The decision on what kind of new EAS equipment to buy could have an even bigger impact on your bottom line than you thought. EAS State Chair Adrienne Abbott explains why in Part 2 of her new article on CAP Compliant EAS Equipment.

MONEY, CARS AND EAS TESTS 

            There's no getting around the fact that technology costs money. And if money is the prime consideration in your selection of new EAS equipment, there are some things to consider before you buy one of those CAP to EAS Converter boxes.

            Several manufacturers are offering CAP to EAS Converter boxes as a low-cost solution to the FCC's mandate for broadcasters to be able to receive a CAP or Common Alerting Protocol, message by 30 September 2011. The boxes are simply added to existing EAS equipment and connected to the Internet. As always, there's a catch to this seemingly inexpensive and easy solution.     

        The converter boxes have not been approved by the FEMA Conformance labs and I don't think they are likely to ever get that approval. Problems with the boxes start with the fact that you are button-ing them onto a piece of old, early 1990’s-era equipment and any problems you have with that equipment will not be solved by the addition of a new box that will “dumb-down” the data-rich CAP package and turn it into another EAS message with all the problems that the system has now. Remember, there is a reason why we are upgrading EAS. That means you won’t get the text of the audio message, you won’t get the graphics, you won’t get the maps and photos and the non-emergency messages that CAP was designed to deliver. The add-on box simply strips all the goodies from the message. 

        Basically, buying a converter box is the electronic equivalent of adding a Mercedes hood ornament to a Pinto. It still goes down the road, but the fancy hood ornament doesn't make the Pinto faster or safer. What you get is a product that meets the basic FCC requirement for accepting a CAP message and that might be enough get you through the next year or so but ultimately the converter box will not be compliant with the new FCC Part 11 rules.

            That's because the new rules will include a new originator code that the FCC is adding to the EAS vocabulary. The new "Governor's Must Carry" activation will be a state-level version of the national presidential message or EAN. It will be a mandatory activation for all broadcasters and the originator code will be the key that tells the equipment to automatically rebroadcast the activation. (The Part 11 rewrite may also provide that the Governor's Must Carry activation does not "time out" after two minutes.)

            The legacy EAS equipment doesn’t have the ability to handle additional originator codes. We thought we only needed four originator codes back in the early ‘90’s and those are hardwired into the equipment. And there’s no guarantee that FEMA and the FCC are going to stop at adding only one new originator code to Part 11. They may add more, especially as earthquake detect equipment improves. CAP has the ability to recognize an unlimited number of originator codes—it’s all upgrade-able with a software upgrade via the Internet.

            At the point where the new Part 11 rules take effect, you would have to replace the converter box with the full-on, CAP-compliant equipment unit. So, you’ve save a few dollars now but eventually you will have to spend those dollars.

            The converter boxes may be appropriate where state Emergency Managers choose not to participate in the CAP-compliant EAS or where there are no State EAS Plans . No one knows yet how the new Part 11 rules will deal with these situations. But this will not be the case in Nevada where the state already has an EAS relay and officials are willing to add CAP equipment to their warning networks.

            And finally, having had seventeen years of first-hand experience and problems with your current EAS equipment, would you want to base your ability to get life-saving information to your audience on that equipment? Because that’s what you’re doing with the converter boxes…you still have all the problems of the old equipment and none of the advantages of CAP. Why would you want that?

In case you're still wondering if the FCC will postpone the upcoming national EAS test until everyone has CAP-compliant equipment, FEMA has stated for the record that the national test has no relationship to the CAP deadline. In fact, FEMA's preference is to conduct the National Test without the CAP technology so they can determine how well the system we have now really works and where the problems are.

Remember, there's never been a real national-level activation. The few accidental activations did not come close to providing the kind of environment that would show the effectiveness of the system.

The date for the National Test has not been announced but at NAB, FEMA officials appeared to think that it would be sent this fall, probably in September. The plan is for the national test to be issued from FEMA, by the FEMA duty officer and passed through the Primary Entry Point or PEP stations and the NPR national warning channel to all Local Primary stations and then the participating stations across the country. After the test, each broadcaster will submit a letter to the FCC describing their test experience and whether or not it was satisfactory. With that information as a benchmark, FEMA will then conduct national tests every fall.

For more information about new EAS equipment or the National Test, contact EAS State Chair Adrienne Abbott at nevadaeas@charter.net.

Adrienne Abbott