Robert G. Hopkins
 | The topic of this article may not meet Wikitia's general notability guideline. |
Robert G. Hopkins | |
|---|---|
| Add a Photo Lifetime Achievement Award | |
| Born | Robert Gary Hopkins 1 May 1962 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Other names | RadioRob |
| Education | St. Andrews College |
| Occupation | Radio and Telecommunications Enthusiast |
| Years active | 33 years |
| Known for | Open Source CAP Alerting with Indigenous languages. |
Notable work | OpenBroadcaster |
| Website | radiorob |
Robert G. Hopkins (born May 1, 1962) is a Canadian entrepreneur and technology developer, active in the fields of broadcast automation and emergency communications, particularly in rural and northern regions of Canada. Based in Tagish, Yukon, Hopkins has developed telecommunications and community media infrastructure and is involved in projects relating to accessible media in remote areas.[1]
Early life
Hopkins was born in Toronto, Ontario, to Jeanne Hopkins (née Kitchen), a historical author, and Gary Hopkins, proprietor of a retail business.
Ancestry
Hopkins’s family history includes several Canadian innovators:
- his grandfather, John A. Kitchen, worked on pulse combustion technology and contributed to the Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow
- his great-grandfather, William Redpath, worked in the early Canadian film industry and was the first Canadian member of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) in 1918
- his great-great-grandfather, Walter Redpath, invented and manufactured vehicles for the Redpath Motor Vehicle Company, among Canada’s earliest automobile ventures
Career
Hopkins left home ages 15 and traveled throughout Canada before settling in Tagish, Yukon in 1982. From 1989 to 1993, he conducted extended bicycle journeys through China, India, Southeast Asia, and Europe, supporting himself by engaging in the import and export of goods between Canada and Asia.
In the mid-1990s, Hopkins developed a wireless telecommunications system named "TagishTel" to address the lack of communications infrastructure in Tagish prior to the wide availability of the internet. Using recycled equipment, he established rural telephony infrastructure, which demonstrated the feasibility of low-cost communications solutions in northern regions. This initiative attracted local media and regulatory interest and was presented to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, CRTC.
In 1997, Hopkins established CFET-FM,[2] a low-power FM station in Tagish, recognized as the first commercially-licensed FM station in the Yukon.[3] He later founded CJUC-FM “The Juice”, a CRTC-licensed community radio station in Whitehorse.[4]
Hopkins has contributed to the establishment of accessible radio infrastructure in various Indigenous and remote communities in northern Canada, including setting up studios and towers and providing technical training. He has assisted in the development of language archives and training programs for local broadcasting groups. His work has included affiliations with CKNN-FM,[5] CHNR, CKYO, CROW, and CKUZ stations.
In the early 2000s, Hopkins developed OpenBroadcaster,[6] an open-source platform used to automate radio and television broadcasts, and provide unattended emergency alerts, particularly in regions vulnerable to telecommunication outages. [7]
OpenBroadcaster has since been adopted in Canadian and international contexts, including use in Bangladesh, Nepal, Malaysia, and Indigenous communities.[8][9]
Documentary film
Hopkins is the subject of the documentary Rob is Analog (2022), directed by Jessica Hall.[10][11] The documentary received the Audience Choice Award at the 2022 Available Light Film Festival.[12]
Recognition
- Sasakawa Award for Disaster Risk Reduction – Highly Commended Runner Up (2025), presented by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, for contributions to inclusive disaster resilience.[1][13]
- Lifetime Achievement Award (2025), presented by Yukonstruct, in recognition of work related to northern communications and community broadcasting.[14]
Personal life
Hopkins resides off-grid in Tagish, Yukon, and continues to participate in the development of open-source systems for emergency and community broadcasting internationally. He collects historical 28mm Pathe films, vintage telephony equipment and is an enthusiast of the Electric Light Orchestra.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Jim Eliot (Jun 17, 2025). "Yukoner recognized by United Nations for radio work". Yukon News.
to be able to listen in the morning and hear their Indigenous language dialect being spoken on the radio, so when they're making breakfast for the kids, and the kids can say, Ah, this is the way that they've been speaking, and also getting the correct dialect
- ↑ "Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2002-273". CRTC. 5 September 2002.
The Commission approves the application by Robert G. Hopkins for a broadcasting licence to operate a low-power English-language FM radio programming undertaking in Tagish, Yukon Territory.
- ↑ Manus Hopkins (Dec 7, 2020). "25 Years of RadioRob". Whats Up Yukon.
What is keeping radio alive right now is local content
- ↑ "Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2003-59". CRTC. Feb 7, 2003.
The Commission approves the application by Utilities Consumers' Group Society for a licence to operate an English-language developmental community FM radio station in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory
- ↑ Kelly Boutsalis (Nov 20, 2018). "These radio stations are reviving Indigenous languages". Vice Media.
We're so lucky that there's enough experts and fluent speakers alive and willing to share their knowledge, and be in front of a microphone telling stories and jokes and having conversations
- ↑ Jeff Macharyas (Nov 17, 2019). "Open source radio system delivers emergency alerts and music to the Yukon and beyond". opensource.com.
Emergency broadcasting has been a core component since 1997
- ↑ James Careless (February 4, 2022). "Campaign Aims for Global CAP Adoption". Radio World.
"Standardized delivery of unattended alerts makes communities safer while making radio more relevant as a reliable last-mile delivery mechanism, especially when there are breakdowns with online media and smart phone outages,"
- ↑ Elyn Jones (May 22, 2025). "The founder of Tagish Radio is getting a special nod from Yukonstruct". CBC North.
using community radio for language preservation is really really helpful
- ↑ Eliot Christian (Nov 11, 2018). "Indigenous Language Alerts with CAP" (PDF). Global Disaster Preparedness Center.
CAP in Canada specifies support for indigenous languages, but it is not used at present. He cited various examples of alerts especially relevant in the far north: Aggressive Wild Animals; Extreme Cold and Blizzards; Extended Power and Telecommunications Outages; and Evacuation notifications for Fire, Floods and Landslides
- ↑ Jessica Hall (Jan 19, 2022). "Rob is Analog Trailer". YouTube.
I would be very careful about defining something as dead, sometimes things do come back from the dead
- ↑ Jessica Hall (19 January 2022). "Rob is Analog". Alicide Films.
Radio Rob Hopkins is a communications pirate with a mission – to keep our airwaves accessible. Trouble is he's an analog guy in a digital world, fighting for the public's right to something they likely don't even want.
- ↑ Pat Mullen (Feb 13, 2022). "Rob Is Analog Review". POV Magazine.
Hopkins' effort and choice to take it upon himself to start the community radio and analogue TV, demonstrates how the shift to digital communication leaves some Canadians in the dark. At the heart of this old soul is a belief in the democratic potential for media. The doc effectively evokes Hopkins' ramshackle spirit.
- ↑ Jienna Foster (June 5, 2025). "Sasakawa Award". United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.
This year's theme, Connecting science to people: democratizing access to innovation and technology for disaster resilient communities, captured the spirit of innovation and accessibility that drives modern disaster preparedness.
- ↑ Cedrick Vinoya (May 22, 2025). "Lifetime Achievement Award". YukonStruct.
Rob Hopkins has spent decades making northern voices heard. When there was no phone or internet in Tagish, he built his own network from scavenged equipment. In 1997, he launched Yukon's first independent FM station, and later developed OpenBroadcaster, an open-source "radio station in a box" now used globally for emergency alerts and public broadcasts.
External links
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