[EAS] Converters, or not?

[Bill Ruck]

I see both sides to this discussion.

First, CAP is an UNFUNDED MANDATE.  Stations are required to comply 
at their own cost.

Second, there are more stations that are operating on less than a 
shoestring budget these days.  The big boys can buy new equipment but 
stations that can barely afford the rent and power bill are 
postponing everything they can.  If a lower cost converter buys them 
a few years that kicks the can down the road and maybe things will be 
better then.

Third, local EAS is another UNFUNDED OPTION.  Unless there is strong 
local organization at the local government level with a working 
system my recommendation to most stations is to comply only with the 
minimum: President and RMT.

Fourth, the FCC needs to be forced to revisit their latest 
R&O.  Radio stations have no visual content.  And text-to-speech is, 
in my mind, a very useful feature no matter how weird it sounds.

In order to save money, the State of California shut off their 
statewide microwave network that, according to the EAS plan, is how 
the state issues alerts.  The plan has not been revised and 
published.  I don't miss this because the audio delivered by the 
state network was terrible: very distorted, heavily compressed, with 
a noise-to-signal ratio.  I would not put it on any station.  The 
state plan needs to be updated to allow CAP and either the state 
needs to learn how to generate an audio file that can be downloaded 
and played back (which is probably way beyond their skill level) or 
the FCC needs to allow text-to-speech.

Bill Ruck
Curmudgeon
San Francisco