01-15.

The folly of DST and irregular time zones remains with the world today. Thus, on 2025-03-09 at precisely 02:00:00, Saint Pierre et Miquelon (population < 6 000) switched to DST, which is UTC -2 / Saint Pierre and Miquelon Daylight Time (PMDT), lost an hour in the process. Newfoundland and Labrador, followed half an hour later, changing to UTC -2:30 / Newfoundland DST (NDST). On 2025-11-02 at 02:00:00, in the respective time zones, time will revert back to standard or winter time, UTC -3/ in Saint Pierre and Miquelon Standard Time (PMST), duplicating an hour in the process. Latecomer, Newfoundland and Labrador, followed half an hour later to UTC -3:30. My hope – if only for health and safety reasons – is to avoid changing time twice a year.

Even worse that Newfoundland/ Labrador is Eucla/Australian Central Western Time. It’s UTC+8:45. It is the easternmost locality in Western Australia, located in the Goldfields-Esperance region, along the Eyre Highway, approximately 11 kilometres west of the South Australian border. According to the 2016 Australian census, Eucla had a population of 53.

Perhaps the best place to end is to enjoy the situation in Kiribati (pronounced kiribass), with its 21 inhabited islands, an area of 811.19 km2, and an estimated population of 121 388 in 2021. It occupies time zones UTC+13 and UTC+14. This puts it on the same days as Australia and New Zealand, but increases the nominal duration of a day to 26 hours. This is because before they switched time zones, they were in UTC-11 and UTC-10 respectively.

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Bridging the hearing gap

I have been an encyclopedia enthusiast since 1958, when our neighbours, the Sathers acquired a set of World Book encyclopedias. We acquired our set soon afterwards. In my childhood, I used to take a volume off to bed to read. Then, twenty years later in 1978, Jane Kupfer and Mychael Gleeson gave us a copy of the single volume Random House Encyclopedia on our wedding day. It still has a prominent place on our bookshelf, but in 2025, it has effectively been replaced by Wikipedia.

This is mentioned because Wikipedia articles vary in quality, especially their clarity and ability to inform. Thus, when I wanted to incorporate some basic insights into signed languages in this weblog post, I read what Wikipedia had to say about languages, then had to simplify much of the content to make it intelligible,

Some language insights

Language is a broad term for a linguistic configuration allowing people to communicate. It employs a system of symbols used uniformly by people to communicate intelligibly with each other. Language is distinct from dialect, jargon and vernacular. It refers to a linguistic configurations of vocabulary = a stock of words, syntax = rules and patterns by which sentences and phrases are formed, phonology = distribution and patterning of speech sounds in a language and of the tacit rules governing pronunciation. Signed languages lack phonology.

Dialect is applied to certain forms or varieties of a language, often those that communities or special groups retain even after a standard has been established. They are often geographic.

I would describe my own dialect as Cascadian, although other British Columbians would describe it as West Coast, essentially identical to the Pacific Northwest dialect found in Washington and Oregon states, and with minimal differences to the California dialect found, well, in California. This is totally unsurprising given the history of the area, and American immigration, especially from California after the California Gold Rush.

Some dialects appeal more to me than others. Take for example, Toni Basil, from Los Vegas. Her dialect, on Mickey (1981) always represents my ideal English language dialect, even better than my own. Yes, I am sure that I am not influenced by her Los Vegas High School cheerleader head uniform.

Note: The California goldrush had both positive and negative effects. On the plus side, the sudden influx of gold into the money supply reinvigorated the American economy; the sudden population increase allowed California to become a state in the Compromise of 1850. The gold rush had severe effects on Native Californians and accelerated the Native American population’s decline from disease, starvation, and the California genocide.

I have noticed, but never commented on, differences between my dialect and that of my relatives in Essex County, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan. I would refer to their speech as a Great Lakes dialect. I can understand them perfectly, but there are some differences. I cannot articulate those differences before I hear them, but I notice them as they are being uttered. Undoubtedly, these same relatives will have a similar reaction to my speech.

Jargon is an artificial linguistic configuration often used by a particular occupational group for communication about occupational matters. Chinook jargon is often used as an example. It originating as a pidgin trade language in the Pacific Northwest. It spread during the 19th century from the lower Columbia River, first to other areas in modern Oregon and Washington, then to British Columbia and parts of Alaska, Northern California, Idaho and Montana.

A pidgin = a grammatically simplified means of communication that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn from several languages. A creole language = a stable natural language that develops from the process of different languages simplifying and mixing into a new form (often a pidgin), and then from that expanding into a fully developed language with native speakers, all within a short period.

