[EAS] EAS monitoring sources

[Jeff Staigh]

Alls I have to say about these suggestions is that after an EQ is the ONLY time you are going to find out whats left. I have been through enough quakes in LA to tell you for a fact that whatever "hardened" infrastructure you have will likely be gone or damaged and left useless, at least for awhile. Forget Fibre or anything else buried, or flown overhead, forget the telco swx, depending on location, and forget MW. You cannot "harden" a tower enough to keep it from distorting, requiring AT LEAST two full tower crews to restore unless its buckled, and that ain't gonna happen until the ground quits shaking enough to climb. RF Link-wise: MAYBE an VHF or UHF link on a medium mtn. will stay up providing the tower and power are still there. OBTW- Thanks to American Tower for removing generator facilities at most of their sites

The ONLY viable option is #3, and its gonna be old school voice only. Been there and done it all

Jeff Staigh | Director of Engineering | Univision Communications Inc. | 5999 Center Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90045
Direct: (310) 410-5652 | jstaigh at univision.net | www.univision.net

-----Original Message-----
From: eas-bounces at radiolists.net [mailto:eas-bounces at radiolists.net] On Behalf Of Phil Johnson

"Do exercises and studies take into account that with inoperable infrastructure, those we are getting the alerts to have no way to receive them?"

Generally speaking, no.  This is a huge gap, both in exercises and in real-world planning.  There are several ways to attack the problem.

1. Direct RF links from EOCs to broadcasters, especially radio stations.
One such system is already operating in one Western Washington county.
2. Use of existing Local Repeater Networks (LRNs).  We have one in the Central Puget Sound area, which is and can be used to relay EAS transmissions from EOCs to broadcasters.
3.  Use of ham radio operators to provide transmission paths not only among EOCs and other authorities, but DIRECTLY FROM EOCs TO BROADCASTERS.  There's nothing illegal about this, so long as the information is necessary to preserve life and property, and other means of communication are not available.
4.  FM chips in cell phones, and other means no one has yet mentioned -- or perhaps thought of.

Closing this major communications gap is something that Clay Freinwald, I, and others have been working on for some months now in Washington State.
The players first need to understand that the problem is a major threat to public safety, then work together to mitigate it.  This won't happen quickly, but I believe we're making progress.

Phil Johnson

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