[SBE] Working the kinks out of EAS

[Dan Mammone]

Russ,

I have yet to hear a National test since I started in the broadcast industry
back in 2001. Even though "Periodic Tests" are specified in Part 11, I'm
sure that annual or decades are NOT what they had in mind. The EAS Handbook
(2007) from the FCC covers EAS Tests from National and State/Local areas.
[FCC CFR 47 http://wireless.fcc.gov/index.htm?job=rules_and_regulations -
good place to read all the FCC Rules]

I'm not sure why such tests are not done... maybe they thought that it would
cause a national panic. But, I agree with your concern. Maybe they are
assuming the Statewide tests are good enough, but the spec remains in Part
11 about National Tests. The other side of the coin is, maybe they are
assuming that radio stations will air their affiliated news networks feeds
as needed anyway (press conferences, addresses, etc). If that's the case,
then the FCC Rules need to change to reflect that.

Not to rehash a controversy about this event, but if 9/11 wasn't important
enough for a national announcement, what is? Only the President knows...

Dan Mammone CBRE, CBNT
Broadcast Engineer
WMCO-FM/Orbit TV6
Muskingum University


-----Original Message-----
From: sbe-bounces at sbe.org [mailto:sbe-bounces at sbe.org] On Behalf Of
russ at russvanderhorst.info
Sent: Thursday, October 08, 2009 2:06 PM
To: sbe at sbe.org
Subject: [SBE] Working the kinks out of EAS

Hi All,

I have been following the conversation on the problems with EAS, and I have
to admit that I 
am bothered by the fact that something that is critical to the infastructure
of our country is in 
such poor condition. 

Hypothetical situation (and I pray this never happens), but let's say there
were a biological 
attack on Boston, MA. I live in NH, about an hour out of Boston. Many people
who live in NH 
commute to MA to work, including into Boston. Add to this the fact that many
people near the 
MA/NH border come to NH to shop as we don't have sales tax here...I could
see a biological 
threat to the New England states moving very quickly, and with little or no
warning. 

again, I hope that this is something that never happens, however if it
did...how hard would it 
be to set up a national test of EAS. Of course, you would want to announce
this several 
weeks in advance that it is a test, and only a test...but I wouldn't think
it would be that difficult 
to do. If various people/agencies around the country knew the test was
coming and when, it 
would be possible to measure it's penatration and speed of propagation, find
out what does 
and doesn't work, and figure out a standard to make everything work as it
should. 

If such an act were performed on the United States, travel would have to be
frozen in order 
to contain the situation, instructions would have to be given. you would of
course get the 
standard government message that "everything is under control" (whether it
was or wasn't). 
It is my (perhaps incorrect) understanding that if a national alert needed
to be issued, it has 
to be done within 10 minutes, and under the conditions I mentioned above,
everyone should 
be sitting still not going into or out of the danger area within 15 minutes.
This is something I 
would thing that congress and the president and the FCC would want to have
working, yet 
we are in a condition where we don't know if it works or not. Just my two
cents worth, but if 
the broadcast industry is not 100% certain the system works, then congress
and the FCC 
should be listening and doing everything they can to get the system fixed. 

Russ 

my webpage
http://russvanderhorst.info
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