[EAS] Converters or not?

[Edward Ford]

Let's not assume that every EAS unit in the field is 25 years old.  I have a HolyAnne HU-961 that's from the dawn of EAS (factory repaired in 2008) but it's a back up unit.  Our main unit I bought was bought in late 2008.  Some broadcasters may have EAS units that are less than 5 years old.  From the quotes I got, the price difference between a converter box and new unit was $800.  That's a lot of money at my non-commercial station operated by a college district.  And if we didn't make revenue from sports broadcasts, we would even have the converter box.  If that buys time until 2015, that's fine.  If it buys 10 years, then that's even better.  With the state of cutbacks at colleges, our radio program will have been axed long before then.

It would be nice if every station could have newer equipment.  However, if 25 year old equipment wasn't allowed then a large number of radio stations would be going off the air.