Vernacular refers to ordinary informal speech in a given language. It is simultaneously in accord with and, in relatively small ways, distinguished from the standard language in syntax, vocabulary, usage and pronunciation. It is used by persons indigenous to a certain community, large or small.

Signed languages

Signed languages are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. They use manual articulation in combination with non-manual markers to express thought. Signed languages are fully developed natural languages with their own grammar = language rules, and lexicon = vocabulary.

Note: Signed languages are not universal and are usually not mutually intelligible. There are similarities among different sign languages.

Linguists consider both spoken and signed communication to be types of natural language. Both emerged through an abstract, protracted aging process and evolved over time without meticulous planning. There is substantial overlap between the neural substrates of signed and spoken language processing, despite obvious differences in modality = form of sensation, here visual rather than through sound.

Interpreters

From about 1982 to 2008 (26 years) I worked with interpreters, on an almost daily basis. The interpreters I used were specially designed computer programs that translated code from a programming language into a machine code, that various types of computers could understand. In some respects these are similar to, but in other respects different from, people who interpret between two human languages.

Deaf people often need an interpreter, for basic tasks. A human or computer-based interpreter, can help deaf people communicate, but they are seldom available. So people end up writing messages, or using children that can hear to interpret. Yes, many deaf people have to rely on writing with a pen on pieces of paper, or messaging with smart phones to communicate.

I don’t understand why this should be the case. Apple’s Siri spun out from the Stanford Research Institute’s Artificial Intelligence Center and is an offshoot of the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA)-funded CALO project. SRI International used the NABC Framework to define the value proposition for Siri. It was co-founded by Norwegian Dag Kittlaus (1967 – ), Tom Gruber (1959 – ), and Adam Cheyer (1966 – ). Kittlaus named Siri after a co-worker in Norway; the name is a short form of the name Sigrid, from Old Norse Sigríðr, composed of the elements sigr “victory” and fríðr “beautiful”.

Adam Munder (1976 – ), who presented much of the information here in a TED talk, works as a software engineer in his daily life. He uses two highly qualified interpreters to work with others who have the same degrees, educational background, job responsibilities to solve engineering problems in a competitive environment. His daily collaborations, meetings and presentations rely on his interpreters. He is thankful that his employer ensures access to the same information that his hearing enabled colleagues do.

This is not true for many deaf people throughout the world. Interpreters are expensive and scarce. Adam lives in Arizona, a state with a population of about 7.5 million people in 2024. Of these, more than 1.1 million individuals have a hearing loss. That is about 15% of the population. There are only about 400 licensed interpreters. That is a ratio of 2750 / 1. Americans work up to about 2 000 hours a year. It it were equally divided, that would be about 0.75 hours per deaf person per year.

That means there is a scarcity of tools available, and few options. Until now.

There are about 150 different signed languages throughout the world. One of them, originally called Gestuno, now International Sign, is international in its orientation. It intends to bridge the gap between member of communities who don’t hear, but use different signed languages.

American Sign Language.

American Sign Language (ASL) is the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States and most of Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that is expressed by employing both manual and nonmanual features. It is often the basis for creoles used in many countries around the world, is widely learned as a second language, so that it can serve as a common language. ASL is closely related to French Sign Language (LSF).

ASL originated in the early 19th century in the American School for the Deaf (ASD) in Hartford, Connecticut. Since then, ASL use has been propagated widely by schools for the deaf and Deaf community organizations. User estimates vary from 250 000 to 500 000 persons, including children of deaf adults (CODA) and other hearing individuals.

Adam Munder, with others, is building a platform called OmniBridge. Its purpose is to join the deaf world and the hearing world, so that the details and nuances that make people human can be found in conversations.

He says that the OmniBridge team is using the power of AI to analyze thousands of signs in ASL. At one level, the goal seems to be to allow people to engage in conversations, regardless of their language. It is bringing humanity back into conversations, fusing worlds without forcing people to adapt to one other. While there are thousands of ASL signs (which may seem small) ASL is complex, filled with slight nuance and changes in body language. These can change the meaning of a sign from big to enormous.

The machines used to translate ASL to English, and vice versa are AI PCs, These are able to run ASL models locally, without relying on the internet, which dramatically increases accessibility. It is claimed that AI is changing the world. I am not convinced, although I can understand that people would prefer to have the technology they use in their devices, rather than needing an internet connection to communicate. The value of OmniBridge team is that it is using computing power to humanize, include and to level the playing field. It is an attempt to unite two languages, signed and spoken, into one seamless conversation. Let us hope that it does not become a mechanism to transfer wealth from the relatively oppressed, to those with wealth.

