[EAS] concerning the request for new weather Event Codes

[Clay Freinwald]

A couple of comments on this topic- 

One of the issues is the fact that broadcasters main source of weather
warnings for EAS has been NOAA Weather Radio (NWR).   Countless endecs are
fed with NWR receivers providing a historic and automatic connection between
those warnings issued by NWS and our listeners and viewers.    A great many
of these connections are at facilities that are un-attended.

We need to understand that the broadcast side of this cooperative effort has
really not changed...What has changed is how NWR is being used by the NWS.

The main use for NWR is to warn citizens of impending, potentially deadly,
weather events.     New technologies have given the NWS a number of new and
valuable tools for sure and, logically, NWS has utilized the facilities of
NWR to reach citizens.    Think of Geo-targeting, polygons etc.  In my view,
the issue is that these changes in the way NWR is used is what is causing
the problem.    

With advances in NWR receivers that enable them to be turned on based on
their owners location NWR is being leveraged to become a vehicle for narrow
casting.   NWS is moving from a model much like an old telephone party line
(where everyones phone rang) to one of selected destinations (where only the
desired party's phone rings)

Meanwhile, broadcasters are still plugged  into the 'big pipe' and whose EAS
equipment is responding to everything within it.    The major difference is
that broadcasters are indeed - BROAD casting and are, in some cases, finding
our non-addressable hardware being inundated with a large volume of message
traffic that resides in this common pipe.

In my view, the solution to this problem involves, changes in the way NWS
approaches the matter and recognizes the big differences that exist in how
we obtain information from the NWR 'pipe'.

Our EAS system would have 'message flooding' if ALL messages were sent using
the same Location or Event Code.    This would result in our EAS decoders
being overwhelmed with information that we did not need or could use.
This would indeed be message flooding too. The way we  deal with this issue
is via selective encoding.    By encoding messages with specific codes, the
originator can determine whether or not a large or small area receives the
message (as appropriate) 

I submit that those that are critical of the NWS for message flooding should
be looking for a technical solution as opposed to objecting to the volume of
message traffic  that NWS is feeding NWR.    One solution would be for NWS
to utilize a specific, existing EAS coding schemes, that would signal
automatic equipment that the message being fed to NWR is for - wide area
distribution and accompany that with specific messages 'designed' for
broadcasters.      Such a change would not curtail the NWS use of NWR for
feeding messages to targeted areas nor would it require that broadcasters
disconnect their endec from NWR.    

It's time that all parties realize that NWR has a lot more information in
the pipe and that its not the content but volume of information that's the
problem.   Forecasters would gain a new tool in the process in that they
would know that certain selected messages are designed for wide-area
distribution.

Due to lack of movement in this area, many broadcasters have, out of
frustration, have simply disconnected their endecs from NWR....This process
can and should be stopped through the use of existing technologies and the
existing library of Event and Location Codes.     Until we resolve this,
more broadcasters will be disconnecting their equipment from NWR and,
potentially, more lives will be lost....There is a better way....at least I
think so.

Clay Freinwald