Is something wrong with the station's EAS Equipment?

[MarcB]

I was listening to a station and in the middle of a song the EAS test went off (which I know is normal). Instead of going back into the song there was white noise for about 15 or 20 seconds and then the next song began. Is there something wrong with the station's EAS equipment?

 

[NE Miss Radio]

could just be that there was someone there live (wow, what a concept) who didn't want to come back in the middle of a song. took about 15 seconds to get that event closed and the next one started? anyway, it's no big deal, it's not like a paid commercial got cut off.

 

[Tom Wells]

I remember this (breaking into a song ) occuring once back in the old EBS days, and a dj being annoyed enough to go on-air afterward, saying something to the effect of being rudely interrupted, and live-cueing the vinyl back to the start of the record.

 

[MarcB]

That reminds me of another story. 5 years ago the station I mentioned in my post was a hip-hop station. There was a DJ in studio playing music while the PD was out at the Grand Opening of Bravo Supermarket. Anyway the DJ put the PD on the air for the remote and they're talking. Then the EAS went off announcing a Thunderstorm Warning for New Haven County. When the EAS Alert is done the DJ comes back on and says "I'm sorry. I don't know what that stupid Thunderstorm Shi* was. I couldn't turn it off."

 

[RockyWShore]

When the EAS goes off, (which is music to my techie ears) I just pause the song playing, or if it's a spot, just re-start it when the relay returns me back live. Guess it helps that I put the EAS in and understand it's operation. At times, it seems most folks don't get the concept. I just get blank stares when I 'splain it to them and what they should do, if anything.

Ron in FL

 

[MarcB]

When I was a board op (later a brokered show host) on that station the GM explained the EAS to me. "The EAS comes in over the transmitter. It over-rides the programming and there's no way to turn it off."

 

[zach_morton]

Goes to show you...most of today's talent are all about themselves. If they don't know what EAS is, then they wouldn't care if a tornado came and wiped out a whole town, rather say something derogatory on the air about not being able to shut it off. When I was in Wyoming, we had a jock on afternoons that just went ballistic in the spring because thunderstorms would interrupt HIS show...got completely bent about it. First and foremost, EAS is designed to interrupt ANY programming, no matter what it is. Some units have the ability to delay, thus enabling you to fire the warning or test at your convenience...but the FCC is VERY clear about it. EAS is to be installed between the board and the transmitter to interrupt programming.

 

[ChiefEngineer]

I was listening to a station and in the middle of a song the EAS test went off (which I know is normal). Instead of going back into the song there was white noise for about 15 or 20 seconds and then the next song began. Is there something wrong with the station's EAS equipment?

Some P1 and P2 stations are noisy at the EAS receive location. The live station P1 or P2 originates the segment which is then sent all over creation if the system works.

In Indy we regularly get a station breaking into our automated audio in the early morning then the talent doesn't push the kill switch quickly at the originating station. The noise is white noise on dead air on the originating station which is rebroadcast.

If I had a dollar for every time WFMS forgot to send the kill tone and played traffic or weather I over every station they rebroadcast to.....

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

In Indy we regularly get a station breaking into our automated audio in the early morning then the talent doesn't push the kill switch quickly at the originating station. The noise is white noise on dead air on the originating station which is rebroadcast.

If I had a dollar for every time WFMS forgot to send the kill tone and played traffic or weather I over every station they rebroadcast to.....

At the risk of asking the obvious: Have you complained to WFMS' chief operator, or failing that, your state EAS committee? There's no reason you should have to put up with this. Besides the fact that they are risking fines for not following correct EAS procedures, they are most likely in violation of the state EAS plan, which has the force of an FCC regulation.

The only way this stuff gets fixed is to become the proverbial squeaky wheel.

 

[w9wi]

Some P1 and P2 stations are noisy at the EAS receive location. The live station P1 or P2 originates the segment which is then sent all over creation if the system works.

It's generally been my experience (TFT EAS911) that if the LP signal is significantly noisy the data decode will be too poor to trigger - if a regular human couldn't understand every word spoken then the EAS box won't decode.

My guess is that either the audio equipment at the EMA (where a RMT would originate) is messed up, and the LP actually received white noise between the opening & closing databursts, or if it was a NWS-originated alert the station's EAS box is broken. If they're recording the alert for rebroadcast later (legal for everything but EAN and EAT) then the recorder is probably digital & might be messed up in such a way as to generate white noise.

 

[ginkgotree]

We have the message ... "This is a test of the EAS system ... this is only a test" then the tones ...
and play a message after the test ... This has been a test of the EAS system...equipment that can
etc etc.... I find that some stations don't have the second message after the test. Is this not required?
Tones then back in to music ... or jingle out of tones then music. Seems like the second message
after tones is a good idea.

Monthly test I believe it is... what's the rules for this? Do most keep the EAS in auto...even with LIVE
jocks in the studio?