Withstanding
Sandy |
Update:
Information
Radio
Plays
Key Role
during
Hurricane |
MANASQUAN,
NJ:
Hurricane
Sandy
slammed
ashore
south of
this New
Jersey
coastal
community
on
October
29.
Ninety
MPH
winds
pushed a
wall of
water
into
flood-prone
Manasquan,
causing
massive
flooding.
Emergency
Manager
Chris
Tucker
tapped
his
Information
Radio
Station
on AM
1620 to
be the
solitary
source
to keep
residents
apprised,
with the
anticipation
that
“data
and
internet
connections
might be
compromised.”
They
were.
Additionally,
his
station’s
antenna
system
encountered
enormous
winds
and was
engulfed
by 3
feet of
storm
surge.
It kept
working.
The
station’s
battery
backup –
occasionally
charged
via
generator
–
powered
the
station
continuously
through
the
storm.
Manasquan
operates
an
ALERT AM
Emergency
Advisory
Radio
System
with a
hurricane
wind
rated
antenna
system,
designed
to
withstand
gusts of
up to
150mph.
Several
Flashing
ALERT
Signs
are
positioned
on local
roads to
alert
motorists.
Eighty
miles
downshore
near
Sandy’s
landfall,
Police
Chief
Robert
Matteucci
of North
Wildwood,
NJ,
utilized
his 1640
signal
to
protect
life and
property.
The
signal
remained
on the
air
throughout
the
storm.
The
broadcast,
which
was
simulcast
to the
Internet,
advised
residents
how to
find
assistance
and
provided
emergency
numbers
for
electric
and gas
companies.
The
internet
stream
was
monitored
by more
than
1000
people
in nine
states,
some as
far away
as
California.
Internet
listeners
to North
Wildwood’s
stream
logged
more
than
14,400
minutes
the day
Sandy
made
landfall.
Manasquan’s
and
North
Wildwood’s
Information
Radio
Stations
comprise
but 2 of
more
than 40
stations
installed
in NJ in
the past
10 years
to
protect
citizens'
lives/property
in a
disaster.
At North
Plainfield,
NJ,
operator
Rich
Phoenix
comments,
“Only
radio
stations
and
battery
or
crank-powered
receivers
will
survive
[during
a
disaster].
Local
information
is king;
and the
TIS
stations
are top
of the
heap.” |
|
A Streaming Success |
Info
Radio
Stations
Increasingly
Simulcast
on
Internet |
NORTH
PLAINFIELD,
NJ:
At the
oceanfront
community
of North
Wildwood,
New
Jersey,
Police
Chief
Robert
Matteucci
depended
upon his
station
to keep
residents
current
during
Hurricane
Sandy.
Matteucci
comments,
“Streaming
allows
people
who live
out of
reach of
the
radio
station
to
listen…at
home or
on
handheld
options.
We feel
that
during a
storm,
people
in
fringe
areas
will
have a
clearer
message
over the
computer
than
over the
air.
Additionally,
[out-of-town]
family
members
can
check
local
conditions.”
(See
"Withstanding
Sandy"
article,
left.)
The
Houston
area
community
of
Missouri
City,
Texas,
made
their
1690 kHz
Information
Radio
programming
available
online
recently,
as well
as, on
their
municipal
cable TV
outlet
during
emergencies.
Emergency
Manager
Robert
Bracken
states,
“We are
heavily
promoting
it
through
news
releases,
our TV
channel
and our
homeowner
association
outreach.”
See how
one
community presents Information Radio on its
website:
North
Wildwood,
NJ.
And the
surrounding
county
of Fort
Bend,
will
soon be
online
with a
stream
of their
1670 kHz
signal,
as well.
Visit
the
HearMoreInfo/StreamCAST
Service
webpage. |
|
Radio Crosses the Line |
DHS/CBP
Adds
More
Info
Radio
Stations
at
US/Mexican
Ports of
Entry |
Washington,
DC: US
Customs
and
Border
Protection
this
summer
added
two more
information
radio
stations
(TIS) to
their
network
of
stations
along
the
US/Mexican
border.
The new
stations
went on
line in
September
at ports
of entry
in
Brownsville
and the
Bridge
of the
Americas
in El
Paso,
Texas.
This new
pair of
stations
joins
four
radio
stations
at
Laredo
and El
Paso,
Texas;
Calexico,
California;
and San
Luis,
Arizona,
installed
previously
by
provider
Information
Station
Specialists.
These
six
stations
form the
nation's
first
network
of
information
radio
stations
controlled
by a
federal
agency
in
Washington,
DC.
The
system
has the
capability
of
broadcasting
time-sensitive
messages
developed
at the
local
ports of
entry in
addition
to
messages
developed
at the
national
level by
CBP
headquarters.
"The
goal of
the
radio
broadcasts
is to
communicate
important
border-crossing
information
to
members
of the
traveling
public
who are
in the
vicinity
of the
ports of
entry,"
says El
Paso
Port
Director
Hector
Mancha.
Mancha
oversees
the
broadcasts,
which
are on
AM 530
at the
Ysleta
crossing
and AM
1620
frequency
at the
Bridge
of the
Americas.
"From
one end
of the
radio
dial to
the
other,
CBP El
Paso is
now
broadcasting
vital
travel
information
24 hours
a day,
seven
days a
week."
Results
of a
pilot
survey
conducted
by CBP
at El
Paso
indicate
considerable
awareness
and
favorability
regarding
use of
the
radio
stations
and
agreement
that
they
would be
especially
valuable
as a
tool to
gauge
wait
times.
CBP will
be able
to
communicate
directly
to
travelers
about
how to
expedite
their
border
crossing,
for
example,
by
broadcasting
information
about
CBP
programs
such as
the
Ready
Lane —
an
expedited
travel
lane for
people
with
radio
frequency
identification
technology
enabled
cards --
and
Trusted
Traveler
lanes
for
pre-approved,
low-risk
travelers. |
|
New Info Radio Rules
Coming Soon? |
WASHINGTON,
DC:
Counsel
informed
AAIRO
(The
American
Association
of
Information
Radio
Operators)
on
Friday,
October
5, 2012,
that
action
on the
AAIRO
Petition
for
Rulemaking
might
come
soon.
The
Petition
asked
the FCC
to
clarify
broadcast
content
rules
and
certain
technical
requirements
contained
in
FCC
Rules
Part 90
that
govern
the
Information
Station
(TIS)
service.
According
to
contacts
in the
FCC's
Public
Safety &
Homeland
Security
Bureau,
the
draft
Report &
Order (R&O)
will be
ready
for
submission
to the
Chairman's
office
in early
November.
Assuming
there
are no
revisions
ordered
by the
Chairman,
the
Report &
Order
containing
new
Information
Station
rules
will be
presented
to the
five
commissioners
for
voting
soon
thereafter.
If three
of the
five
commissioners
vote to
approve,
the new
rules
will
likely
take
effect
this
winter.
Formed
in 2008, AAIRO is a nonprofit organization of operators
and licensees from public agencies who manage
Information Radio Stations across the country to inform
and protect motorists. Membership is free. Stay in touch
with this quickly |
|
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. |