Messages

721

General Discussion / Re: Nationwide EAS test

« on: November 09, 2011, 03:01:16 PM »

Well it was the very first one, There was bound to be a hiccup or two in there.

That's a good point.  Still, considering this technology has existed for decades and is actually a pretty rudimentary system (audio only, simply codes transmitted in audio for decoding and activation, etc.), AND especially considering that this test used the highest-level presidential codes, it's a pretty glaring failure.  What if a major emergency happened tomorrow and the EAS system needed to be activated?  Judging from today's test, it seems like nothing but luck would allow the message to get out.

Judging from what I've been reading about this on CNN's webpage, the test wasn't so successful anywhere.

722

General Discussion / Re: Nationwide EAS test

« on: November 09, 2011, 02:59:21 PM »

This actually leads me to a question I've always had in mine. Why is it that the analog feed starts EAS tests (weekly or monthly) earlier than on cable? Also the same thing when it comes to programming in general.

This has an easy answer.

Analogue transmission is output on a TV or radio as soon as it is received, because it is transmitted by simple means: modifying the amplitude (AM) or frequency (FM) of the radio signal.  This is a real-time process and is reflected by the means of output (TV or radio) by being repeated in real-time.

Digital transmission, however, is in packets of digital information, which are essentially meaningless until they are decoded by the TV or radio.  Therefore, what's being broadcast must be encoded from the broadcasting facility into these digital packets, and then must be decoded by the TV or radio as they are received.  This process takes a little bit of time, hence the delay as compared to analogue.

723

General Discussion / Re: Nationwide EAS test

« on: November 09, 2011, 02:56:33 PM »

Eric, assuming you didnt have a digital box, I wouldnt see how you would see it unless you had on the channel BHN was showing it and redirecting cable boxes to..

I did watch on a digital cable box.  However, the cable company is supposed to redirect all output to the channel that is carrying the alert, meaning that all viewers should be seeing the same thing, whether or not they have a cable box, and regardless of what channel they were originally watching.  (In other words, all channels are made to show the same output from one source, regardless of how they are tuned.)

In my case, Bright House Networks either did not activate the test on its systems at all, or did not adequately redirect channels.  Considering this was supposed to be a test of the presidential codes (the highest in the system), this was a big fail.

NOAA Weather Radio stations also did not partake in the test, and I listened to an FM station/surfed through my OTA channels here in Tampa and maybe one or two did not participate. The FM station did it.

It was specifically announced that NOAA Weather Radio would not be participating.  One of the shortcomings of the EAS system as it exists is that it can not activate on Weather Radio on its own; the signal (including SAME codes) would have to be specifically sent to Weather Radio for transmission.  For this test, it was decided to not do that.  Radio and TV stations have only two options during activation of the EAS: broadcast the EAS signal, or stop regular broadcasting and inform viewers/listeners where they can get the EAS information.  Continuing with regular programming is not an option.  So, if some of your radio stations continued with regular programming, it means they either didn't receive the EAS signal at all (which is also a failure of the system, since all stations are supposed to constantly monitor for the signal) or were unable to transmit it.

I agree, the audio quality of the message was poor, and could have been better.

Considering the EAS is an audio-only system, the poor quality of the audio is unacceptable, since it's the only way the EAS can disseminate information.

724

General Discussion / Nationwide EAS test

« on: November 09, 2011, 02:04:11 PM »

Nationwide EAS test: FAIL!

I monitored three sources: a local broadcast network on cable, a basic cable network, and a local radio station.

The local broadcast network activated the test, but the audio quality was terrible to the point of incomprehensibility. The basic cable network did NOTHING. And the local radio station sounded the warning tone, followed by absolute silence until the end-of-alert tone.

Had this have been a real emergency, the it seems like many people wouldn't have heard it.

725

Hurricane Central / Re: Subtropical Storm Sean

« on: November 08, 2011, 11:32:02 AM »

I'm not surprised, either - this was pretty much expected.

I tried getting onto the NHS webpage this morning, but it's apparently unavailable at the moment.  I just get error messages.

