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Nationwide EAS Test-November 9 2011 @ 2pm

S

Ssummers

I know this is off the beaten path, but I just found out about it 2 hours ago. Is it just me or is there WOEFULLY little info on this test currently circulating? Shouldn't TV, radio, cable and satellite broadcasters be "conditioning" listeners/viewers for it so they don't freak out? The very few people I've spoken to about it aren't even sure what communication factions will be involved. Some people think it will also include the internet(?)...some people even think the power will be shut down(definitely NOT true), for crying out loud.

The test is supposed to last 3 minutes.

Thoughts?

Here's the fcc.gov file:


http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2011/db1026/DA-11-1788A2.txt
 
that is a shame you did not know. i have known about it for months and it has been on my calendar. the scba has sent out a number of emails about it. you might check with your chief engineer who probably has installed a new eas receiver. i guess it will be a good test to have one for those of us who remember ebs and the national emergency script and of course the sacred envelope with the super secret words in them for each month.
 
It'll run just like any other EAS test. The bugaboo is that the video activation will not ID that is is a test, so video channels will have to run their own crawl stating such. In the case of cable systems and satellite systems, many don't have that capability for 200+ simultaneous channels.
 
I don't work fulltime at a station right now...only part time...still, when my brother tipped me off today, I called a few of my radio friends here in NC and in Atlanta and all but one were unaware of it. And, while I know it doesn't involve the internet, the one PD who was aware of it thinks it will involve shutting down the internet, too.(my brother had heard that, as well). I certainly don't expect the FCC and FEMA to check with me first about these things, but informing the public should be at the top of the list...especially with it being a nationwide test lasting 3 minutes.
 
I have always felt that the EBS was enough. I also believe that the EAS was forced in...so that the station did not have to have a warm body on duty.
Truthfully, there is a hidden rub, regarding this test, but we won't know exactly what until later.
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On November the 9th, a 3-minute test. I bet when it all returns,...it'll all have gone to all Christmas! Ahhhhhhhhhhh!
I better safegard my moonshine down in a minner bucket 'til it's over!
 
Just out today is word that the length of the nationwide EAS test was reduced in length to roughly 45-60 seconds in its totality.

Radio-Info.com:

NEXT WEDNESDAY'S NATIONAL EAS TEST IS TRIMMED TO LESS THAN 1 MINUTE
That decision, less than a week before the first-ever National EAS test, comes from Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. Radio World says the word is circulating from the NAB, which says the actual audio of the 2pm Eastern time test will run 30 seconds, for a total run-time of 45-60 seconds. The original length was about 3 minutes, to make sure that the system was working past the usual 2-minute local test time. The FCC and FEMA have been suggesting that all participating radio and TV stations run PSAs ahead of time, to let the public know that "this is only a test." There has never been a fullscale national EAS, even during 9/11.

That's more like it.
 
The amazingly vague Amber Alerts are usually about 2+ minutes long, so I wasn't worried about the length of the proposed test, although I did wonder what they would do to fill 3 minutes.
 
There should be no time constraints on actual alerts and bulletins, but tests? The 3 minutes raised more questions than answers.
 
Anybody got any skinny on this?
I just got word that the 3-minutes has been bumped down to 30-seconds.
Alledgedly, it was e-mailed to the GM's of each station.
Which means one guy for CC, and one guy for Entercom.
*For me, I get a funny vibe off of this thing, but I can't corner why!
Let's say it's a trap. Say...after 11/9, the FCC paid a visit...just to see if it was executed, logged, and filed properly...and if not?
 
The FCC is communicating through national press releases and their web site. Broadcasters are responsible for keeping up with this information.

The EAS system is, with individual exceptions, automated. Alert goes out and it gets relayed down the line. They have never done a national test and they are wanting to see whether it works. At this point it should be no more intrusive than a RWT or RMT.

Stations are responsible for reporting back whether they received it and whether they had problems.
 
Well,...all Mid-day Announcers ready to go Buzzzzzzzzzzzz tomorrow at 2p?
Oooops!...I forgot! They've fired every(warm)body. All you OM's scolded your PD's to manually E-jak-u-late the Buzzbox at 2p? Oh,...I hope that you get it right...because I firmly bee-lieve that there is a whore lot more to it, than what they are telling us. If it snaps like trap...but it's just a test.
"IT'S ONLY A TEST." Yeah,...but remember, it was I, Scooter Lesley, that asked...What (exactly) are they testing? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?
 
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