== EAS WATCH Overview == == www.easwatch.com == -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Emergency Alert System has had many improvements over the last several years. Satellite distribution, National Weather Service distribution and the use of state relay networks have reduced the failure rate. Despite these improvements EAS continues to occasionally fail to reach relevant stations. Sometimes the EAS gets to the station, but the Alert is not broadcast due to a variety of technical issues or human error. What's worse is that, as currently implemented, there is no mechanism to notify the EAS initiator that there has been a failure. The authorities responsible for the EAS initiation may learn of failures days or weeks later. At least one state set up a full time audio feed from across state so they could at least confirm that their state relay network has gotten audio to the far side of the state. FCC enforcement information releases have revealed that some stations have gone for weeks or months without broadcasting any EAS at all. The result is usually a substantial fine. In some cases the station management may not be aware of EAS failures. In rare cases, they simply don't care until caught. If a missed Alert was a Flood Watch, the failure of a few stations in the targeted area to broadcast the EAS is of little consequence. At other times a failure can cost lives and property. Cascade Technology Corporation has developed EAS Watch - a new system that continuously monitors the actual transmitted signal from broadcast stations. Our system detects Emergency Alerts and conveys the data collected via internet to a high definition TV Situation Display located in a state or regional Emergency Management Center. When an Alert is initiated at an Emergency Management Center, the audio from the Alert is decoded by the on-site server. Through access to a relational database and decoding of the EAS FIPS codes we show the relevant stations on a state or regional map. At this point the stations are shown at their approximate location with a yellow icon. When the station successfully broadcasts the EAS, the icon turns green. If stations do not broadcast the EAS, the icon turns red after a user adjustable time interval has elapsed. In addition to confirming that an EAS has been transmitted, the system performs a technical analysis of the signal in order to confirm that it meets the FCC regulations relating to bit rate, tone frequencies, pauses and audio levels. If the signal does not conform fully to the EAS protocol a warning is provided. A full report on the technical deficiencies can be printed. The report of the discrepancy (or any missed EAS) can also be sent to the station by clicking on their e-mail address which pops up with the report. EAS Watch also addresses the problem of spurious EAS transmissions. Currently there is no way for authorities to know that a station has accidentally sent out an EAS. They are most likely to learn of this when the media calls regarding the emergency that is not real. With EAS Watch, any spurious EAS will result in generation of a new regional map on the Situation Display that will also allow tracking of any propagation of the EAS through other broadcasters. Moving a cursor over any station on the map pops up a window with station information including contact telephone numbers and e-mail addresses. In the event of a failure to broadcast a relevant EAS, clicking on a highlight button will instantly send an e-mail with details to the station. All data collected by the system - both EAS initiations and EAS broadcasts - are stored in a relational database system allowing rapid generation of reports. A report of the activity of a single station over a period of time can be selected for viewing or printing. A report on the performance of all stations during a particular EAS event (such as RWT) can be obtained. Station performance reports can be automatically sent via e-mail on request or on a regular weekly or monthly basis. We also expect to offer on-line password authenticated access to stations that wish to view reports on a web browser. Reports on any EAS Event can be automatically sent to government agencies that wish to monitor performance. The EAS Watch system uses Channel Monitors - regionally located multichannel radio receivers that continuously monitor various broadcast stations as well as National Weather Service transmitters and state relay network transmissions. Each Channel Monitor is designed to receive, analyze, and report on the signals for up to 24 frequencies. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Patent Pending - US Patent and Trademark Office -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- For more information, see our website at www.easwatch.com. --