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Models

Recovery and coloring of the Animal theoretical: C = circulatory system, D = digestive system, E = excretory system, N = nervous system, R = respiratory system, Paul Bert (1833-1886), Leçons de zoologie, 1881

Since I spend much of my time writing, I often reflect over the words that I use. One of these reflections involved the use of the term model, which is used in several divergent contexts.

As a noun, it can be: an imitation or a replica. A synonym here could be a copy. It could also refer to a small object, usually built to scale, that represents in detail another, often larger object ; a preliminary work or construction that serves as a plan from which a final product is to be made; a work or construction used in testing or perfecting a final product; a person with a role either to display commercial products or someone posing for an artwork such as a painting or photograph; a product line, referring to its design, in the context of the manufacturer’s range or series of products, where different models are distinguishable by technology, components, underpinnings, and/or style and appearance.

As a verb, it can refer to the act of person displaying themselves. Then again, there is non-human modelling, especially creating a scaled-down version of something large, or a scaled up version of something small. It can also refer to: to form or plan according to a model; to give shape or form to; fashion; to make a miniature model of something; to fashion in clay, wax, or the like; to simulate (a process, concept, or the operation of a system), commonly with the aid of a computer; to display to other persons or to prospective customers, especially by wearing: to model dresses; to use or include as an element in a larger construct.

As an adjective, model can refer to: serving or being worth to serve as an example or model; being a small or miniature version of something. Exemplary or miniature could be useful synonyms here.

I consulted Wikimedia Commons to see what images showed up when searching with the keyword model. Of the first 100 models I found there were 6 human females, 0 human males, 11 architectural, 79 transportation related, and 4 other models presented as images. The first item, one of four in the other group, illustrates this post. It is titled: Recovery and coloring of the Animal theoretical by Paul Bert (1833-1886), found in: Leçons de zoologie, 1881. It was coloured by Wikimedia user Lamiot, and published 2012-10-13.

Sailboats

Sailing dinghy models are referred to as classes. Thus, it is with some hesitancy that I begin showing examples of models with these. Some models/ classes have very stringent criteria that have to be met, to be included. Others thrive on flexibility. I have always appreciated small sailing dinghies, especially the designs of Uffa Fox (1898 – 1972). From my perspective, his most important design was that for Avenger (1927), world famous for being the first planing hull dinghy. For its time, it was very fast.

The first time I sailed in a dinghy was with Thomas de Roos (1920 – 2005) and his son Robert (1948 – ) on a Dutch built dinghy (of an unknown class), on Okanagan Lake. The de Roos family also had a smaller boat (about 7 foot) which was a Pirat.

Some sailing dinghies have animal names: Blue Jay, Butterfly, Frog, Firefly, Fly, Flying Ant, Jacksnipe, Lark, Marlin, Moth, Otter, Pelican, Penguin, Shrimp, Sunfish, Tadpole. Of those, the one that has attracted my attention the most is Moth, for its foiling capabilities.

The first dinghy I built and owned was a Sabot, named after the Dutch wooden shoe, designed by Charles G. McGregor, and published in The Rudder magazine in 1939, with variations produced later. I had a copy of this design made available at Valley Lumber, in New Westminster. Note: I have been trying to find more information about McGregor. All I really know is that between 1906 and 1949 he published 58 designs in The Rudder magazine. From 1930 on, most of his designs were intended for plywood (read: amateur) construction.

Another dinghy that I sailed was the Enterprise, designed by Jack Holt (1912 – 1995) in 1956 for The News Chronicle, becoming the first UK sailing dinghy to be sponsored by a national newspaper. Most of its appeal could be summarized in one word: availability. During our annual stay at Blind Bay, on Shuswap Lake, I would borrow one from the boatbuilders who lived and worked there. Once again, I was particularly fascinated with it because much of it was made of plywood, a product that was suitable for amateur construction. In retrospect, the socialist Brock has been challenged by its blue sails and class name. The larger Wayfayer, designed by Ian Proctor (1918 – 2002) in 1957, is probably a better boat. Frank Dye (1928 – 2010) sailed one, Wanderer, from Scotland to Iceland and back in 1963, then to the Faero Islands and Norway and back to Scotland in 1964.

