[EAS] Sage update coming in Sept.

[Sean Donelan]

On Fri, 26 Jul 2019, Ira Wilner wrote:
> closures from an external source.  Actually not complex at all.  If one did
> set up coordination between the fire control panel and the dimming system
> you would likely need to have a technician from both companies present to
> sign off on it for insurance and liability reasons.

That's why the licensed fire alarm installer had to be hired. I don't know 
the fire code rules, just that the fire inspector said it had to be done.

BTW, this week I was at the Kennedy Center for a show. Concidently 
the automation computer crashed at the begining of the show. Stopped 
the show completely. The actors couldn't do anything on stage. The 
automation went into fail-safe mode. The house lights turned on. All the 
stage sound, music and lighting shutoff. All special effects, motorized 
stage equipment, video projectors, etc. stopped immediately.

It took them about 15 minutes to reset the automation computer, re-align
the motorized stage pieces, and restart the performance. They needed to 
backup the show a little, and restart at the beginning the scene.

But the point is still the same.  The old-fashion method of tripping a 
relay doesn't work as well with the newest automation systems. In the 
past, a radio or TV station could put an EAS boxes in-line with the 
single, stereo analog audio channel and use a simple relay.

Now, radio and TV stations have digital multiplex transport streams, 
multiple audio and video sources, complicated scheduling systems, etc.
Cable systems are even more complicated.

> You could take it one step further and insist that some sort of EAS alert
> monitoring system be active at every public venue too.

Admittly, Washington DC is different. Many of the government building 
security operation centers (fancy name for guard desk) around town have 
NOAA weather radios.  I haven't seen any with EAS boxes though.

The Smithsonian museums and National Park Service around the national mall 
have an emergency procedure to move people off the mall and inside museums
during severe storms. If you have a portable weather radio, you can hear 
the weather alert on the radio, and watch the guards start moving people 
to safety.

Its pretty impressive to watch public safety officials clear the tourists 
when severe weather is coming. DC has a lot of tourists. A tourist may be 
smart, but they don't know what to do.

I've heard, but never seen it myself, that Disneyland and Disney World 
safety officials do the same thing in their parks.