RadioSAFE Wide-Area Emergency Broadcast System

The HPR.0990 AM Radio High Performance Antenna is the heart of the RadioSAFE System.

Related Links

Case Studies

"Waldo County EMA Becomes the First to Deploy a New Wide-Area Public Information Radio Service"
Authored by Bill Baker, published by IAEM, Feb 2020

"Covering the County When it Counts: an AM
Radio Emergency Broadcast System"
Authored by EMD Dale Rowley & AAIRO Pres Bill Baker
Published by ICMA, May 2020

HPR.0990 installed in Waldo County, Maine.

RadioSAFE
Wide Area Emergency Radio Broadcast Systems

FCC-Licensed Travelers' Information Station / Highway Advisory Radio
AEL/SEL Category 04AP-09-ALRT

A RadioSAFE Wide Area Emergency Radio Broadcast System is a community’s safety net – a key resiliency asset that can be called up during a major incident to direct citizens in evacuation, preservation of life and property and/or disaster recovery. The service is licensable by any government entity in the United States and is permitted to transmit any emergency information that local authorities deem necessary to mitigate harm. Are you prepared to use available broadcast channels to directly inform and instruct the public in your county during incidents when other communication and power sources are rendered inoperable? If not, make your community RadioSAFE.

RadioSAFE is available in three formats, detailed below and on the linked planning page.

Application Examples

Evacuations.
Incident responses / recoveries.
Infrastructure failures.
Loss of power / communications due to natural or human-initiated disasters.

Above, RadioSAFE (RSF.500:10X) signal coverage of up to 20-mile radius is possible with an emergency authorization from the FCC.

Variables that affect coverage are authorized power level, terrain, ground conductivity and frequency.

Predicted coverage is part of the RadioSAFE engineering documentation package.

Maximum Range RadioSAFE RSF.500:10X is a special radio station that typically operates at 10 watts for enhanced 7-10 mile range – until required to ramp up in an emergency. With the substitution of its high power transmitter, the system is capable of signal coverage that blankets an entire county or major city. A signal radius of 20 miles or more is possible. An emergency Special Temporary Authority (STA) must be granted by the Federal Communications Commission to permit initiation of the RadioSAFE service at enhanced power – which may be hundreds of watts. See map, left.

Enhanced Range RadioSAFE RSF.10X operates at 10 watts and with expanded field intensity limits (per waiver) to produce a much larger coverage pattern – 7-10-mile radius – than normally permitted by FCC rules.

Local Area Coverage The RadioSAFE RSF.10L System is more compact yet, with a signal range of 3-5 miles that makes coverage ideal for more modest-sized communities. It operates at up to 10 watts and within the conventional signal limitations of the Travelers Information (TIS) service. Like the other RadioSAFE systems, it utilizes the high-efficiency RSF.0990 Antenna so that an upgrade to larger coverage is a potential in the future.

Information Station Specialists provides the application documentation for emergency STAs, waivers and other licensing services required. Frequencies that are adequate for RadioSAFE operation are not available universally. Check with us regarding availability in your area.

RadioSAFE Broadcast Systems operate on AM channels because of their nearly universal availability and because AM signals travel a much greater distance than FM signals at a given wattage. AM radio signals have long wavelengths that are less likely to be blocked by terrain and tall buildings. And more importantly, AM antennas can be installed at relatively low profiles (50’), making them relatively inexpensive to install and dramatically less vulnerable in high wind or geophysical events that can render tower-based communications inoperable.

Communication Strategy

In a disaster in which grid power is severed and mobile devices are not functional, a RadioSAFE Broadcast System might be the only means of reliably getting critical information to members of the public, who are likely to have functioning battery-powered radio receivers in their vehicles.

RadioSAFE Broadcast Systems have the capability of staging hundreds of preplanned safety messages that can be selected locally or remotely at a moment’s notice and updated minute by minute. Programming can be performed at the station or remotely via telco or UHF/VHF transceiver or by LAN/WAN if optioned. Redundant levels of message control are provided in the RadioSAFE design.

Emergency officials can employ conventional methods of promotion, such as websites, media articles, commercial posters and local signage, on a day-to-day basis to provide visibility for the service so local populations have residual awareness of the special emergency frequency in their specific area. If possible, we recommend that a RadioSAFE station operate at 10-watt power 24/7 and that the public be encouraged to identify it in advance to “set a button” on vehicle radios so they can quickly find the channel when needed.

During emergencies, officials typically alert citizens to the availability of the RadioSAFE service via electronic notification / social media, Portable Changeable Message Signs (PCMS) or flashing beacon / LED signage installed along highly traveled roadways. The higher the public’s awareness of the emergency frequency’s presence, the more likely word-of-mouth will become a powerful ally when its content is critical.

See "Planning a RadioSAFE System."