(WMRA's Bill Fawcett recently answered several
EAS-related questions on the PUBtech listserve. We reprint his Q&A with permission.
You can view Bill's excellent work on EAS documentation at http://www.jmu.edu/wmra/eas.html.
select this link to browse the Q & A, or simply scroll down.)
A PUBtech reader writes:"I've reviewed the EAS info on the FCC web
page and read through my
Sage manual, but still not clear on a couple of points. . ."
The following material was prepared by the Tampa
District Office of CIB and is the result of a seminar held on December 3, 1996 by the
Florida Association of Broadcasters on the new EAS requirements for Broadcast Stations.
The following are questions which were raised during the seminar regarding the Federal
Communications Commission's new requirements. Section 11 of the FCC's Rules and
Regulations lists all the rules regarding EAS. For Further information, contact the
Commission's Toll Free Call Center at 1-888-225-5322.
The original text of this material is available at http://www.fcc.gov/cib/eas/eas-faq.html.
1. Briefly explain the specifics of the weekly and monthly EAS testing procedures.
3. When a station goes off the air at night, what do they do about the Monthly Test received at night?
4. Who decides the schedule for issuing Monthly Tests?
8. What if my station can not receive the sources listed in the State EAS Plan?
12. Do stations continue to conduct tests with the old EBS Equipment until January 1, 1998?
13. Will the Commission continue to inspect the old EBS Equipment until January 1, 1998?
Q: Do I need to log the 3 weekly tests from my LP1 & LP2 on my
operations log ? or just the one monthly test received from the LP1 and our weekly
transmitted tests or activations ?
A: Yes. Attach the cash register tape for
any events to your daily transmitter log; or establish a separate EAS log. If you have an
MTS Unit, do nothing, the log is written to disk.
Q: Our station is not a LP1 or LP2... why should we activate our EAS
encoder if we receive a warning or watch alert via the decoder ??
Who's listening to our signal that can decode the data ? Shouldn't we just announce the
warning over the air as needed and continue monitoring the situation ?
A: During an alert you will receive and
retransmit more than just data breeps, the alert will include tones (8 sec) and audio
text. You may set the sage to automatically retransmit predefined situations (or hold for
manual transmission). You define which locales you will respond to (FIPS Codes) and which
events. See section 5.4 FILTERING INCOMING ALERTS in your SAGE manual. Most likely, you
will want to respond to Warnings, many stations elect not to broadcast Watches. For
instance, a regional station might have to broadcast 5 or 6 Severe Thunderstorm Watches
during a typical summer afternoon.
Eventually, consumers too, will have acess to the decoded data.
Q: IMHO, our state really dropped the ball on EAS...No approved state
plan yet... Monitoring assignment info was just Faxed to us today.. State DES does not
plan to post a schedule of the monthly tests in advance. What's up with that?
A: In lieu of new monitoring assigments assume the
previous EBS assigment until one is made. Most likely, it will be 2 FM's and One NOAA WX
radio.
Monthly Tests are not established by the state SECC, but by your local area chairman. Ask
your chairman for a schedule as soon as one is available. The chairman can also send
closed circuit announcements in the form of an "Administrative Message" , most
likeley sent on the LP1 or LP2 at 3AM for minimal impact; you will not program your unit
to rebroadcast this.
Emergency Alert System
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
December, 1996
This material was prepared by the Tampa District Office of CIB and is the result of a
seminar held on December 3, 1996 by the Florida Association of Broadcasters on the new EAS
requirements for Broadcast Stations. The following are questions which were raised during
the seminar regarding the Federal Communications Commission's new requirements. Section 11
of the FCC's Rules and Regulations lists all the rules regarding EAS. For Further
information, contact the Commission's Toll Free Call Center at 1-888-225-5322.
Q: Briefly explain the specifics of the weekly and
monthly EAS testing procedures.
A: EAS testing will be performed on a weekly basis and each station must receive and
transmit one test every week. The tests consist of a Required Weekly Test and a Required
Monthly Test.
| Required Weekly Test [See 11.61(a)(2)] | Required Monthly Test [See 11.61(a)(1)] |
| The Required Weekly Test consists of the EAS header codes and End of Message codes. A brief announcement may be used to introduce the test.This test will take approximately 10 seconds to conduct. Each station may transmit the weekly test at any time during the week. There is no requirement to re-transmit a weekly test upon receipt. Therefore, stations may schedule broadcasts of Weekly Tests at their convenience. | The Required Monthly Test consists of (1) the EAS header codes, (2) at least eight seconds of the two-tone attention signal, (3) an audio test script, (4) the End of Message codes. The monthly test can last approximately 30 seconds. Monthly Tests are originated by the Local Primary Stations or State Primary Stations. Monthly Tests will be conducted between 8:30 AM and local sunset on odd numbered months and between local sunset and 8:30 AM on even number months. Unlike the Weekly Test, the Monthly Test must be re-transmitted within 15 minutes of receipt. There in no need to send a weekly test during the week that a Monthly Test is performed. |
Q: In regard to the Monthly Test Rule
11.61(a)(1)(iii), stations are required to re-transmit the Monthly Test within 15 minutes
of receipt. Will Stations with long playing formats have to break into programming to
deliver a monthly test within 15 minutes of receipt?
