[EAS] Single point entry of CAP messages

[Tom Spencer]

Lessee...

Lotus Engineering wrote:
>         EAS now works, but has some big limits, things we could not do much about back in the 80's when the current system was set up.  Now we can overcome those limitation.  CAP added to EAS gives us the capability, among other things to;
> 1. More directly target areas
>   

With 1000 possible location codes per state, the only thing was it 
wasn't implemented.

> 2. Include much more information in text form as well as audio than the current system can.
>   

Which helps *radio* how, again?  audio-only medium.

> 3. Provide cleaner feeds.  ( who here hasn't gotten an alert that was almost unintelligible?)
>   

Not a fault of the EAS system, per se.  Interconnect issue - which CAP 
doesn't directly address.  In some cases, it could even be traced to 
improper installation of the equipment...  which would also be a 
possibility for any new CAP EAS equipment.  (and no GM will cut corners 
by trying to do it himself - or hire some high school kid to do it... 
believe that, and I've got some oceanfront property just outside Tucson 
you might be interested in...)

> 4. Provide additional audio and text selectable by the end user for translation i.e. Spanish for those station in that format.
>   

OK, I'll grant SAP as a possible benefit.

> 5. Permit additional paths for the information to get to the end user.
>   

OK, but again - the existing EAS system works quite well when the 
originator(s) and stations let it; providing extra paths does nothing 
for *radio*, per se. 

> 6. Provide Photos for TV for things like Amber alerts.
>   

TV is not *radio.  *Another* does nothing feature, *as far as radio is 
concerned.

> 7. several other things that may not help everyone but may still help save lives in many cases.
>   

Which could still be implemented in an upgraded EAS; there are many 
features in EAS that have never been implemented.

>         Without CAP we have the 20+ years old system that is still, in many areas, a bucket brigade carrying short messages with the resultant loss in quality and accuracy that occurs with multiple relays.  That chain is very vulnerable.
>   

And CAP isn't?  Anything that depends on the internet - or any other 
system, true - is vulnerable to everything from EMP to backhoe fades.  
The sole operational advantage is the "multiple routes" feature - which 
could be (and has, in some locales) done with legacy EAS.

>         The same naysayers who bitched when we went to EAS from EBS can't see the advantages, largely because they don't understand all the system is capable of doing.  Personally I'll be glad to replace the old stuff with equipment with the new improved capability.  Carts worked, Turntables worked, wire recorders worked, reel to reel worked but we have evolved and the Emergency alerting systems need to evolve and grow with them.
>   

Change for the sake of change... I see.