• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

EBS TEST ON TODAY SHOW ON CH.5

> > > Interesting so does a friend of mine at the transmitter
> > > site.Oh vell...
> >
> > The transmitter was not affected by the hub system. All
> > programming except for live news originates from Miami.
> They
> > have programming streams out of Miami for 9 markets on the
>
> > east coast and central U.S. They are also hubbing all
> > graphics production and it is based at KXAS. The people
> > there produce graphics for all eastern and central NBC
> > O&O's. I can hardly wait for the other O&O station groups
> to
> > start this.
> >
>
> Eat that ed! ed, this proves you know NO ONE at the
> transmitter site. ed you are a blowhard! thanks ranger for
> backup.
>
careful remember your blood pressure. I actuall do have a friend who works there, so he could be wrong. oh vell. geez were you voted mr.congenality at aa?
 
>
> anybody ever have to record one of the infamous EBS
> actuality carts.
> pretty scarry stuff.
>
I recorded the EBS cart for a small radio station I worked at in Texas, 10-12 years later a friend heard my voice on the station doing the EBS Test on the same cart. I sounded like I was in my teens, I think I was actually 20 or so when I recorded it.

When I worked at a TV station in Texas, I recorded the sign off. The station went 24 hours in the 1990s, but they'd sign off on Sunday night for transmitter work. Years and years later it was still my voice doing the sign off.

A friend of mine worked for a small market AM in Central Texas, the daily noon news was sponsored by the local funeral home. He was just out of school and recorded their spot. Ten years later he was driving near the town and turned on the station, his spot was still playing in the noon news. He said he almost drove off the road!
 
> > Cripes, why cant they run that at 2:30 in the AM
> >
> The required monthly test has specified time periods it has
> to run, rotating thru the year. AM drive was this month's
> lucky winner in the contest.

A RMT must be relayed within 15 mins of receipt (I dont think the new rule of 1 hour has been implemented yet?? I have yet to see it in the rules).

In Texas, the RMT is sent in a 2 hr window on the Tuesday of the first FULL week of that month. The 2 hr window is usually 11am-1pm or 4:45am-6:45am..when rcvd from WBAP, the station has 15 mins to relay it or be in violation of Federal EAS rules.

So Channel 5 was following the rules...got a bitch? Call the FCC..but dont expect any sympathy..
 
> > Somebody hasn't taken their blood pressure medication
> today.
> > By the way the above explanation is a PR"clap
> > trap"explanation.KXAS is in charge of their own
> facillities.
> > Ask their engineering staff.
> >
> Ed, txfotog is correct. How do I know? I work here. Feel
> free to call me.

Miami is not in charge of the EAS alerts....the EAS box is in Dallas and monitors WBAP...if it is running on automatic, it likely timed out at 15 mins of receipt and away the EAS RMT relay went...
 
> > It's FCC law that you get the monthly test on ASAP. You
> > have so many minutes to air it. Also I'm sure they didn't
> > want to roll over a break and have to make good a spot.
> >
>
> Those tests are usually scheduled on the program log, and
> since it was close to network programming, probably
> scheduled within a local avail. Nobody would schedule an EAS
> (EBS is so 1970s) test within a network spot break...the
> network would scream bloody hell.

RMTs are scheduled within a 2hr slot from the PEP/LP-1 (WBAP).....The program log of KXAS will have NO RMT scheduled on it....because KXAS does NOT originate the RMT...it is a RELAY and MUST be done within 15 mins of receipt...no exceptions!
So it could break in anywhere....especially if their decoder box got the RMT at say 5:45am and noone fired it off manually sooner so at 6am it went automatically...network, etc be damned!!!
 
> >
> > Anyone still have an older radio on which the dial is
> marked
> > with a triangle at 640 and 1240 to locate CONELRAD
> stations,
> > the place to tune for news and official information, in
> case
> > of an actual emergency.
> >
> And do you remember having to dump the carrier during the
> test. Off 5 seconds...on 5 seconds...off 5 seconds...then
> back on....if memory serves...its been a while since way
> back then.

Good memory!!! And under Conelrad, ALL other stations were to go off the air and only those authorized would stay on the 640/1240 freqs!
 
> > >
> > > Anyone still have an older radio on which the dial is
> > marked
> > > with a triangle at 640 and 1240 to locate CONELRAD
> > stations,
> > > the place to tune for news and official information, in
> > case
> > > of an actual emergency.
> > >
> > And do you remember having to dump the carrier during the
> > test. Off 5 seconds...on 5 seconds...off 5 seconds...then
>
> > back on....if memory serves...its been a while since way
> > back then.
>
> Good memory!!! And under Conelrad, ALL other stations were
> to go off the air and only those authorized would stay on
> the 640/1240 freqs!


