[EAS] CAP, Text to Speech, and April 23

[Adrienne Abbott]

Dave wrote: 
What you MAY be able to fault vendors for in some cases is not including
sufficient flexibility up front.  Like not providing an on/off switch for
the TTS option.  If you have the on/off switch, then if the FCC changes its
mind AGAIN... it can be enabled.  MAYBE.... depending on the nature of
staffing at a remote site... you can talk someone through enabling it over
the phone, without making a site visit (IF it is a manned site...).

This discussion brings up the question of which of the new CAP EAS units
have the TTS on/off capability? So far, it seems like DASDEC, Trilithic and
Sage are the only ones that come with the capability of turning TTS on or
off. That wasn't a consideration when most of us were buying our new
equipment last year and earlier this year. If a station has CAP EAS
equipment that doesn't have this capability, will they need to purchase new
equipment? Where does this new requirement leave the converter boxes?

Adrienne Abbott
Nevada EAS Chair
"Radio burps, it cries, it needs to be fed all the time, it requires
constant attention, but we love it." Jim Aaron WGLN