Next
'Sandy'
a Month
Away? |
Emergency
Managers
Add
Information
Radio in
Preparation |
NORTH
PLAINFIELD,
NJ: If
New
Jersey
residents
needed
an
object
lesson
about
how a
major
storm
affects
communications,
“Superstorm
Sandy”
certainly
supplied
it in
October.
The
cascade
of power
outages
that
triggered
communication
outages
left
millions
in the
dark –
literally,
as well
as in
terms of
connectivity.
One
fact
that has
surfaced
repeatedly:
communities
with
Information
Radio
Stations
had a
means of
maintaining
a link
to
citizens
when
conventional
communication
methods
were
offline;
those
that did
not, did
not.
Stories
abound
about
Information
Stations
that
operated
on
batteries
recharged
by
generators
and with
their
antennas
standing
in 3
feet of
storm
surge.
Communities
with
hurricane
wind
rated
poles
called
Vertical Profile Antenna Support and Grounding Systems
had the
best
success
keeping
their
antennas
erect.
As a
result,
numerous
emergency
managers
in
Northern
New
Jersey
are
adding
or
upgrading
Information
Radio
Services
this
spring
in
anticipation
of the
next
hurricane
season,
now less
than a
month
away.
North
Plainfield,
NJ, has
taken an
active
role in
promoting
the
technology
to its
neighbors.
Borough
Clerk
Rich
Phoenix
attended
the
FCC’s
hearing
in
Hoboken,
NJ, in
February
and
button-holed
FCC
Chairman
Genachowski
between
sessions
to
advise
him
regarding
the
usefulness
of
Information
Radio
during
the
disaster.
It was
not lost
on those
attending
that
despite
the
plethora
of new
media,
the FCC
reserved
for
conventional
radio
broadcasting
special
kudos
for its
lifesaving
role
during
and
after
the
storm.
North
Plainfield’s
mayor
Michael
Giordano
co-authored
an
article
with
Phoenix
in
New
Jersey
Municipalities
Magazine
the
same
month,
laying
out a
compelling
case for
an
increased
emergency
role for
the
service.
States
Phoenix
in the
article
titled
“Radio
Comes to
the
Rescue
in North
Plainfield”:
"Although
the
internet
and new
technologies
seem to
be
everyone’s
darlings,
they
remain
highly
vulnerable.
The
simple
AM radio
proved
most
effective
during
this
emergency."
There
are
areas in
New
Jersey
where
radio
frequencies
for new
Information
Radio
Stations
will
soon
become
scarce.
If your
community
is
considering
adding
the
service,
it is
recommended
that you
first
determine
if a
frequency
is
available.
Contact
Information
Station
Specialists
to learn
how to
initiate
a
frequency
search. |
|
Recent
Disasters
May
Influence
New TIS
Rules |
New
Draft
Reportedly
on the
Move |
WASHINGTON,
DC:
Encouraging
news has
begun to
trickle
from the
FCC
regarding
the
pending
rewrite
of the
Information
Station
(TIS)
rules.
AAIRO
Counsel
Frank
Jazzo of
Fletcher,
Hildreth,
Heald
says
that his
sources
within
the FCC
indicate
that the
Report &
Order
draft
“has
been
revised
to take
into
account
recent
ex
parte
filings
by AAIRO
members
regarding
the use
of TIS
stations
during
SuperStorm
Sandy
and the
Newtown
shootings,
as well
as the
FCC’s
own
research
on TIS
use
during
such
events.”
Jazzo
goes on
to
advise
that the
draft is
still at
the
Bureau
level
but that
“the
draft is
supposed
to be
forwarded
to the
Chairman’s
office
by the
end of
April.”
Efforts
to
encourage
the
Commission
to move
it to
the FCC
Commissioners
for a
vote
have
been
time-consuming
and
costly.
Meanwhile,
AAIRO,
the
nonprofit
association
for
Information
Radio
Operators
that has
spearheaded
the
effort,
has
issued a
pitched
appeal
for
support.