I also have one special mention: Fatty Knees, designed in 2000 by Lyle Hess (1912 – 2002). It is often regarded as the world’s most versatile dinghy. It can be sailed, rowed and towed. It is made out of fibreglass, and can be stowed aboard a small offshore cruising sailboat. For its size, it can carry a lot of people and goods when necessary, and is stable, and easy to maintain. It is made in three lengths, 7′ (2.1 m), 8′ (2.4 m) and 9′ (2.7 m).

If I should buy a sailing dinghy now, it would probably have to be a Swedish Tvåkrona = Two crowns, designed by Erik Thorsell (1949 – 2021) in 1991. It is made of fibreglass. It is suitable for use in Trondheim fjord.

Cars

My first car was a Hillman Minx. Some might find the model name perplexing, but I find it honest. The definition of Minx, that I prefer, is a girl or young woman who knows how to control other people to her advantage. Yes, I often felt controlled by the cars that have owned me! Other definitions add: flirtatious, impudent, pert, promiscuous or wanton. I prefer not to add any of these restrictions.

Sometimes size matters as in: the Morris Minor, the Morris/ Austin Mini, the Austin Maxi,

Then there are astronomy related names: Chevrolet Equinox; Ford Galaxy; Mercury Comet and Meteor; Mitsubishi Eclipse; Northstar engines found in Cadillacs; Opel (and badge engineered, Saturn) Astra; Polestar, which is a brand rather than a model, referring to the north star. Of those the comet has the most interesting history as a model name. It was originally intended to be a compact Edsel model. With the Edsel brand no longer in use, the Comet in USA was sold in 1960 and 1961 just as a Comet. The Mercury brand name was added in 1962. In Canada, the 1960 model was referred to as a Frontenac, named after Louis de Buade de Frontenac (1622 – 1698), sometime Governor General of New France.

Named after mammals: Audi Fox; Chevrolet Impala; Dodge Ram, a male sheep; Fiat Panda; Ford is the master at using mammal names: Bronco, Mustang and Pinto refer to horses, and the Puma, a cat, with their Mercury division producing a Bobcat and a Cougar; Hillman Husky; Hyundai Pony; Sunbeam Tiger; Triumph Stag; Volkswagen Rabbit. I find the juxtaposition of the VW Group Fox and Rabbit most interesting, in terms of real predator prey relationships. Even more interesting was a fake relationship in a statement from an unknown GM executive who said a Chevrolet Camaro was a small, vicious animal that eats Mustangs.

Then there are birds: AMC Eagle; Buick (and Hupmobile) Skylark; Ford Falcon, and the mythical Thunderbird; Humber Hawk and the Snipe; Nissan Bluebird; Plymouth Road Runner; Pontiac Sunbird as well as the Firebird, another mythical bird; Reliant Robin, a three-wheeler; Studebaker also had various Hawks and a Lark.

The Chevrolet Corvette may take its name from a small warship. However, the first model I became acquainted with, and the only one I would want to own, was a Stingray, a fish. I wrote about a Plymouth Barracuda, another fish, in an English language textbook written by Trish.

Snakes: AC Cobra; Dodge Viper.

Even insects get mentioned: Hudson Hornet; Piaggio Vespa scooter is Italian (and Latin) for wasp; Piaggio Ape = honey bee, in Italian, a three-wheeler.

Special mention: Lotus, with model names beginning with E. The Elite = Type 14 (1957 – 1963). Frank Costin (1920 – 1995) worked for DeHavilland in Britain, but designed the Elite in his spare time. More generally he advanced monocoque chassis design and applied aircraft aerodynamic knowledge for automobile use. Elan = Type 26, Drop Head Coupe & Type 36, Fixed Head Coupe (1962 – 1975) designed by Ron Hickman (1932 – 2011). He is best known for designing the Black & Decker Workmate wood-working bench. These were the only two Lotus models that interested me.

Aircraft

DeHavelland Canada, has named numerous aircraft after animals: DHC-1 Chipmunk, DHC-2 Beaver, DHC-3 Otter, DHC-4 Caribou, DHC-5 Buffalo. They ran out of animals after the DHC-6, Twin Otter.

Boeing has used 7×7, in aircraft model names since the 707 emerged in 1957. Before that, many of their model names began with 3, such as the Boeing 314 Clipper long-range flying boat produced from 1938 to 1941. Airbus models begin with A3, such as the A300 manufactured from 1971 to 2007.

