[EAS] Check the on-the-air -- not just the EAS box logs

[Al Kenyon]

The last two years immediately following the IPAWS EAS National Test I was
able to make extensive use of a commercial monitoring service to view the
off-air performance of television broadcasters including grabbing brief
video clips. The reported/observed performance of several San Antonio
stations is both regrettable and not surprising. The single most common
issue I noted over the last two years was failure to mute program audio
during relay of the NPT audio message. When I brought this to the attention
of one group owner they scheduled a group engineering webinar with their
automation vendor to ensure that all stations in the group had their
automation configured to properly mute program audio. It's not as easy as
you might think. EAS inserts need to be handled differently than promo
inserts and weather warning sounders. 

Unfortunately I've lost access to the monitoring service this year leaving
me somewhat blind to what actually occurred in the field. I really
appreciate reports like this, particularly when there are video clips
available.

Regards,

AL KENYON
Customer Support Branch Chief
IPAWS Program Office, National Continuity Programs