[Nodxa] Fwd: Update..sorta

[Tedd Mirgliotta (KB8NW)]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	Update..sorta
Date: 	Tue, 8 Nov 2011 09:11:58 -0500
From: 	Wes Boyd <wboyd at theradiocenter.com>
Reply-To: 	<wboyd at theradiocenter.com>
Organization: 	Cumulus Broadcasting
To: 	<kb8nw at barf80.nshore.org>



*Don't panic: Nationwide test of emergency alert system set for Nov. 9*

o *By Kevin McCaney
<http://gcn.com/forms/emailtoauthor.aspx?AuthorItem=%7b4DBA9D05-7905-43CD-A75D-DC1D75E26B2E%7d&ArticleItem=%7bFA0324F9-9820-4C09-B2F0-0B3DDAED8DCC%7d>*

o *Nov 07, 2011*

It’s not likely to cause a “War of the Worlds”-type panic or anything,
but the Federal Communications Commission will shut down TV and radio
programming on Nov. 9 — broadcast, cable, satellite — in the first
nationwide test of the *Emergency Alert System
<http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/emergency-alert-system-nationwide-test>*.

The test will start at 2 p.m. Eastern time and last about 30 seconds,
according to the FCC. No sports yak, no political yak, no soap operas,
no “Beverly Hillbillies” reruns. Nothing. Anywhere, coast to coast. For
30 seconds, maybe, gulp, even longer.

So in addition to testing the system, the FCC will see if the daytime
TV-watching and radio-listening public can hold its collective breath
for that long all at once. The FCC originally had said the test could
last *three-and-a-half minutes
<http://www.gsnmagazine.com/node/24903?c=communications>*, which might
have gotten people a little panicky, but 30 seconds seems doable.

The EAS has been tested locally since 1994, when it began replacing the
old Emergency Broadcast System, but it has never had a nationwide test
before, which the FCC says is necessary to find out if it will work in
the event of an emergency.

“Only a top-down, simultaneous test of all components of the EAS can
provide an appropriate diagnosis of system-wide performance,” the FCC says.

The test is a joint operation of the Homeland Security Department, which
administers the system through the Federal Emergency Management Agency,
the FCC and National Weather Service, which also have responsibility for
EAS management. To date, EAS alerts have been used locally for a variety
of emergencies, most often weather alerts, the FCC says.

Although a 30-second test isn’t likely to start a panic, the FCC has
noted that some TV screens might not say, “This is a test,” and some
might not show an image at all, because of limitations in the system.
The audio message will be the same for all, however, and the FCC and
FEMA *have been working
<http://blog.fema.gov/2011/10/help-us-spread-word-on-november-9-this.html>*to 

make the public aware that it’s coming.


-- 
Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW - kb8nw at barf80.nshore.org --or-- kb8nw at arrl.net
Editor of the "Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin" (OPDX - "DXer's Tool of Excellence")
President of the "Northern Ohio DX Association" (NODXA)
DX Chairman for the "Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society
ARRL Assistant Director of the Great Lakes Division
Sysop of the "Basic Amateur Radio Frequency BBS" (BARF80.ORG)