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Harvey_Dogg
Guest
Here's how it went all over Indiana. The whole state had a minute of dead air. FEMA sent no audio to WFBQ in Indianapolis is the reason.
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Here in central NH, the NPT ran -- for the most part --- but audio was severely distorted on many stations I monitored.....
IIRC, there was supposed to be a WEA test also,,,,,,it never ran in my area......!!
Hey, let's go back to Conelrad!!! It wouldn't be any worse than what happened in a lot of the country yesterday!!
BTW.....a couple of the stations I monitor sent the test, but had "decoding errors", according to my DAS endec log.
I still have a couple of TFT EAS 911 units running....and one of our area's Primary EAS stations did not decode the NPT properly.
The TFT unit did NOT decode/send it......
If this test had been the "real McCoy" --- VERY FEW people would have been able to decipher the script that followed the alert tones.....
IIRC, there was supposed to be a WEA test also,,,,,,it never ran in my area......!!
Hey, let's go back to Conelrad!!! It wouldn't be any worse than what happened in a lot of the country yesterday!!
BTW.....a couple of the stations I monitor sent the test, but had "decoding errors", according to my DAS endec log.
I still have a couple of TFT EAS 911 units running....and one of our area's Primary EAS stations did not decode the NPT properly.
The TFT unit did NOT decode/send it......
If this test had been the "real McCoy" --- VERY FEW people would have been able to decipher the script that followed the alert tones.....
Here in Minneapolis the test seemed to go pretty well. My recording of it, however, did not unfortunately. Overloaded my computer recording so many stations that a number of the recordings were bad.
I can tell you that our PEP station, WCCO-AM, did a good job of broadcasting the alert. Sounded clear, but after the alert ended it started broadcasting it again halfway through (different system was listening to itself maybe?). (audio recording)
FM station I was listening to at the time, KQRS-FM, did an okay job at relaying the alert. Sound quality was pretty crappy, they played the attention alert a number of times, there was a delayed copy in the background, and there was some foreign music playing quietly in the background, but it was still understandable. Sound quality doesn't matter much as long as you can make out the words. (audio recording, choppiness was on my end and was not on the actual broadcast)
I had forgotten I opted out of emergency alert tests on my phone unfortunately, so I didn't get a chance to see that.
I can tell you that our PEP station, WCCO-AM, did a good job of broadcasting the alert. Sounded clear, but after the alert ended it started broadcasting it again halfway through (different system was listening to itself maybe?). (audio recording)
FM station I was listening to at the time, KQRS-FM, did an okay job at relaying the alert. Sound quality was pretty crappy, they played the attention alert a number of times, there was a delayed copy in the background, and there was some foreign music playing quietly in the background, but it was still understandable. Sound quality doesn't matter much as long as you can make out the words. (audio recording, choppiness was on my end and was not on the actual broadcast)
I had forgotten I opted out of emergency alert tests on my phone unfortunately, so I didn't get a chance to see that.
Yes. Sort of.
Over-driving the monitor inputs of a certain widely-used EAS device, will result in exactly the kind of crosstalk and doubling of alert audio that you describe.
Audio was near perfect and the test went almost flawlessly at KSKO. We monitor EAS off the satellite.
I think the tone went in and out on Spectrum cable in Kazoo with Jim Rome on CBS Sports Network went to the black screen saying it was only a test from DC. Was also storms an hour before the test with Thunderstorm warnings not where I lived ESA went off quite a bit on Tue night, Wed afternoon & evening as well for thunderstorm warnings only one warning was issued where I lived on Tue night from 10PM to 11PM. I didn't hear any thunder or saw lighting until 11:30PM 10 minutes before midnight saw a big flash of lightning and a very loud clap of thunder which I thought something fell but couldn't see what fell. At one point 850K were without power in Michigan I was thankful that I didn't lose power from the storms on Tue & Wed.
How many flopped tests until you declare the system beyond repair?
I heard it on an NPR station in Kentucky, and there was an alert but the audio was poor, like maybe they were monitoring a 50kW AM from a significant distance.
I heard it on an NPR station in Kentucky, and there was an alert but the audio was poor, like maybe they were monitoring a 50kW AM from a significant distance.
As with any National Test, this one was different than past ones. Rather than distributing it via Internet means (IPAWS/FEMA), it was delivered only via local PEP radio stations. This particular test was checking that form of isolated distribution. Isolating an individual delivery method to a single point provides a look into vulnerabilities. You call it a flop, but it demonstrated areas that need to be addressed. Given how many stations, or media markets involved in a national test, how else would you propose to determine weak points without testing?
Again, that's how one discovers weak points. This isn't a talent audition.
We've been testing the EAS system every month for 25 years now, on a state-level basis. The only people who are in the dark here are in cubicles in Washington.
Local weekly or monthly tests aren't national tests. A national test covers much more real estate. And just because you have successful weekly or monthly tests in your local area, doesn't mean it will be as successful nationwide.
So, how would you propose to test systems that include local municipalities, cable outlets and independent broadcasters? Or would you just cross your fingers hoping it will work if needed?
Sounds like you consider the test a flop, based on your bias against the nation's capital, but nothing technical or procedural related to the way EAS works, or should work?
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Harvey_Dogg
Guest
No excuses. We've been using EAS for 20 plus years and it's about time it worked. But, it's great for putting storm warnings on the air for stations who have replaced board operators with computers.
What part of EAS? The bucket brigade between stations? The IPAWS/FEMA portion over the public Internet? And don't forget NWS. What about the requirement for cell phone providers and cable head ends? And you expect all of it to work reliably meeting your expectations without testing it?
That's the National Weather Service (NWS) part of EAS.
And who do you hold responsible for making it all work without testing, considering there are a lot of players in the game: Local towns and municipalities? How about individual counties? What about state emergency coordinators? The National Weather Service? FEMA? local radio and TV stations? Cell/PCS providers? Satellite Radio?
All these groups and companies are responsible for their portion of EAS. Given the number of players and complexity, you really believe no testing should be necessary?
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Harvey_Dogg
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We were testing the part of the EAS that the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES needs to work for him to get on the air in a National Emergency.
Had this failure been caused by equipment not working at a local station, they likely would be fined and someone fired.
Had this failure been caused by equipment not working at a local station, they likely would be fined and someone fired.
Nobody at local stations is getting fined, or fired. Like Kelly said, it's a test to find the problems and fix them.
The White House, the Pentagon, FEMA, and other governmental agencies related to public safety. Again, how do you know it works if you don't test?
As awsherrill mentioned; nobody gets fined if a test doesn't run. At least if gear is properly installed and configured, they are deemed in compliance. More than radio or TV stations are participants. Each participant has their own role in determining if there is a problem with their systems, and what changes or repairs need to happen, if any, after a test.
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Harvey_Dogg
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I hope they run another National EAS test soon and that the problem is fixed.
Another full test is not needed for some time. Where problems were found, they will work locally to fix them so that they do not recur. The test was very successful in that it proved that the system works. There were some individual parts of the test that revealed issues that need to be fixed, and they will be.
As Kelly said, this test covered much more than just radio. All the pieces work, but in specific areas or systems, improvements can and will be made based on this experience.
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