Dish Network EAS Testing Tuesday

[JohnH]

EAS activation was not necessary - every local media outlet that was on the air was covering the story. Now, had we known that an attack was coming ahead of time - I would have supported EAS activation 100 percent.

But when every local media outlet (and indeed, every national outlet as well) is covering it, there would be no real reason to activate EAS unless Mayor (at the time) Giuliani felt that he needed to make a statement that wouldn't have been carried by the media. What media wouldn't have carried anything he had to say that day?

About 90% of the channels on DBS and cable would not show anything different without EAS.

 

[rdinkel]

Will be a mess for "movers" who get alerts where Dish thinks they are instead of where they really are.

 

[Hall]

Will be a mess for "movers" who get alerts where Dish thinks they are instead of where they really are.

That's the price they pay....

 

[reddice]

Lets see fax machine modem sounds interrupting your program for a stupid test. Yea right that is important. The EAS needs to die a slow painfully death.

At least Dish Network send you a email saying they are doing it. On XM they just do it at random.

 

[Jim5506]

Don't let that little ole tornado interrupt your TV viewing.

 

[Two Good]

There is a down side to the EAS that I experienced when I was visiting my daughter's home during some very bad weather. She has Verizon FIOS and they have already implemented the warning system. The good part of the warning is that if you are watching a channel like HBO or some other National channel, you get a warning of severe weather in your area. Now, the bad side. I was watching a local channel when there was a tornado warning for our area. The local channel was giving some very valuable information about the location of a possible tornado. Suddenly the screen went black and the EAS warning came on! It was extremely irritating to say the least!!! I was very angry that the local station information was cut off. Most local channels in this area do a great job of getting this information to the public. EAS just needs to be done on the National channels only as far as I am concerned.

 

[eacalhoun]

I doubt this technology would ever be implemented, but having been a commercial broadcaster for about 25 years and following the ins and outs of EAS--and the former EBS--what about incorporating a small-built in weather radio in the DISH receiver? About 95% of the US now has weather radio coverage and NOAA All-Hazards Weather Radio is the main platform used for EAS dissemination. The built-in weather radio could be configured by an on-screen menu for the user to set one or more counties(or zip codes) and set alarm preferences like allowing a screen "crawl", icon, or other options. Or the whole setup can be disabled, if the user does not want to know about the tornado that may someday hit their neighborhood. There could also be a "WX" button on the remote which the user could hit at anytime to mute the TV program audio (during commericals or TWC's Local on the 8s) and hear the local weather forecast.

Eric

 

[jegrant]

ITA - integrating weather radios would be a smart idea. Some RCA TV sets do have them integrated, and spookily enough, can optionally be set to power on automatically in case of severe weather.

Here in Indiana, the state now requires weather radios to be installed in all manufactured homes.

 

[CJPC]

Indeed, they considered passing a law like that nationally, and back in the day, would only add like $8/tv set (a weather radio/EBS (at the time) system, that would auto power on etc)

The Issue is, besides the fact that people complained (as in manufacturers), was that umm, for the past 40 years ,the EBS was there to evacuate cities incase of nuclear attack. Even an MIRV'd ICBM, if you knew the second it launched, would give you around 30 minutes, and it would take atleast 15 for the government to realise its legit, and get the EBS going, you would be dead, or close enough to still die.

Sure, its great for any non-giant-fireball emergency, but, I'd still like a permanent override switch if they were mandatory! Waking up at 4am because of a test, would scare alot of people!

 

[Stargazer]

I think its about time that EAS is finally coming. This should be a requirement. I am surprised that it hasn't been already for satellite.

 

[jegrant]

We could always go back to Conelrad - LOL! See CONELRAD: All Things Atomic | The Golden Age of Homeland Security for a hilarious look back at the EBS / EAS that was, way back when. When the Communists were just around the corner, but assuming the "duck and cover" posture could effectively shield us from dreaded "atomic rays."

 

[tnsprin]

I think its about time that EAS is finally coming. This should be a requirement. I am surprised that it hasn't been already for satellite.

It is a requirement, which is why both satellite companies recently tested it.

 

[Larry New]

Just got the following in my inbox.

Saw this last night 2/22/2021 on channel 289 and it did not say emergency alert system.It said Emergency Broadcast System

 

[navychop]

Welcome, Larry.

You do understand you posted a reply to a thread from 2007? You are saying there is to be another EAS test?

 

[Yespage]

This is a test of the Dish Local Retransmission Dispute Alert System... this is only a test. Had this been a real dispute, we assure you the Dish is fighting to protect your bottom line and keep costs from going even hig... oh wait... we now have a dispute. *BEEP BEEP BEEP* This is a Dish Local Retransmission Dispute Alert for our viewers in Des Moines, IA...