[EAS] EAS monitoring sources

[Alex Hartman]

Having been the president of a local Amateur Radio club, they do take the EmComm stuff VERY seriously. Our club has several repeaters, all linked via voice, not data, throughout the tri-county area. We can suffer a major outage and still cover a large geographic area. We do Skywarn training, EOC training, work with the 3 counties quite closely, even participate with FEMA on a nuclear disaster training. They simulate 100% regular communication breakdown, and we bring in portable repeaters (both small in-building style and a backseat 100w unit) along with a suitcase full of baofengs, the really cheap ones without the LCD, preprogrammed. (So much easier to deal with in these situations.)

That being said, I have had to turn away a few "whackjobs" who were essentially EMS/police flunkees, lights and all on their vehicles. The sort of people who just end up getting in the way and cost people lives. I made it very clear those types were not welcome unless they complied with the club rules. 

Also, getting in with the county is a very tough job. Many people think that amateur radio is pointless in a disaster. To a degree, i have to agree, and most county EOCs are right, as is the sheriff. It's made to be a last ditch effort, not a front line situation. And when disaster does strike, the rule book gets tossed aside. Now, i will say that we were contacted a few years ago after a tornado in rural MN to come and assist with communications and essentially become the dispatch center for the town that was mostly leveled. 10 volunteers came up with their war chest of goodies and the club resources. They were able to hand out a radio to everyone in authority and operate a successful dispatch system entirely built by hand. The local PD repeater was on the water tower, which toppled, the state ARMER system wasn't running yet in the area, and the main county repeater was well.... "due for repair anyways". The perfect storm.

EAS is intended to be an early warning system, not a post-event system. Of course hams should probably not be involved in it, other than skywarn reports to NWS, and in that instance, the system is already in place and works very well. 

And yes, the WEA, while useful, has little impact when the iHearts of the world are spinning satellite programming and the building is empty. Remember, many broadcasters still see EAS as the "necessary evil and unfunded mandate". They're going to do as little as possible to be compliant, which in most cases is set it for "forward everything" and shut the door. There are the smaller community stations that do take it seriously to pick up the slack, but they're few and far between.

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Alex Hartman