WKRQ's EAS Testing

[WyllyWylly]

Last time I checked, EAS tests were supposed to include a disclaimer that indicated such and weren't supposed to roll dead in the middle of a song. Yet that's exactly what happened around 4:20a Sunday, which I found odd. Q must have their system set up strangely, because even a relay would require the board op to punch in some manual stuff on the remote.

Fortunately it happened at a time when very few were listening (excepting those of us who had to work those god-awful hours Sunday). I'm not picking, just curious. The engineer in me wants to know how something like this could be fired without manual intervention.

 

[techie2]

If the EAS machine is set up to "automatic relay", it will fire off when it receives anything that fits the relay filters. If the filters include weekly tests, if the LP1 or LP2 fires a weekly the machine will relay it regardless of whether there is any audio in between the tones. If they don't have a "hold off" wired between the machine and the automation system to tell the EAS to wait for a cue from the automation, the EAS box will cut right in.

I think that typically most stations don't relay the weekly tests from the LP1 or LP2 (since you don't have to...only the monthly tests) but instead will originate their own.

 

[Kent]

Last time I checked, EAS tests were supposed to include a disclaimer that indicated such and weren't supposed to roll dead in the middle of a song. Yet that's exactly what happened around 4:20a Sunday, which I found odd. Q must have their system set up strangely, because even a relay would require the board op to punch in some manual stuff on the remote.

There's no prohibition to airing a test in the middle of a song. It's actually fairly common. As for the disclaimer, it's not required on a Required Weekly Test. The RWT just requires the tones and has no attention tone. The RMT, on the other hand, does air a disclaimer and airs the attention tone. When it airs will depend on how the EAS encoder/decoder is set up.

Fortunately it happened at a time when very few were listening (excepting those of us who had to work those god-awful hours Sunday). I'm not picking, just curious. The engineer in me wants to know how something like this could be fired without manual intervention.

Simply put, when a station operates unattended, the EAS encoder/decoder must be built into the audio chain and will override anything on the air when it sends out an alert. It just depends on how it's set.

 

[WyllyWylly]

Kent/Tech, thanks for the clarification. I mistakenly thought that tests had to include some form of disclaimer so that listeners would know whether to expect instructions or not.

If WKRQ originated their own test, I find it odd that they would allow it to steamroll regular programming, but again, it was early AM, and so not a big deal. Hell, I've done worse live on the air than that! ;D

 

[nmoore6676]

Here in LA I have heard the EAS tones go off in the middle of whatever is on the air even on KFI which is one of the primary stations. I have never heard it go in the middle of a commercial though. ;D

 

[Kent]

If WKRQ originated their own test, I find it odd that they would allow it to steamroll regular programming, but again, it was early AM, and so not a big deal. Hell, I've done worse live on the air than that! ;D

What inevitably happens is, especially in the overnight hours, only one person is in the entire building, and he finds the RWT on the log from the previous hour. In order to sign off that it was sent, he just sends it only caring that it's not in the middle of a stopset. It could also be that WKRQ was set to relay the RWT from one of the LP's, though I, too, find that unlikely.