People

Often a model refer to a person displaying something. Examples include haute couture hangers: Swedish Lisa Fonssagrives (1911 – 1992), often regarded as the first supermodel, discovered by photographer Willy Maywald (1907 – 1985) in an elevator in 1936; Jinx Falkenburg (1919 – 2003), the highest paid supermodel in the 1940s in USA; Suzy Parker (1932 – 2003), who appeared on the cover of thousands of magazines in the 1950s; Veruschka = Vera Lehndorff (1939 – ), often called the first German supermodel, notable in my universe, for her role in the film, Blow-up (1966); Twiggy = Lesley Hornby (1949 – ), known for her thin build and the androgynous appearance; Beverly Johnson (1952 – ), the first African American appearing on the cover of Vogue in the 1970s; The Body = Australian Eleanor Nancy Gow = Elle Macpherson (1964 – ); Canadian Linda Evangelista (1965 – ) notable through most of the 1980s and 1990s; Brazilian Gisele Bündchen (1980 – ) the world’s highest paid supermodel between 2003 and 2016. There are male supermodels, even if their income is only a fraction of that made by the most enterprising woman. One example is Tyson Beckford (1970 – ).

Computer names

Commodore Amiga, our first family computer, in Spanish refers to a female friend, but not a girlfriend (or bride), which is novia. Asus – whose name comes from pegasus – also offers portable computer models with Zen: Zenbook, Zenfone, Zenpad. My current laptop is an Acer Swift 3. I have decided, without proof, that it is named after a bird, members of the family Apodidae.

Inappropriate names

UNESCO’s The World Atlas of Languages is an interactive and dynamic online tool that documents different aspects and features of language status in countries and languages around the world. Their methodology indicates there are 8324 languages, spoken or signed, documented by the governments, public institutions and academic communities: Of these, about 7000 languages are still in use.

There are undoubtedly many model names that are suitable in some languages, but are inappropriate in others. The Honda Fit is one example. Throughout Europe it is referred to as a Honda Jazz, because fit is just too impolite to use in Scandinavian languages. Other model names are more humorous, such as the Hyundai Kona. In Norwegian, Kona translates as, the wife.

Because these situations arise, it is understandable that businesses will choose something meaningless for model names. My desktop computer is an Asus PN-50. I also store several generations of Acer Revo mini PCs.

After this text had been written, I decided to see how close my perception of the term model came to that of an online dictionary. Here is what one had to say, with a few minor adjustments:

model as a noun

  1. a standard or example for imitation or comparison.
  2. a representation, generally in miniature, to show the construction or appearance of something.
  3. an image in clay, wax, or the like, to be reproduced in more durable material.
  4. a person or thing that serves as a subject for an artist, sculptor, writer, etc.
  5. a person whose profession is posing for artists or photographers.
  6. a person employed to wear clothing or pose with a product for purposes of display and advertising.
  7. a style or design of a particular product.
  8. a pattern or mode of structure or formation.
  9. a typical form or style.
  10. a simplified representation of a system or phenomenon, as in the sciences or economics, with any hypotheses required to describe the system or explain the phenomenon, often mathematically.
  11. Zoology. an animal that is mimicked in form or color by another.

adjective

  1. serving as an example or model, for example: a model home.
  2. worthy to serve as a model; exemplary: a model student.
  3. being a small or miniature version of something: a model ships.

verb (used with object)

  1. to form or plan according to a model.
  2. to give shape or form to; fashion.
  3. to make a miniature model of.
  4. to fashion in clay, wax, or the like.
  5. to simulate (a process, concept, or the operation of a system), commonly with the aid of a computer.
  6. to display to other persons or to prospective customers, especially by wearing: to model dresses.

verb (used without object)

  1. to make models.
  2. to produce designs in some plastic material.
  3. to assume a typical or natural appearance, as the parts of a drawing in progress.
  4. to serve or be employed as a model.

Origins: First recorded 1565–75; earlier modell, from Middle French modelle, from Italian modello, from Vulgar Latin modellus (unrecorded), equivalent to Latin mod(ulus), a unit of measurement ( module ) + -ellus -elle

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Duolingo

Duo promoting Duolingo Scottish Gaelic. Image: Duolingo

On 2008-08-01, I officially began work at Leksvik secondary school. At some point, possibly because of trips to France, I decided it would be good to improve my French. Thus, I acquired some French textbooks that otherwise would be discarded, and began to spend time studying it.

Unfortunately, I quickly discovered that language textbooks do not suit my personality. I then discovered Memrise, undoubtedly after it was founded in 2010-09. Memrise is focused on vocabulary, and uses spaced repetition to accelerate vocabulary acquisition. It claims spaced repetition is an evidence-based learning technique with increasing time intervals between reviews of previously learned materials.

