New Jersey State Emergency Communications Committee

EAS Fine Sparks Controversy

Administrator — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:51:02 +0000

Recently EAS LP-1 station KWVE in San Clemente, CA was issued a Notice of Apparent Liability (NAL) for mistakenly transmitting a Required Monthly Test (RWT) instead of the scheduled Required Weekly Test (RWT). In the confusion of sending the wrong test an End of Message (EOM) was not sent thereby prompting the FCC to classify this violation as willful and fining the station $5,000.

Based on KWVE’s response to this event it appears that they made an honest mistake. In the EAS community it is feared that this fine could have chilling effects if broadcasters (who in making a good faith effort to carry out their LP-1 duties) are fined for honest mistakes. The FCC is set to make a final determination on this matter by October 17. Stay tuned!

PEP Update

Administrator — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:50:09 +0000

Thanks to the lobbying efforts of NJBA president Paul Rotella in Washington and NJSECC Chair, Rich Archut making phone calls, it appears that New Jersey is on its way to having a Primary Entry Point (PEP) Station. Officials from the Primary Entry Point Advisory Committee (PEPAC) have sent out a team of contractors and advisors to do some preliminary site planning. Since PEP station WABC in New York serves the northern half of the state, the new PEP station will serve south Jersey (areas south of Trenton) south-eastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware.

PEP stations serve a dual purpose (1) to send out Presidential messages in times of national emergencies and (2) to be a communication vehicle of last resort in national or regional emergencies.

NJEAS Update

Administrator — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:49:23 +0000

NJBA President Paul Rotella, NJ Office of Emergency Management Communications Officer Bob Schroeder and NJSECC Chairman Rich Archut continue their efforts to update the states 16-year-old EAS infrastructure. We are constantly looking for new technologies and funding sources. While our current EAS works, the goal of a new system will be to totally eliminate the 2 tiered daisy chain relay that is presently in place and to give broadcasters and cable outlets more reliable and redundant EAS paths.

EAS Credited With Saving Lives in American Samoa

Administrator — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:48:25 +0000

An earthquake and resulting tsunami hit the south pacific region Tuesday September 29. While over 100 lives were lost, primary EAS station for American Somoa, KKHJ issued two alerts before there was any official notice of trouble. One alert was sent after the earth quake and another 10 minutes later when water in Pago Harbor began rising. KNWJ-FM relayed those EAS messages. A pastor on the island gives testimony to hearing the first EAS message on KNWJ. This allowed him to ring the church bell and warn everyone to run to the hills 10 minutes before the tsunami hit.

NJN Announces EAS For The Visually Impaired

Administrator — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:47:21 +0000

New Jersey Network (NJN) recently added an audio only service called, NJN Audiovision, to their DTV line up. Audiovision is a reading service from the NJ State Library, providing audio access to information to New Jerseyans who cannot read standard print because of a print disability. With the advent of DTV Audiovision is now a part of NJN’s sub-channel line up instead of a Secondary Audio Programming (SAP) service. Starting this month, audio only EAS announcements will be carried on the NJN-AV channel.

Operator Training

Administrator — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:43:55 +0000

The incident with KWVE shows the importance of regular staff training sessions on EAS rules and equipment. Since EAS is in the background until it is needed, it is a good idea to take a few minutes with each operator to review how your EAS equipment works and what to do if there is a problem.

Tech Tips – Winterizing

Administrator — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:42:26 +0000

With winter approaching there is no time like the present to do those final checks of outdoor equipment. Are outdoor antenna connections for your EAS receiver tight? Is the antenna pointed in the proper direction? Is the antifreeze level and concentration in your generator ready for the cold months of winter? This is also a good time to remove those pesky bees nest that you avoided all summer.

At least annually it is a good idea to review your EAS encoder/decoder event codes. In the past, some stations have reported corrupted event codes. If possible you should keep a print out of the events codes on file.

CAP Is Coming!

Administrator — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 01:54:20 +0000

Published reports are quoting FEMA and FCC officials as pointing to the adoption of CAP (Common Alerting Protocol) in 2010. CAP will enable EAS originators like the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management and the Weather Service to send emergency information over a number of electronic means, not just EAS. Currently, the way messages are sent via cell phone differ from the way they are sent over EAS and other devices. This of course is not only time-consuming and in some cases confusing, but also opens the door for error and conflicting information. CAP will be the emergency alerting standard everyone will use.

At the present time the question in the radio, TV and cable industry is, once CAP becomes the standard how soon will equipment become available and whose responsibility will it be it to pay for it?” Stay tuned!

With the implementation of CAP some changes will be needed in the NJ EAS plan.

DTV Transition

Administrator — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 01:53:46 +0000

To date no EAS problems have been reported with the switch to DTV. Prior to the digital changeover on June 12, 2009 NJN conducted analog and digital EAS tests in preparation for the transition. Our thanks to Rick Williams and others at NJN for their work on EAS. Some broadcasters and Cable outlets monitor NJN television for EAS alerts.

Are You Signed Up?

Administrator — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 01:53:02 +0000

As first reported on the NJSECC website in 2007, FEMA, the FCC and other agencies involved in emergency communications are encouraging broadcasters to enroll in Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS). DIRS was launched on September 11, 2007 to help the FCC, FEMA and other public safety organizations collect accurate information regarding the status of communications services (including broadcasters) during a major disaster. DIRS is a voluntary, web-based system that broadcasters can use to report their operational status during times of crisis. The FCC, FEMA and local public officials rely on the information in DIRS to identify and potentially help broadcast stations in need of fuel, generators and other needed equipment during times of emergency. All DIRS filings are considered confidential.