[EAS] EAS RWTs and RMTs with no audio

[bill@wmjs.org]

I am the volunteer GM of WMJS-LP in Southern Md.  We have our Sage Digital Endec set up with multiple parallel sources: our LP1 - WPRS, LP2 - WMDM, NOAA Weather Radio Sterling VA, the MDCD EMnet internet feed, and the CAP - IPAWS Feed(s).

I would like to make two observations and ask advice from the forum participants:  

1.  The Sterling VA NOAA weather radio RWT run every Wednesday Morning between 1130 and 1200 EDT is always very noisy and distorted with a LOT of extraneous noise and audio "garbage" mixed in with the audio.  Before I replace our NOAA Wx receiver does anyone else notice the garbled audio from Sterling?  If so, then the problem is with NWS and not our Receiver.

2.  In monitoring our station a lot throughout the broadcast week from home I notice several instances a week where our EAS system sends out the three header data bursts, then the audio alert tone, and then the three short end-of-message data bursts but NO audio whatsoever!  Why is this?  I may have a clue...when I listen to the Washington DC stations like WTOP and WMAL I occasionally hear an EAS test where the "this is a test" announcements come BEFORE the first alert tones and again AFTER the three EOM tones but not between the alert tone and the EOM bursts.  Shouldn't the "this is a test" come between the alert tone and the EOM tones so that the this is a test words are broadcast by all the stations downstream who are required to relay the tests?

Comments can be posted here or sent to me at bill at wmjs.org. Thanks.