Once again, I discovered that Memrise did not suit my personality either. I needed something that had more of a focus on grammar. Then I encountered Duolingo. It seemed a better match for me. I have used it since 2014-06-??. Yes, that is over ten years ago. French was my first language, and is still the language where I have accumulated the greatest number of points with Duolingo. This is followed by: Swedish, Scottish Gaelic, German, Ukrainian, Finnish and Portuguese. In addition, I have tried out a few other languages.

A note on Nordic languages.

There are those who contend that Danish, Norwegian and Swedish are dialects of a single language. I can understand that argument. What I don’t appreciate is the misunderstandings that arise because people do not recognize how the three languages differ. In my tertiary level education in Norway, I have had to use textbooks in five languages: Bokmål = regular Norwegian, Danish, English, Nynorsk = New Norwegian and Swedish. There is usually no problem for a Norwegian to understand written Danish, as long as they avoid numbers! Take seventy (70) = sytti in Norwegian, but halvfjerds, short for halvfjerdsinds-tyve = half way to the fourth times twenty. It is spoken Danish that creates misunderstandings.

When I was using Swedish textbooks, I would deliberately pronounce the words aloud. This made them understandable in Norwegian. The problem with Swedish for Norwegian speakers are the false friends. The most common example is rolig. In Norwegian it is an adjective meaning quiet. In Swedish it means funny. There are many more.

I cannot recall a time in my life when I have felt so exhausted as in 1980 – 1981. It was usually after returning home from school, after using Norwegian continuously throughout the day. Fortunately, that situation changed fairly quickly. Today, I can switch between English and Norwegian without difficulties. Except, this year, when visiting the Isle of Wight, I attempted to use Norwegian (rather than English) with one of the locals. This is due to conditioning. In my daily life, whenever I encounter a stranger, I use Norwegian.

Further developments …

In 2015, I had completed everything in French that Duolingo had to offer. After I had worked on it daily for 500 days, I allowed my streak – continuous duration of daily language exercises – to lapse. I then worked with Duolingo fairly regularly to learn other languages, but often took weekend breaks.

After a trip to Madeira in 2017, I once again decided to work with Duolingo on a daily basis. On the publication of this post, I have officially worked on it for 2835 consecutive days = 7 years, 9 months, 3 days. I am currently working with Scottish Gaelic, with the hope of being reasonably fluent in it for a trip to Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia in 2025. My intention with learning Gaelic is to gain a better understanding of the Gaelic culture there.

This extensive use of Duolingo, does not mean that I have been totally faithful. At one point, I was also using a dedicated site to learn Icelandic. In part, I enjoyed it because I thought it would help me appreciate the Icelandic crime program Ófærð = Trapped, with 3 series and 28 episodes since 2015. I found the Icelandic course well structured, but had limited use for it. Then, when I planned a visit to Iceland in 2023, it was too late to learn much more of the language. It is doubtful that I will visit Iceland again, for more than a day on a trip to or from somewhere else in North America.

The Scots Gaelic Duolingo course has been operational since 2019-11-30. In 2022-03, it was taken over by Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, = The great/ big barn at Ostaig (literal translation), the National Centre for Gaelic Language and Culture, with their main campus on the Sleat peninsula, in the south of the Isle of Skye, Scotland. They also offer: An Cùrsa Inntrigidh = the entrance course, and the immersive, An Cùrsa Comais = the competency course.

At one point I had read that 1.8 million people had tried Duolingo Scottish Gaelic, and that over 500 000 had used it regularly.

This is not my first excursion into Scottish Gaelic. In the early 1980s, fresh from successfully learning Norwegian, I purchased a copy of Roderick Mackinnon’s (1908 – 1979) Teach Yourself Gaelic: A complete guide for beginners in Scottish Gaelic (1971). I still have this book close at hand, because of its 45 pages of vocabulary.

I would not encourage everyone to study Scottish Gaelic. My interest, at least in part, is because of my Scottish heritage, both biological (from the Orkneys) and adoptive (from Morar, then South Uist in the Hebrides). I am supportive of Misneachd = Courage, the Gaelic campaign group, and its proposal for a Scottish Gaelic local community language based on Ireland’s 2012 Gaeltacht Act. In Scottish Gaelic, the term used is Gaidhealtachd = a recognised Gaelic-speaking area. In this model there would be a local organization in each district throughout the core Gaelic areas of the Western Isles = Outer Hebrides, Skye and Tiree, as well as in urban areas such as Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

Gaelic was once the principal language of Scotland. After the Jacobite Rebellions from 1689 to 1745, the language was heavily persecuted. The highland clearances resulted in many Gaels being sent overseas, often to Canada, where they founded Gaelic-speaking communities. The Education Scotland Act of 1872 effectively banned Gaelic in Scotland’s schools. Some of those caught speaking the language faced physical punishment.

