[EAS] Yesterday's CAP RWT

[Bill Ruck]

I've been reading the mail on this.

1.  The more tests that are run on any system the better everyone 
understands how the system works and where there might be issues that 
prevent the timely dissemination of information.

2.  On the other hand, FCC Rules Part 11 are so out of date that they 
don't reflect CAP or modern practice.

The Catch-22 is that a station might find themselves in a regulatory 
black hole if they don't forward a message that was sent to 
them.  Even though the Rules only require national level messages and 
the RMT one might find themselves defending not forwarding something.

Personally, I have always recommended forwarding the minimum since 
the state of California hasn't done much (the state plan as adopted 
is based on a radio network that no longer exists) and local county 
agencies are seriously clue-impaired.  We don't have tornadoes and 
hurricanes in this state and earthquakes are self-announcing.

Somehow two federal agencies need to be consistent in what they are 
doing, what broadcast stations need to do in response to that, how 
and if what has to be logged, and explicit and exact Rules to follow.

Bill Ruck
Curmudgeon
San Francisco