A: There are no exceptions to the rule unless there is an equipment failure.
However, the Monthly Test should be pre-scheduled so that everyone knows when it is
coming. Therefore, stations with long playing formats will be able to plan around the
Monthly Test.
Q: When a station goes off the air at night, what do
they do about the Monthly Test received at night?
A: The EAS equipment will receive and record the Monthly Test performed at night.
The station can then transmit the monthly test within 15 minutes after morning sign on.
Since the monthly tests are scheduled, the station will know in advance when they have to
perform this action.
Q:Who decides the schedule for issuing Monthly
Tests?
A: Local Primary Stations and State Primary Stations decide exactly when the monthly tests
shall occur. Local Primary Stations are encouraged to plan the process at the local level
with all effected stations and pick a time which is convenient to all participating
stations.
Q: If my station is monitoring multiple sources,
what do we do when we receive multiple Monthly Tests? For example if my station is
monitoring three broadcast stations, we may receive three Monthly Tests at three different
times.
A: The Monthly Test should be sent within 15 minutes of the original receipt. In addition,
if the original receipt is still in the memory of the EAS Decoder, then the Decoder will
recognize the second and third receipts as duplicates and not record them. The EAS Decoder
will recognize duplicate messages by reading the header codes. Also, you should be able to
select the Monthly Test that contains the location code for your county or city of
license.
Q: When Monthly Tests occur, will a viewer
watching a broadcast station on a cable channel see two interruptions? One by the
broadcast station and one by the cable company.
A: If the cable system is also required to send the monthly test on all channels, most
likely yes. However, cable systems may elect not to interrupt broadcast stations based on
written agreements between all concerned parties.
Q: The Commission Rules require that each
participant monitor at least two sources with the EAS Decoder. Does monitoring a NOAA
weather station count as one of the two required sources?
A: Monitoring a NOAA weather station counts as one of the two required sources only if it
is specified that way in the FCC approved State EAS Plan. The State EAS Plan will list at
least two required monitoring sources for each operational area. Each station should be
sure to monitor, at minimum, the sources listed in the State's EAS Plan for their
respective EAS local area.
Q:What if my station can not receive the sources
listed in the State EAS Plan?
A: If a station can not receive the sources listed in the State EAS Plan, alternate
arrangements or a waiver may be obtained by written request to the FCC's EAS Office. In an
emergency, a waiver may be issued over the telephone with a follow up letter to confirm
the temporary or permanent reassignment.
Q: What additional equipment does the Commission
require my FM Broadcast Station to purchase to provide emergency warnings using Radio
Broadcast Data Systems (RBDS) transmitted via subcarrier?
A: RBDS Technology allows for frequency agility which permits receivers tosearch out
and lock onto local emergency alert stations. Consumer receivers equipped with RBDS can be
turned on selectively and automatically from a standby state, much like personal pagers.
Increasing numbers of consumer electronic devices, such as car radios, are equipped to
receive RBDS. The Commission encourages FM Broadcast Stations to provide emergency
warnings via subcarrier using RBDS but does not require their use. Therefore, the
Commission does not require FM Broadcast Stations to purchase any equipment to provide
emergency warnings using RBDS.
Q: What is the purpose of the Red Envelope
Authenticator if a station programs the EAS equipment to break into programming
automatically upon receipt of an EAN or EAT message?
A: Some stations have informed the Commission that they will be operating the EAS
equipment in the manual mode and that they still would like the Red Envelope Authenticator
as a check when and if they ever receive an EAN message. Stations who program the EAS
Equipment to break into programming automatically will have no need to check the Red
Authenticator Envelope.
Q: The Commission requires that stations maintain
their old EBS Equipment until January 1, 1998. Some Stations may receive new monitoring
assignments from the new EAS State Plan. Do these station continue to monitor the old
source with their old EBS Equipment or do they monitor one of the new sources?
A: Let the old EBS equipment monitor the old assignment. The old EBS System will
be used as just a backup system. (Comment: MTS equipment INCLUDES a tone detector, you may
remove the old junk if you have an MTS.)
Q: Do stations continue to conduct tests with the
old EBS Equipment until January 1, 1998?
A: No. Tests using the old EBS equipment can discontinue January 1, 1997.
Q:Will the Commission continue to inspect the old
EBS Equipment until January 1, 1998?
A: No. Inspections will be limited to the new EAS Equipment.