[EAS] Single point entry of CAP messages

[Bowen, Jonathan]

I'm not saying CAP isn't needed. I just argue that CAP should be EAS's little brother not the one in charge. It should be a companion service that TV/Cable stations can use because the embedded content is of use to them. If you heard an amber alert go off and knew all that info was just a few clicks away on a website it would still be just as fast and useful for those that need it but no unnecessarily bog down the system. The CAP service could send our emails or a hundred other alert methods that contained all the info for the broadcasters that needed it and everyone would be happy. Having CAP control EAS just seems wrong. Leave the stable system in place because it will still be there when we need it. If you want all the bells and whistles then great they are there for those that can use them. I think the level of integration is going to cause problems when the local and state infrastructure starts collapsing in a major emergency.

The only problem we have with EAS is when our providers get lazy and decide not to send tests. One of them at least calls me back and says they will look into it. The other ignores me completely. I log the phone call and move on. 

Thank you
 
Jonathan Bowen
RBN/WPCS Field Engineer

-----Original Message-----
From: eas-bounces at radiolists.net [mailto:eas-bounces at radiolists.net] On Behalf Of Tom Spencer

Adrienne -

All that is fine and dandy - for TV and Cable Systems.

How does it benefit *radio*???

Legacy EAS is sufficient for radio, in 999,999 times out of a million.  
That one in a million is when the audio gets garbled - and I'd note that the data in the CAP message is also prone to being corrupted.  Garbled audio is less likely to occur than corrupted data - and yes, data can be resent, but that takes time - time which, as you point out, a victim may not have.  Garbled audio is generally at least partially intelligible on the first pass.  (Same as with any analog circuit; it's far more robust on the first attempt than any digital circuit.  It's amazing what the ear can hear. - or the eye can see, for that matter; even the tiniest bit of information can be gleaned from even the noisiest analog signal - but digital is all-or-nothing.)

I've spent a lot of time over the years deliberately seeking those signals - signals that are gone if digital, but through the pops, cracks, hiss, and crashes, the information generally gets there. 

Even managed to watch some TV from stations over 200 miles away, at times.  Snowy, but there.  No longer possible, alas.

Adrienne Abbott wrote:
> Jonathan--
> EAS may work well for you and your stations but it doesn't mean it 
> works well for the rest of us. One of the biggest problems we have had 
> since EAS took effect in 1997 is the lack of specific information in 
> the text produced by the current EAS equipment.
>   
Snip
> However, you are right about one thing. Even with all the potential of 
> CAP, there will still be problems. There will be a learning curve 
> especially for the state and local law enforcement, emergency 
> management and public safety agencies who will originate the messages. 
> But just like we did with EAS, our job is to make it work.
>   

And this will still be the problem with CAP - because there's no mandate to the originators to properly originate!

> I would only ask you: how well does your 14 year old computer work 
> these days?

It works fine, doing the task it was set to do.  Running DOS, even!

>  And are you still getting analog service for that bag phone you're 
> carrying around?

It would if the carriers still supported it.

> After all, those technologies worked too. Or have you upgraded since 
> 1997? And was it really that tough to figure out your iPhone or 
> Windows 7?
>   

What iPhone?  What Windows 7?  None of that stuff here.  Last Windows install was Win2kPro - now has SP4 included.  One system running Ubuntu Linux.

And I don't have - nor want - data service to my phone - not even texting.  Phone is for audio.  Computer is for text, graphics, internet.  And for security, the computers are linked via Ethernet, not WiFi.

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