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MickeyD
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Any suggestions for EAS/CAP equipment for LPFM stations?
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Only decoders are required for LPFM.I suggest the Dasdec units from Digital Alert Systems.
If your LPFM is on a tight budget, you can find old EAS gear on eBay for under $100. Add a cap converter (Gorman-Redlich and TFT make the only ones that I know of), and you're online for about $1300. That's about $700 less than buying a Dasdec decode only box and more than $1,000 off of the full Dasdec. Of course, you now have an older EAS system. The upside is that you can also be a full EAS participant instead off signing of during emergencies.
Having an older EAS system means there is less life remaining in the equipment and it means you don't get the fancy do-dads like remote access via the Internet and e-mailed EAS logs. But it is cheaper. Several LPFM clients here have gone that route and it works reasonably well. Since none of the clients was having any problems with their 5 or 6 year old EAS units, they just added CAP converters and continued using the EAS boxes as before. I recommended that they each spend an extra $80 to buy a spare EAS box in case their main ever dies. That helps protect their investment in the CAP converter.
If you are interested in taking on a do-it-yourself project, there is a provision in the EAS rules that allows stations to create their own EAS gear, as long as it is not for re-sale. You are not required to use FCC Certified EAS equipment at individual stations. So you could, for example, write your own CAP utility in C or even Visual Basic and run it on a junk PC. Assuming it works, that would satisfy the EAS rules.
Having an older EAS system means there is less life remaining in the equipment and it means you don't get the fancy do-dads like remote access via the Internet and e-mailed EAS logs. But it is cheaper. Several LPFM clients here have gone that route and it works reasonably well. Since none of the clients was having any problems with their 5 or 6 year old EAS units, they just added CAP converters and continued using the EAS boxes as before. I recommended that they each spend an extra $80 to buy a spare EAS box in case their main ever dies. That helps protect their investment in the CAP converter.
If you are interested in taking on a do-it-yourself project, there is a provision in the EAS rules that allows stations to create their own EAS gear, as long as it is not for re-sale. You are not required to use FCC Certified EAS equipment at individual stations. So you could, for example, write your own CAP utility in C or even Visual Basic and run it on a junk PC. Assuming it works, that would satisfy the EAS rules.
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MickeyD
Guest
I actually have a TFT and was planning on getting a cap converter for it. That leaves two more LPFM that require equipment. I am looking for basic,reliable, and as inexpensive as you can reasonably get. Everything looks like it is in the same price range. I wonder if I wrote my own CAP utility could give it to a station legally?
Yes, as long as no money changes hands I believe that you can pass it along to your station. You do have to ask for an official waiver to use your own converter, but as long as it works, you should be able to do that. You can also put your CAP to EAS utility into public domain which would likely earn you the adulation of a great many LPFM stations.
I'm actually a little surprised that there isn't already a cheap or free IPAWS/CAP program out there for monitoring from your PC. I would think that would be quite a useful tool for a lot of places.
The actual rule (47CFR 11.34(e)) reads:
"(e) Waiver requests of the Certification requirements for EAS Encoders or EAS Decoders which are constructed for use by an EAS Participant, but are not offered for sale will be considered on an individual basis in accordance with part 1, subpart G, of this chapter."
That cap utility software would be a welcome relief to spending bucks on cap converters. There are still quite a few non-cap compliant units for sale.The new Sage Endec can be had for about 2100.00, if you go the new route. I wish the FCC would allow using the digital log for proof instead of wasting a bunch of paper(think Green) printing logs.As we all know these newer units have plenty of storage and the Sage has usb capability as well.
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MickeyD
Guest
This is great information guys. Actually I pulled out the EAS receiver and ENDEC and learned that it was not a TFT it is Sage Model 1822. The DYI EAS System bears further investigation.
I have used the G-R box successfully with the 1822. CC in Tampa uses one G-R feeding all their old EAS boxes, since it just outputs the same audio as the over-the-air stations, so the ENDEC can understand it.
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