Gaelic is now spoken by just under 60 000 people in Scotland. In 2005, the Scottish Parliament passed an act securing Gaelic as an official language of Scotland. Since then the number of speakers under 20 has begun to rise. Around 5 600 children are currently being schooled using Gaelic. The majority of Scots view Gaelic favourably. Gaelic now has its own television channel, radio stations, and a short film festival. New dedicated schools are being built. Parents are learning Gaelic with their children.

Duolingo’s Gaelic course provides a free and accessible route into Gaelic learning for all. However, it comes with advertisements. I pay an affordable annual fee to avoid the ads.

It is crucial that people learn this language in order to maintain its recovery. That situation is also true for many other languages, and people without a Scottish heritage may find it more appropriate to learn a different language. Because Gaelic is a small language community, every speaker — native and learner — is important to secure its future. Irish and Welsh, have shown how smaller languages can thrive on Duolingo. Propaganda from Duolingo suggest that parents with children in Gaelic-medium education will be able to learn alongside their children.

Gaelic phrases

Here are three basic Gaelic phrases: Halo = hello, fàilte = welcome, tapadh leat = thank you.

The language does contain some false friends. Here is one example: beag (pronounced big) = small; mòr = big. Some situations demand that the spelling and pronunciation change to bheag and mhòr, so that the first part is pronounced like a v.

Here is a more advanced Gaelic sentence to Impress your friends: Thig crìoch air an t-saoghal ach mairidh gaol is ceòl. = The world may end, but love and music will endure.

My future with language

I intend to expand my horizons by learning more about runic alphabets. The Scandinavian variant is known as fuþark, or futhark; this name is derived from the first six letters of the script, ⟨ᚠ⟩, ⟨ᚢ⟩, ⟨ᚦ⟩, ⟨ᚨ⟩/⟨ᚬ⟩, ⟨ᚱ⟩, and ⟨ᚲ⟩/⟨ᚴ⟩, corresponding to the Latin letters ⟨f⟩, ⟨u⟩, ⟨þ⟩/⟨th⟩, ⟨a⟩, ⟨r⟩, and ⟨k⟩. The Anglo-Saxon variant is known as fuþorc or futhorc, due to changes in Old English of the sounds represented by the fourth letter, ⟨ᚨ⟩/⟨ᚩ⟩.

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Ello

In 2015 Rosalina Gomes posted this photo of New Westminster on Ello. This shows Poplar Island in the middle of the Fraser River. It is a favourite location, although I have only visited it once, by boat.

Suddently, without warning, my favourite social media site, Ello, disappeared 2023-06-22. It seemed to sputter back to life at one point, then died sometime in 2023-07, while I was in Iceland, one year ago. Here was the last, unhelpful, message:

Ello was an online social networking service = social media site, created by bicycle entrepreneur Paul Budnitz (1967 – ) and Todd Berger (? – ) of graphic designers Berger & Föhr. In 2014-01, FreshTracks Capital provided $435 000 of seed funding. Ello launched on 2014-03-19. Originally it was a private social network of and for seven artists and programmers. By 2014-04-03, the site started to allow the public to participate, initially by invitation only.

The launch included a manifesto that promised never to sell user data, proclaiming: You Are Not a Product. It never showing advertisements, and avoided a real-name policy. All of these contrasted with Facebook. For example, in 2014-09, numerous members of the LGBTQ community left Facebook following the controversial enforcement of its real-name policy. Many came to Ello. At its peak, Ello processing 30 000 signup requests/ hour, 20% remaining active one week after registration.

In 2014-10, Ello reorganized itself as a benefit corporation and raised a further $5.5 million in venture capital. The user base of Ello were primarily artists and other creative people. The great mystery of Ello, was how it survived economically, once the capital was used up. Yes, there were Ello T-shirts available through Threadless. In 2018, the original owners bailed out, when Talenthouse acquired Ello for an undisclosed amount.