"We’ve
maxed
the
limit of
what we
can do
on this
effort
and we
are
appealing
to the
Public
Safety
Community
and
interested
parties
to
help,”
states
AAIRO
president
Bill
Baker in
a
communiqué
sent to
members
this
month.
“So, we
hope
readers
will
join in
the
‘$90.24
movement’
now so
we can
reach
the
finish
line.”
The
donation
effort
is named
for the
FCC Rule
Section
(90.242)
that
governs
the
radio
service.
Additional
travel
costs
and
meetings
with FCC
staffers
likely
will be
required
before
the
campaign
is
complete.
We
encourage
everyone
who is
involved
with
Information
Radio to
donate
$90.24
to the
effort,
so we
can
finish
what we
all
started,”
adds
Baker.
“This is
a
historic
opportunity
to make
tangible,
definable
changes
in a
unique
service
that
will
result
in its
becoming
an even
more
useful
tool for
public
safety.”
Click
here
to email
your
pledge
to AAIRO,
today.
|
|
Is
Your
Info
Station
Ready
for
Prime
Time? |
New
Format
Narrows
"Quality
Gap" |
ZEELAND,
MI: Hit
“scan”
and
listen
to what
your
Information
Station
is up
against
on the
radio
dial –
in terms
of sheer
professional
broadcast
quality
and
presentation.
Especially
if you
are near
a major
metropolitan
area,
broadcast
stations
will
spend
the cost
of your
entire
station
just on
audio
processing
gear.
Add to
that
what
they pay
their
talent.
It’s
impossible
to
compete
with the
resulting
quality,
dollar
for
dollar,
but why
not
narrow
the
gap?
A
new
service
offered
by
Information
Station
Specialists
helps
operators
get a
“leg up”
on the
disparity
with a
first-of-its-kind
format
produced
especially
for Info
Station
broadcasts.
The
creatively
written
production
by
professional
announcers
is
titled
merely “InfoRadio.”
The
customized
format
features
multiple
major
market
announcers
delivering
information
about
your
community
in a
professional
fashion
that
compares
favorably
to what
listeners
hear on
conventional
broadcast
stations.
Once InfoRadio
format
broadcasts
are
established,
updates
are free
to
operators
who join
AAIRO –
the
nonprofit
American
Association of
Information
Radio
Operators.
The
format
is
designed
to
either
run all
by
itself
on a
daily
basis as
a
“placeholder”
or
alongside
current
messages
inserted
by
station
operators.
It
features
a
station
ID,
mission
statement
and
customized
community
information
intended
for
citizens
and
visitors.
It
includes
a clear
reminder
to
motorists
that the
station’s
frequency
is the
place to
tune to
in a
community
emergency.
Fort
Lee, New
Jersey,
just
across
the
Hudson
River
from the
New York
City,
was the
first in
the
nation
to roll
out the
format
in
March. |
|
© 1983-2022 • Information Station Specialists,
Inc. • All Rights Reserved
PO Box 51, Zeeland, Michigan, USA, 49464-0051, Phone
616.772.2300, Fax 616.772.2966,
Email
• • •
|
Information Radio Stations is a generic term
synonymous with Travelers Information Stations (TIS), Highway
Advisory Radio Stations (HAR) / Highway Information Systems &
Low Power Radio Stations (LPR). Operation of the stations is
governed by FCC Part 90.242 Rules. A FCC license is required.
Information Radio Stations may be fixed or portable.
Subcomponents may include transmitter, antenna and ground
system, digital voice player, wattmeter, cabinet with
conventional or Corbin locks, lightning arrestors for RF, power
and telephone lines, coaxial cable. Most stations employ black
maximized antennas to discourage ice accumulation and security
measures to prevent unauthorized program access. Options include
synchronization, battery backup, solar power, remote programming
by local, network or telco, multi-station audio distribution via
RF or LAN / WAN or wireless network. |