[EAS] FCC R&O

[Rod Zeigler]

My $0.02 on a few of the things being discussed.

Secure Log-In For Online State Plans and Secret Information.
I see this as an analog to the Online Public Information File. Only 
those charged with uploading and editing the file have the permissions 
necessary to do so. To the public it is a read-only file. As far as 
"secrecy" my opinion is that in this day and age of the internet, if it 
is posted on the internet someone will be able to access the information 
whether they have permission or not. The identities of all PEP stations 
used to be considered "Confidential" and now you can find maps of all of 
them on the internet. Write the state plans with the idea that they can 
be handed out on street corners. If there are non-broadcast frequencies 
being used and someone fears hijacking, then those frequencies should be 
encrypted in such as way as to lower the possibility. Searching scanning 
radios have pretty much put the idea of secret frequencies out to 
pasture, so encrypt or faggiddaboudit.

Multi-Lingual Alerts In A Daisy Chain.
This can of worms is now open and spilled so it is up to all of us to 
make the best of it. If an LP station with downstream stations is not a 
primarily English speaking station, my thought is that the first alert 
is in English. This parallels with the requirement that legal ID's must 
be in English. This way the downstream stations can do with the alert as 
they are required and the LP can then transmit the alert in the primary 
language of their station. This seems to be something that needs to be 
in State Plans instead of a Federal mandate.
The translation has to be done automatically in the EAS appliance at the 
station level for a few reasons. Having the alerting authority send out 
alerts in multiple languages slows down the original alerting process. 
It will also allow the individual stations to pick and choose what 
non-English language best suits their situation.

The R&O As A Whole.
Many of us involved in our SECC's have asked for guidance and definition 
from the FCC for quite a few years. Now we have it. I am sure there will 
be quite a bit of cussing and discussing it, but we have a year or 
better before we have to execute the online mandate. That should give 
all SECC's the time to not only digest what is in the R&O , but also 
develop the necessary documentation to comply. I have only read it from 
end to end once, and will do so again many times in the next few months. 
There is a lot to take in for everyone involved in SECC's.

-- 
R. V. Zeigler, Dir. of Eng.
Nebraska Rural Radio Assn.
KRVN-KTIC-KNEB-KAMI
Chairman, Ne. SECC
Exec. Dir. NEBA
www.krvn.com