[EAS] FCC NPRM on improving EAS just issued

[Mike McCarthy]

Hi Don,

The EAN is immediate auto-forward by rule. Can't change it. Everyone's
machine is and has been this way since 1997. Everything else except the
RMT is optional.

Unfortunately, the pain we suffered was human error for the most part and
only limited things can be done administratively to account for that and
prevent recurrence.  That said, the system has only been changed
once...2011. Other than adding CAP, the change added more message types
and changed a few insundry things. Nothing was done to correct clear flaws
in the overall system since its inception.

Maybe this NPRM can do that. But I don't think it will...or go far enough.

Gun shy isn't the hold back. It's the outright discontent of the licensees
to air anything which impacts their listeners enjoyment and associated
revenue stream. To which I fully agree. If the system is to takeover a
station's program, it had better be authenticated. Not simply rely on a
message type and date header. That has been proven multiple times to not
be enough.

Cheers...

MM

On Wed, February 3, 2016 10:37 am, Don  Heppelmann wrote:
> Hi Mike,
>
> I'm not aware of any false EAN alerts here in Minnesota. (knocking on
> wood now) We have our system in Auto-Forward for an EAN, and have been
> this way for many years.
>