[EAS] Is there a way to run an EAS crawl without audio?

[David Turnmire]

I don't have info on the current SAGE in front of me at present, but the 
previous SAGE had a feature for "crawl only".  This seemed like a great 
solution to the dilema we had with SVRs.  On the one hand, we wanted to 
maximize our service to the public regarding alerts that MIGHT be 
important to them. On the other hand, when they were "in season", given 
the large coverage area of our station and the NWS generating new SVR 
alerts every time they had new info about the course of storm, running 
all these alerts would decimate our broadcast programming for hours.  An 
audience that tunes elsewhere doesn't benefit from these alerts.  But... 
the most disruptive part was the audio, so if we just ran a crawl, we 
would could warn our audience without interrupting program.

One little problem... doing this was ILLEGAL!  In the eyes of the law, 
it was perfectly OK to warn NO ONE.  But... warning the majority... but 
missing the sight impaired... was unacceptable. So, we reprogrammed our 
SAGEs to relay SVRs only for the two most populous counties, and left 
out the rest.  Best compromise we could come up with.  A fine example of 
"good intentions" in a law not serving the public so well.  Then, DTV 
came along and our infrastructure needs dictated that we go with another 
brand box. And that box didn't have the flexibility of the SAGE... we 
either had to run ALL the SVRs... or NONE.  So... now we run NONE.  An 
example of why I wish more vendors provided SAGE's flexible "filters".  
Of course, the downside is complexity...

In any event, helpful or not, available or not... as I understand the 
law, running a silent crawl is illegal.

Dave

On 7/7/2012 3:26 PM, Adrienne Abbott wrote:
> Most TV stations have character generators that are separate from their EAS equipment that can be used to display crawls at the top or bottom of the screen. Some CGs can be programmed remotely over the internet from anywhere.
> Adrienne
>
> On Jul 7, 2012, at 12:53 PM, suzanne at mab.org wrote:
>
>> I hope you techie types can answer a question for this non-techie policy wonk.  One of my stations wants to know, "are you aware of any Stations that use software that allows warnings to be displayed as a *silent* crawl at the bottom [sic - I think he means top] of the screen?"
>>
>> Is there possibly a setting in the EAS box that accomplishes this?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Suzanne Goucher
>> Maine Association of Broadcasters
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>>
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