726

General Discussion / Re: 5.6m Oklahoma Earthquake

« on: November 07, 2011, 10:44:19 PM »

So... you want an earthquake strong enough to prevent you from standing, yet weak enough to not cause any damage (excepting the curio cabinet)?

 

727

Local Forecast / Re: Satellite LF Sightings

« on: November 06, 2011, 03:31:53 PM »

Once upon a time, Stars didn't go out because of the time change.  I can't recall seeing the hour added or subtracted exactly at 2:00, but in the past the Stars just kept working as usual.

728

General Discussion / Re: The Pot Belly Stove

« on: November 04, 2011, 12:39:08 AM »

Daylight saving time ends this Sunday at 2 AM, so remember to set your clocks back one hour.  At least some of you can use that extra hour to rest up and get well.  Hope you feel better soon, Zach.

Ah, the real transition into late fall and winter...gotta get ready for those 6:30 sunrises/sunsets.  Honestly, why was the end of Daylight Savings pushed back just one week later? I know they wanted to make Daylight Savings longer, but pushing the end date back by just one week and moving the start date up by just a couple of weeks doesn't really make a huge difference.

I guess they figure that any difference is better than no difference.  My beloved Russia decided to stay on summer time permanently.  Daylight savings time has been very controversial in Russia and the USSR, and has been an on again, off again thing over the decades.  Considering how far north Russia is, I think this is a good change.  The mornings will be darker longer, but the afternoons (not the evenings - the afternoons!) will be a little bit brighter. 

729

General Discussion / Re: The Pot Belly Stove

« on: November 03, 2011, 11:26:09 PM »

I have this Sunday off, and I'm an incurable night owl, so I can REALLY indulge my perverted biological clock and STILL end up waking up "early." 

730

Everything Else TWC / Re: Blooper Thread

« on: October 29, 2011, 11:56:25 PM »

TWC has been going in and out of the emergency feed for about the past 10 minutes.  The last local forecast segment was the emergency feed with the Intellistar LDL on, and just a couple of seconds ago the screen went to black instead of the commercial, followed by a brief glimpse of the emergency feed before the commercial began.  Also, the last live segment had the Intellistar LDL on without the national LDL behind it.

731

General Weather Chat / Re: NOAA Releases 2011-2012 Winter Outlook

« on: October 25, 2011, 12:23:25 AM »

I somewhat agree. This past winter, we had snow on the ground for almost 2 straight months. I actually couldn't wait to see the ground again lol.

Geez... I will never forget last winter.  What was usually a 17-minute walk to work was so much longer, and messier, and ickier because of all the snow - that, and there are precious few sidewalks in my hometown, so I spent most of the time trudging through snow and ice in the middle of the narrow streets.  And that was the winter I broke my front teeth when I made a hard fall on the ice face first.

732

General Discussion / Re: The Pot Belly Stove

« on: October 25, 2011, 12:21:55 AM »

Hey guys, have a curious question -

Do you guys ever feel worried or concerned when you're traveling on a bridge? I get goosebumps every time I commute from New York, mainly because I'm on the George Washington Bridge and I always think about the "what if.." scenario if something happened while I was on the bridge. Ya know, the mighty Hudson River and a 300+ foot tall bridge is the only thing that separates each other and it does worry you in a way..

Ironically, that is the only bridge that's ever made me nervous, and it does every time!

733

General Weather Chat / Re: NOAA Releases 2011-2012 Winter Outlook

« on: October 24, 2011, 06:55:12 PM »

I wish it would snow in Florida...

NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

734

Everything Else TWC / Re: General TWC Discussion

« on: October 23, 2011, 04:49:44 PM »

There's just no hope for the brain-dead.

735

General Discussion / Re: Computer and Hardware Chat

« on: October 19, 2011, 12:47:10 AM »

I remember the first hard drive we got for our computer.  It seemed like a miracle at the time, though the capacity by today's standards would be ridiculously low.  Heck, I remember when I replaced my 5¼" floppy disks with 3½" not-quite-so-floppy disks and thinking that was impressive!