[EAS] Yesterday's CAP RWT

[Mike McCarthy]

On 10/11/2012 3:23 PM, Dave Turnmire wrote:
>The difficulty I have with NMN, ADR, or any of those types of event codes... is that their meaning is not well understood within the broadcast community, nor is their any generally agreed upon guidance on critical issues like whether they should be forwarded. 

Dave,

I'm not sure who you work with, but I know of no station or cable entity who "forwards everything". It's equally disruptive and counter productive as airing nothing.

I don't disagree with the premise some real world message types definition and working instruction is needed for  consistency across originators. Part 73, Part 74, and Part 78 licensees and permittees are at the receiving end of all of this and it's high time all stakes holders look past the core 8 or 9 message types we regularly process in one form or another and consider using more appropriate tools already in the tool box.

While I originally suggested use of the ADR for announcing nominal system testing, a little time has led me to conclude the better tool would in fact be the NMN message along with the well reasoned definition Amy describes in her post earlier today. FMEA is performing network and system testing. Downstream stakesholders need to know who is going to receive the official tests. What better vehicle to use than a message type designed for that application.

What hasn't changed is the fact everything a station receives needs to be logged regardless of message type.  The use of a "heads-up" message such as the NMN sent to FIPS 00000 would at least provide a measure of relief to know whether they were supposed to receive an official test for their area or state. Anyoneoperating under Part 11 and their respective logging rules would welcome some level of supplemental accounting to meet their obligations of determining a received message failure.

Additionally, a very effective employment of the NMN message is to send the advisory message to to FIPS 00000 and not xx000 x 72.  Not only does that test the the NMN, it also tests the only FIPS code used for an Presidential EAN/EAT or national level message outside of a EAN/EAT. Should one not receive that message, then that's a clear sign something is wrong somewhere.

Two birds...one stone.  Use the tools in the tool box.  SBE and others fought very hard years ago to include those housekeeping message types.  
Let's start putting them to good use.

MM