Happy New Year everyone!
Is the TFT EAS 911 and G/R Cap 1 converter compliant under the current rules.
Thanks
Yes, the TFT911 has included the 000000 national location code since the beginning and is, therefore, considered compliant in the opinion of most experts. Darryl Parker, formerly of TFT, believes they are all compliant as well. It is important that the TFT box has to have at least three audio inputs in order to work with primary, secondary and CAP EAS sources. During the national test, all of my clients with TFT boxes worked. Some other brands did not fare so well.
Also, some experts disagree that the TFT boxes are fully compliant. Among those that disagree is Ed Czarnecki of Monroe (DasDec). Ed says they are not compliant because the device is supposed to accept EANs under local geocodes and he's not sure the TFT can do so. He also says that the TFTs are "store and forward" as opposed to "immediate" air. The biggest point of contention is over the treatment of an NPT (National Periodic Test) as an EAN. Ed says that the specifications require the tests to be relayed immediately without storing them. Basically, NPTs are supposed to air live, like a real EAN. TFT records the EAS message and then begins playing it out shortly later. The question of immediacy is the heart of the matter and the FCC has taken no stance on the slight delay introduced by the store and forward function of the TFT.
From the national periodic test, I can tell you that the TFT units relayed the test within 10-20 seconds of its start and actually were on the air faster than some of the Sage and DasDecs in town. I tend to agree with Darryl of TFT that the box is probably legal since a 10 second delay seems pretty immediate. Unless the FCC issues a ruling saying that the TFT boxes are not compliant, my clients will probably continue using them until they break, which may be a very long time.
Also, it is worth noting that the Sage 1822 (grey box) can be setup to be compliant as well when used with a CAP converter. There are some significant limitations with the 1822, but it can be made to work.