After registering in 2015, I found it useful to find photographs from greater Vancouver. For example: Rosalina Gomes, provided photographs of New Westminster, including one posted at the beginning of this post; David Miller, recreated logos for iconic companies, such as White Spot, as well as highways, such as the Yellowhead; Andrew Sommerfeld = Rhinoceros, was one who published numerous nature photographs, especially along the trails of North Vancouver. Other interesting contributors included: Dark Beauty magazine, who presented Gothic fashion photographs; Adam Krowitz = Droneman, who provided interesting drone photographs of Australia, including the Baha’i House of Worship, near Sidney; Joshua LaCunha, who used tintype techniques to portray members of the San Francisco Fire Department; Michael Ostrogorsky, posted numerous photos of his parrots, and photos of Seattle; Skyler Schoos, posted photos of herself in Seattle; Susie Stiles = Geeksusie, used French captions to describe photographs of numerous paintings, some she made herself, but also many by numerous others.

Many people open and closed accounts at great speed, deleting their artwork as they left. I learned that if I wanted to access content, I had to make my own copies, or they could disappear. There was less censorship on Ello, than on many similar sites, especially in 2018, with an influx of many new users, who described themselves as Tumblr refugees. Tumblr apparently allowed explicit content until 2018, when it decided this content was immoral. It then used flawed software to determine what to delete. Unfortunately, that software was unable to distinguish raw chicken from nude humans. Similarweb an Israeli company specializing in web analytics estimated Tumblr had lost 30% of its user traffic with its stricter content policy.

I appreciated Ello for its content diversity. One appropriate comment was that: Ello seems fated to become the betamax of social media: superior to its competitor but failing to win popular traction. But it doesn’t matter … A social network doesn’t need approval from everyone to work.

I will close my comments about Ello with a photo taken by Chris N, titled Rakotzbrücke = Devil’s Bridge, in the Rhododendron Park Kromlau, in the Spree Forest region, close to the polish border, next to Gablenz in Saxony, in the former East Germany. There are many photographs of the bridge, but I felt this one gave it life.

On 2024-06-07, I read a post in /. = slashdot.org about an article in Fast Company, on artists using the anti-AI portfolio app Cara after Meta began using Instagram content to train its AI models. On 2024-05-31 there were 100 k users, which by 2024-06-02 had grown to 300 k profiles. By the time I had joined within minutes of reading about Cara, my first notification stated there were over 700 k members/ users/ hangers on.

I am opposed to the actions of Meta. While I have not deleted my Facebook or Instagram accounts I don’t use them. If I am desperate to see Facebook content, I approach another user and ask her to access it. So one can rightly conclude that I am an unprincipled hypocrite, when it comes to Meta.

Cara claims to prohibit AI models from scraping its content. Yet, its approach to protect users is primitive and probably ineffective. They automatically add NoAI metadata tags on posts. Glaze is a more effective appoach to protect artists’ work against scrapers, but users can only use it a limited number of times. Glaze was developed by the Security, Algorithms, Networking and Data laboratory (SAND lab) at the University of Chicago, that works on topics in security, machine learning, networked systems, human-computer interaction (HCI), data mining and modeling. This makes it much more difficult for AI models to accurately understand and mimic an artist’s personal style. The tool claims to understand how AI bots perceive artwork. It then makes a set of minimal but invisible changes that confuse AI models. This means that the AI bot will have difficulty generating warped recreations. Warp, here, refers to an algorithmic process that reshapes/ recreates artistic works. Cara plans to use Nightshade, another SAND lab software product that helps protect artwork against AI scrapers. Nightshade corrupts AI training data by adding invisible pixels to artwork that can cause AI software to completely misunderstand the image. Cara also attempts to detect and forbid posted AI artwork from its site, unless it’s been appropriately labeled by the poster.

If one wants to try using AI to create artwork, the latest software I have used has been provided by Craiyon.

Note: iGoogle was a dashboard launched in 2005. I used a personalized version of it as my homepage, for several years, until it disappeared towards the end of 2013. I missed it, and wrote a weblog post about it in 2018. Once I had concluded that Ello was not returning, I started to write this post about it already in 2023-08.

Update:

I periodically visit ello.co to see what is happening. On 2025-01-22, at about 08:41 the following message appeared, even partially translated into Norwegian. In English it would begin with: Buy this domain. I attempted to follow this up but they would not tell me the price, but wanted to collect far too much data about me before deciding if they would send me the price information.

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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 footprintBiocapacityDeficit (-) / reserve (+)
USA8.223.76– 4.46
Canada8.1716.01+ 7.83
Ireland5.573.73– 1.83
Norway4.988.18+ 3.19
Cuba1.950.76– 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.

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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.