[EAS] Observations and a question

[Gregory Muir]

Good evening,
 
I enjoy occasionally browsing all of the banter on this list and have managed to pick up a few very useful items.  But I wanted to lend a comment and also ask a (probably naive) question.
 
The EAS list is a very good compilation of "what is," "what should be" and "what may happen" scenarios regarding the new EAS functions.  But I am having a basic problem regarding sifting through all of this information to come to some very basic decisions as to "how to work with it."
 
I am an engineer who is responsible for not only a single chain of six radio stations but also have to deal with several more plus a couple of television concerns in the outside world beyond my "normal" scope work each with their own needs.  The problem stems from the fact that I am only one engineer who has to deal with all of the technical issues amongst all of these entities.  From this comes the problem of having to deal with a constant majority of system upgrades, new system installations, off-air emergencies and such.  As a result my "basic" schedule ranges around a 14 to 16 hour day often 7 days a week.  And this doesn't include the EAS responsibilities of which this last week was entirely that forcing me to put off several major emergencies to accomplish the feat of last-minute ENDEC equipment arrivals and installations.
 
While spending all of that time (up until midnight each evening) installing the equipment, I quickly became aware of the manufacturer's (namely Sage) ambitious effort to put as many possible permutations as they could into the programming of the filters.  I respect the flexibility offered but spent a lot of time scratching my head as I went through the effort of trying to use my best judgment as to how to handle many of the events now affected by alerts emanated from new sources.  As I did, I quickly started to think that there has to exist somewhere an understandable (and reasonably brief and readable without every other word being an acronym for us neophytes to understand) document that could spell out in fairly simple terms the things that need to be addressed in order to get the filter programming correct possibly after a first or second iteration.  Granted the manufacturers are now providing "quick start" guides but that mainly addresses how to plug the unit in and turn it on.  Beyond this is the aspect of what FEMA and the FCC require or expect to see coming out of a properly operating and programmed ENDEC.  Much of this is legacy we can glean from prior operting ENDECs but some of it is not.
 
So, am I in the wrong place and should I be looking somewhere else?  I do realize that there are other documents available but really have not found a satisfactory source that completely addresses this need.  Do I need to take a week off and become a recluse to pour over thousands of pages of "EAS speak" or "governmentese" to become proficient in only a small sliver of technology which carries such stringent penalties if something is overlooked?  Any advice is welcome.
 
Regards,
 
Greg
 
PS - Over the last couple of days I have had a chance to peer into the ENDEC programming works of other engineers.  From what I have seen, the best efforts of others has shown me that I may not be alone with respect to how one can approach and solve a problem in several different ways.  And this concerns me especially from the standpoint of life safety should the unit not understand the syntax of the person who programmed it.