[SBE] Working the kinks out of EAS

[Dan Mammone]

Sure they [RWTs] do Bob... I've caught expired messages in mine, especially
for the changes regarding Daylight Savings Time... Usually my Endec or
theirs. RWTs are a good way to catch time discrepancies.

Personally, I don't think people would panic. I just suggested that the
federal people may THINK that may happen. Of course, it could be just the
simple fact that FEMA has yet to be trained as an originator. Or, they have
just "forgotten" radio broadcast altogether and opted for TV/Cable. But
then, I've seen no National tests on TV/Cable either.

OK FCC... where are you on enforcement at the National level? You're right
there!

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 Bob
Reite
Sent: Thursday, October 08, 2009 7:57 PM
To: sbe member discussion mail list
Subject: Re: [SBE] Working the kinks out of EAS

This is why a RMT should be issued from FEMA, to check on the 
propagation. I don't think it would cause a panic, because at least in 
Pennsylvania, RMTs issued from PEMA are a normal monthly event, and 
really exercise the system.  As far as I'm concerned, RWTs are pretty 
much useless.  They check that the encoder works, and that the decoders 
work, but do not reveal issues, such as messages expiring and never 
getting forwarded because of propagation delays.

russ at russvanderhorst.info wrote:

> 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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