| Newsletter Archive | Publisher: Information Station Specialists | Subscribe to The Source |
| 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 |
PO Box 51, Zeeland, Michigan, USA, 49464-0051, Phone 616.772.2300, Fax 616.772.2966, Email Form
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