[EAS] Amber alerts

[Lowell Kiesow]

It may depend upon whether NWS originated the CAE, or if they relayed from another source.  If they originated it, they can probably choose whether to send the 1050 Hz warning tone that wakes up weather radios.   Originating an alert uses different hardware in their system than relaying one.
 
If they relayed the alert from another source, they would do that with a Sage, or some other EAS box, installed in their program chain.  The box may or may not have special firmware to allow it to send the 1050 Hz tone instead of the standard, two-tone attention signal.  Having an EAS box is not standard issue at NWS, so it would be done by special arrangement in cooperation with the SECC.
 
I recently installed a blue Sage in the Seattle forecast office, to tie them into the state's CAP server.  It is running special firmware that does the 1050 Hz tone.  It works perfectly with weather radios and broadcaster's EAS units, and makes it truly an "all hazards" warning system.
 
On Tue, Jun 4, 2013 at 5:37 PM, Alan Kline <alan at snugglebunny.us> wrote:
>About a half-hour ago, we received an Amber Alert--the first I can
>remember in quite a long time. It came through the local NWS office and
>weather radio system. I learned of it from the email sent by our DASDEC
>box, and because I happened to glance at the TV and saw a crawl on our air.

>Our weather radios at home did not activate on this alert, and it got me
>to wondering--when NOAA/NWS transmits an Amber Alert (CAE) are they also
>supposed to transmit the tone which activates weather radios, or just
>the EAS data bursts? I'm asking as John Q. Public--in this case, the EAS
>daisy chain worked as it should, as we got the message from our LP-1 and
>LP-2 as well as NWS, and my wife heard it on the radio station she
>listens to, downstream of the LP's. I'm just curious, more than anything.

>ak

>--
Lowell Kiesow, Senior Engineer
KPLU 88.5, KVIX, KPLI, KPLK
www.kplu.org  www.jazz24.org