[EAS] A rogue EAN

[Clay Freinwald]

I'd like to respond to a couple of things you have mentioned.
My comments start with a CF - 

Clay

PEP sources seem to have fallen in and out of vogue over the years. At least
on the station engineer level.

CF - Anything that is analog is in that boat these days, at all levels of
EAS (National/State/Local) since the introduction of FEMA/IPAWS.    If there
is not a computer involved, it's old school and time to join the 'dust-bin
of history'.    
If you ask anyone if they want a computer/internet based system with lots of
features (I call it 'bling') but with serious issues with reliability when
things get really bad...or, do they want a tried and true system whose main
attribute is that it's simple.    They will choose 'Bling' every time.   I
recall talking to a group of emergency managers a while back on this topic.
I asked them a couple of questions -

1-  Why is it you call in the Hams (Amateur Radio) when your communications
systems go down?
2-  Why do their systems seem to work during these times and yours don't?
3-  Have you thrown away equipment would have given you that level of
redundancy due to - 

a. It's age
b. Because the people that knew how to keep it running are no longer
available
c. Because it's not 'cool' and based on computers.

PEP and Legacy EAS is in this category....and is poo-pooed by many for
similarreasons.

And as is the case for our state, and whatever Google source claimed, or was
misquoted, they had all but been forgotten except by those most active in
EAS, or who might be involved directly with a PEP station.
PEP as a direct EAS monitoring source has only been on the "radar" around
here recently for just a few brief years. Only to have last been heard of on
a regular basis during the days of EBS. We've gotten by with (or away with)
a single source for national alerts for most of the existence of EAS by
relying on the PEP > SP > SR > LP daisy chain. Even with the addition of
CAP/IPAWS, it seems we were still sole-sourcing national alerts.

CF - Shame on your SECC for not doing its job here.    Redundancy is vital
for emergency communications.   To a large extent, the strength of your EAS
system is dependent on the work of your SECC and LECC's.    If they have a
system that is comprised of SPOF's ...They have not been doing their job.
In many cases there is a history of finger-pointing and lack of willingness
to participate in these organizations.   The bottom line is simple this -
EAS is as good as you want it to be.
This explains why some states have great EAS systems, while others do not.
The Feds don't run around an enforce the creation of redundant
system....They have, historically, relied on those that volunteer and desire
to create and maintain a great system.

CF - One parting item - If  you would like to see how Washington State
approaches this issue - just let me know and I can send you those portions
of our State Plan dealing with how 'Legacy EAS' works in this state.

Clay

Perhaps those who thought it had gone away, haven't been exposed to it
recently, either. Hopefully any such claims referring to another source will
also include the citation so those in the know would have a chance to offer
corrections to those sources when possible.

On Wed, Dec 23, 2020 at 10:51 PM Clay Freinwald <k7cr at blarg.net> wrote:
>Allow me to butt-in to this conversation - Reference this comment -

>Aaron says KAAY did not do a PEP today

>A PEP is an abbreviation for Primary Entry Point.  I.e. - PEP is a 
>facility and not a Test

>Perhaps you are referring to the NPT or National Period Test?

>If I recall it was announced, a while back, that there would NOT be a 
>NPT this year due to COVID.

>Hope this is helpful

>Clay Freinwald

>__________________________________________________________
>The EAS Forum Discussion List is hosted by the BWWG (Broadcast Warning 
>Working Group). The Core members of the BWWG are Adrienne Abbott, Clay 
>Freinwald, Suzanne Goucher, Barry Mishkind, David Ostmo, Darryl Parker, 
>Richard Rudman, Gary Timm, and Sharon Tinsley. 
>http://eas.radiolists.net Please invite your friends to join our Forum! 
>The sign up is at: https://lists.radiolists.net/mailman/listinfo/eas
>___________________________________________________________

--
-------------------------------------
Dave Kline - Solder Jockey
-------------------------------------
If you only have two ducks, they will always all be in a row.
-me

__________________________________________________________
The EAS Forum Discussion List is hosted by the BWWG (Broadcast Warning
Working Group). The Core members of the BWWG are Adrienne Abbott, Clay
Freinwald, Suzanne Goucher, Barry Mishkind, David Ostmo, Darryl Parker,
Richard Rudman, Gary Timm, and Sharon Tinsley. http://eas.radiolists.net
Please invite your friends to join our Forum! The sign up is at:
https://lists.radiolists.net/mailman/listinfo/eas
___________________________________________________________