| The Top 10
Improvements |
| Information
Radio
Station Upgrades Most Added by Emergency Managers |
 |
It’s
actually been 22 years since Y2K. Remember the Year
2000? That was when desktop computers were predicted to
go AWOL due to the millennium date rollover. Though that
year is a rather arbitrary point, The Source
decided to take a look back across the 22 years since, to gauge how Information Radio Stations have been
improved as a tool for emergency management.
Here are the most significant improvements and upgrades,
ranked by frequency of inclusion: |
1 File-Based Audio Management
Broadcast messages now exist as discrete audio
files in universal formats (MP3, WAV, etc.). This allows
operators to maintain a library of messages on a PC or
laptop or in the Cloud and move them from place to place
as downloads or attachments. This major increase in
convenience has made the management of content much more
efficient, as well as the recording, editing and
processing of messages, which can now be done via
software or smartphone apps. And it goes without saying
that the quality of an audio file is dramatically better
than any message recorded across a phone line, as was common prior to 2000. |
 |
|
TMS.020 Audio Management System |
2 Network Audio Control (IP via LAN/WAN)
A related improvement is the ability to manage
the program playlist via a wired or wireless network
(IP) connection. Devices such as the
TMS.020 Digital Audio Management System have become
the heart of the operation of a modern Information Radio
Station. With fixed-antenna systems, this component is
integrated into a LAN. The station can be controlled
from anywhere that has network access. For
portable systems, a wireless gateway can provide the
needed connectivity. |
3 StreamCASTing *
The majority of 21st century Information Radio
Stations also simulcast their programming to portable
devices and PCs via a service known as
StreamCAST. Why?
Because studies published in 2022 show that as many
listeners are receiving programming through streams on
portable devices, as they do on in-car radio receivers.
During major events that require citizen evacuation,
streams are heavily monitored by the public, both within
and outside the radio coverage area. Because there is no
upper limit on the number of recipients, StreamCASTs are
an ideal way to get updates to the public during
evacuations, in indoor locations and when electrical
power is out. (Most people find a way to keep
smartphones charged, even when power is down.)
During
the recent Mosquito Wildfire in Central California, the
Town of Foresthill kept evacuees updated with an
Information Radio Station on 1020 kHz and a StreamCAST
simulcast that was monitored by thousands daily.
(See the Foresthill Fire
Protection District story, upper right.) |
4 Increased Range with Higher Efficiency Antenna
System *
New antenna systems are more efficient and can
produce dramatically larger coverage footprints. Both ground and rooftop solutions are
available. Consider models
HPR.0990 and
AN2X. |
 |
 |
|
HPR.0990 High Efficiency Antenna |
AN2X AM Radio Antenna |
5 License Waivers *
The FCC will grant waivers for higher signal levels and
antenna placements above ground level. One or
both may be required when upgrading to a High Efficiency
Antenna System. |
6 Transmitter Audio Bandwidth Increase/Processor
FCC rules now permit Information Station
Transmitters to broadcast full 5K audio vs. the 3K
legacy bandwidth they were permitted prior to 2015.
Internal 3000 Hz filters can be off-lined; and new 5000
Hz filters and even professional broadcast processors
can be added to make the station’s audio quality
(compression/limiting) on par with commercial grade. |
 |
|
TR.6000 HQ5.0 Transmitter |
7 USB Operation
Commonly, a backup audio system based on
USB/flash-drive technology, such as the
MGR.021 Audio System, buttresses the program
operation in the event of a network or wireless service
failure. And in the most basic Information Radio
Stations, USB operation can be the sole means of audio
management. |
8 Program Mixer
The bridge between audio systems and inputs can
be a
DN.1201 Program Mixer, which makes live inputs and
feeds convenient to integrate with recorded material, a
capability required by some operators during the COVID19 era. |
9 Signal Measurement Radio Receiver
Operators can now inexpensively track their received
signal levels with the use of a Signal Measurement Radio
Receiver. This simple device allows a technician to make
certain a station is within FCC parameters and spot any
signal level deviations that might be occurring at
preventive maintenance checks. |
 |
|
Signal Measurement Radio Receiver |
10 Spares
Public Safety Agencies increasingly keep spare
components in stock in case of a critical failure or to
maintain operations during service. Common redundant
components are: Transmitter, Antenna, Lightning
Arrestor, Audio Management Component(s). |
(*) Footnote:
See the Foresthill, California, story (upper
right column)
as an example of the utilization of a combination of the
above-mentioned StreamCASTing, high efficiency antennas
and FCC signal waivers. |
|
* * *
 |
|
"Get Out Now!"
|
California Fire
District Uses Radio & StreamCASTs to Move Residents
Out
of Harm's Way |
|
FORESTHILL, CA: This
fall the Foresthill Fire Protection District in
California battled the
Mosquito
Wildfire in the
rugged mountains
northeast of
that
town. The
Community
operates a
RadioSAFE
Emergency
Broadcast System
that has
recently been
granted a waiver
by the FCC to
run at higher
signal levels.
Excellent
timing. Operator
Richard Hercules
tells us that
he has usable
listening
reports for 14
miles from the
antenna, with 10
watts of
transmitter
power. The
District is also
streaming
content to their
website, where
thousands tuned
in daily for
evacuation updates. (See
StreamCASTing.) |
 |
Rich
Hercules of the
Foresthill Fire
Protection
District,
Flanked by
Antenna
Installers |
|
Photo Courtesy
of Foresthill
FPD |
| “We have started
another grant
cycle to expand
our radio signal
farther,” says
Hercules. In
emergencies, the
FCC will often
permit a higher
powered
transmitter
substitution to
boost coverage
even more, based
on the
situation. |
* * *
 |
| Span-aversary! |
| Mackinac Bridge
Highway Information Stations Celebrate Decades of
Service |
SAINT IGNACE, MI:
The pair of Highway Information Radio Stations (WNHC787) that
bracket the Straits of Mackinac celebrate 35 years of
continuous operation in 2022. Provided by
Information
Station Specialists, they are the only pair of
stations ever installed on two operating frequencies
with a 5-mile bridge in between. Moreover, they are
arguably the longest continuously-operating Information
Stations in the United States.
The signals were licensed back in 1987, when only the two original
frequencies were available – 530 and 1610 kHz. Each
station has the same content but is on a different
frequency: north-1610 kHz; south 530 kHz. This allows
the programming to be received along Interstate 75 for
more than 30 miles – helpful to drivers should
the span be closed or restricted due to high winds,
inclement weather or a traffic incident. And then there
is the annual “Bridge Walk” – an event that closes the
bridge to all vehicle traffic every Labor Day so fans of the "Mighty Mac" can
cross it on foot. |
 |
| Mackinac
Bridge Walk Event |
| Photo
courtesy of Mackinac Bridge Authority |
During the past 35 years, the Mackinac Bridge Authority
has replaced the radio antennas once and has increased the stations’
audio bandwidth to 5 kHz, after the FCC allowed the
upgrade in 2015.
Originally, broadcast
messages were spoken into a RAM-based audio recorder
that fed the two locations via audio lines – one of
which was five miles long. Brent
Garries tells The Source that today the program originates
from a Notepad/program mixer that repeats and
distributes the content to the two locations. For
talent, they have used professional announcers, MDOT
representatives and even the Bridge Authority’s
executive secretary, upon occasion. |
 |
| The Source
salutes the Mackinac Bridge Authority for 35 years
of information broadcasts
that have made the Straits of Mackinac a safer place to
cross. |
|