Then there were those ominous sealed envelopes near the newswire machines with the spooky "Authenticator Words" and the script of what the announcer on duty would say when the other stations went off the air. I always wondered if I were the one reading the script, did that mean I had to stick around and be vaporized at the board while telling everyone "things don't look good, folks.".
>
 
Interesting that you state if the RMT was received at KXAS and if not relayed within 15 minutes it would do so automatically. I’m not familiar with what EAS equipment KXAS has, but I do know that if in automation, our box will relay the RMT or real alerts immediately after reception. In manual mode, it will not relay automatically after a set time, rather it will just sit there until an operator manually forwards it.

R

> Miami is not in charge of the EAS alerts....the EAS box is
> in Dallas and monitors WBAP...if it is running on automatic,
> it likely timed out at 15 mins of receipt and away the EAS
> RMT relay went...
 
I remember opening that envelope one time and I was told I was breaking the law by doing so.
 
> I remember opening that envelope one time and I was told I
> was breaking the law by doing so.


Ah HA. Gotcha!!!!! They knew someone somewhere would eventually do it. I recall being tempted to do the same.
>
 
> Interesting that you state if the RMT was received at KXAS
> and if not relayed within 15 minutes it would do so
> automatically. I’m not familiar with what EAS equipment
> KXAS has, but I do know that if in automation, our box will
> relay the RMT or real alerts immediately after reception.
> In manual mode, it will not relay automatically after a set
> time, rather it will just sit there until an operator
> manually forwards it.
>
> R

You're right...I was going on my own experiences with the SAGE and other boxes but I think one (TFT?) does require an operator to manually relay even the RMT...(I like the SAGE Endec out of those currently on the market...if it had ONE minor change to the software that would NOT allow the operator to CLEAR the buffer when a RMT is received, that would make it PERFECT).

The SAGE can be set for Delayed Relay...so when an alert is received, it starts a countdown..if the operator relays the RMT before the count reaches 0, it goes as normal..if the count reaches 0 and it has not been relayed yet, OH WELL..it goes on its own!!! (CYA mode :) It can be set to fwd on receipt also...the DELAY mode is nice BUT the operator can accidently delete the alert while it is sitting waiting for the countdown to finish...which is my only major complaint about the Sage box (well the PS sucks at times but the new ones has fixed that)..I have used the SAGE in a multistation setup and it interfaces external automation quite well...
 
> > > >
> > > > Anyone still have an older radio on which the dial is
> > > marked
> > > > with a triangle at 640 and 1240 to locate CONELRAD
> > > stations,
> > > > the place to tune for news and official information,
> in
> > > case
> > > > of an actual emergency.
> > > >
> > > And do you remember having to dump the carrier during
> the
> > > test. Off 5 seconds...on 5 seconds...off 5
> seconds...then
> >
> > > back on....if memory serves...its been a while since way
>
> > > back then.
> > >
> > ...yes, and pray it came back up after all the on/off
> > exchanges!
> >
> > anybody ever have to record one of the infamous EBS
> > actuality carts.
> > pretty scarry stuff.
> > CONELRAD...there's a word from the past too! Can you
> > imagine maintaining a Conelrad transmitter that never saw
> > the light o' day.
> >
> Once heard an ersatz alert cart a jock in Nacogdoches
> recorded. Urban legend of the station says an on-air guy
> once played it in the studio, thinking the channel was in
> audition but it was in program instead. Actually heard the
> cart played in the production room but don't know if the
> story of it getting on air was true.
>
The tape concluded with the words, "In case of an enemy attack, place your radio over your navel and continue to breathe normally. Then pucker up and kiss the world goodbye."
 
> Anyone still have an older radio on which the dial is marked
> with a triangle at 640 and 1240 to locate CONELRAD stations,
> the place to tune for news and official information, in case
> of an actual emergency.

As a matter of fact, yes. A Hallicrafters S-38 EM. And it doesn't just have those triangles - it has the honest to goodness 'CD' logo ... twice, yet!

Haven't used it in years. Has a tendancy to shock me when I turn the knobs. Seems older tube types tend to do that as they age. Must be those screws they used to hold the knobs on.

Anyway, shame on KXAS for not running the test before "Today", assuming it was sent within the 15-minute buffer before Matt & Katie. Bad board op, no donut.


Side notes: here in Washington the State Association of Broadcasters handles the scheduling of the RMTs in this state, and they make the schedule known on their website (http://www.wsab.org - click on "Emergency Alert System"). Also, the local (Western Washington) EAS 'guru', Clay Freinwald, has some interesting musings on the EAS in his columns in the "Waveguide" newsletter published by Society of Broadcast Engineers Chapter 16. Search the back issues on their website (it's at http://www.broadcast.net/~sbe16/ ). It's a good read - even if, like moi, you're not an engineer.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.
Back
Top Bottom