That's a Lot of Signal |
Literally. This new
quick-deploy radio station is specifically for
parking-lot-sized applications. |
Emergency, health
and school officials have requested a highly portable,
short-range radio system for some time now. Schools
have envisioned one that can be used to
communicate
with parents arriving at reunification sites after
school tragedies; for emergency managers, a way to
talk to people who show up at evacuation meeting sites;
for health officials, a means of informing motorists who
line up at points of medicine distribution (PODs) or
treatment centers. |
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The result: the
InfOspot Portable. Developed at the request of
Hennepin County (MN) Department of Emergency Management,
the high flexibility system includes a quick-erect
antenna stand and easy-to operate electronics in a
portable shock case. Range is up to ½ mile, any
frequency may be selected and an FCC license is not
required per FCC Part 15.219. Broadcast messages can be sourced from a flash
drive, external source, cellular gateway or live via a
sound board. The system is priced at ¼ of the licensed
Information Stations that have been available for this
application to date.
Email Information
Station Specialists for more information.
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John
Whitehouse installs the Information Station antenna on a
tower at Mount Mitchell State Park. |
Mount Mitchell Adds Radio to Maximize Visitor
Experience |
ASHEVILLE, NC:
The installation of an Information Radio Station at
Mount Mitchell State Park in North Carolina has been
completed just before the snow flies. Located on the
highest mountain peak east of the Mississippi River, the
station will be tasked with keeping visitors safe and
informed as they snake up the steep access road from the
Blue Ridge Parkway to the Observation Deck – more than
6684 feet above sea level.
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Innovative Funding Options |
Accelerate
R2 Network Challenge
Emergency managers on the lookout for new ways of
funding information radio systems have some new tools at
their disposal. The U.S. Economic Development
Administration and the Office of Innovation and
Entrepreneurship announced the “Accelerate R2 Network
Challenge,” a new grant program intended to bolster
resiliency and response - available to both city and
county emergency agencies. A letter of intent is due
January 8, 2020, and a full application in March.
The National Association of Counties has a convenient
summary and links.
New Opportunities
Equipment and
services provider
Information Station Specialists has introduced a
lease-to-own financing plan for communities who wish to
obtain radio and related systems but don’t have grant
opportunities or available budget. The short 6-year
agreement averages between $7 and $19 a day for
Information Station Specialists' most commonly purchased
information radio systems
For communities that would be required to issue requests
for quotes, the “H-GAC Buy” buying cooperative may be an
attractive option. If an agency is (or becomes) an H-GAC
Buy member, they can purchase products against an
existing contract, circumventing the need for a
competitive procurement process.
Contact the company to
find out more. |
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Road
Closure Caused by the Kinkaid Fire |
Darkened Cities Keep
Residents Enlightened via Radio |
Portola Valley CA
Announces Plans to Upgrade Info Radio Signal due to
Outages |
PORTOLA VALLEY,
CA: When wildland fires threaten California
neighborhoods and power service is severed, residents are
turning to radio as their main – and sometimes only –
information source. Certainly, all-news broadcasters
like KNX in Los Angeles and KSRO in Santa Rosa (North
Bay area) are go-to stations for general information.
See Radio Ink article.
But some affected communities, such as Portola Valley and
Vacaville, California, are running their own radio
services to ensure that tailored, timely updates reach
their citizenry. |
"People are very reliant on
our AM station. We knew this would be the case, but
wow." |
Ray Rothrock, Portola
Valley, CA |
Asserts Portola’s
Ray Rothrock: “As we are living in real time with these
power shutoffs, the AM radio has become essential to our
cause and communications.” Rothrock is a member of the
Local Emergency Preparedness Committee that assists with
the AM Information Station’s operation. He is also a
long-time amateur radio operator, versed in the skills
required to keep the radio station’s day-to-day
functions optimized. |
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Portola
Valley Emergency
Preparedness Committee in Action |
As a result of the
station’s obvious benefit to public safety, the town has
opted to upgrade to
RadioSAFE status: moving the
antenna to a higher location while applying to the FCC
for an upgraded signal, to better push their broadcasts
into the corners of the community. They will be
substituting a
HPR0990 Antenna for their existing antenna and will
enlarge the antenna’s groundplane – changes that will
combine to boost signal levels to double or more.
A nearby military base is making parallel moves due to a
recent outage that did not affect operations but did
leave nonessential functions in the dark. |
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Proposed
Portola Valley Information
Radio Coverage on AM frequency 1680 |
Portola Valley instituted
their Information Radio service in 2013 and has
operated at conventional power levels as prescribed by
FCC Rules Part 90.242 since that time. But according to
local leaders, the value that the service brings to the
community has been brought into sharp focus by Pacific
Gas & Electric (PG&E’s) fire-related power outages. You
can hear a recorded emergency
broadcast message
from October 8, when PG&E announced the planned outage
schedule. In this 3-minute message, residents are
advised of the announced outage timetable and how to
navigate it in terms of personal safety procedures and
planning.
In addition to broadcasting these messages via radio,
the community also simulcasts the programming to mobile
devices and PC’s using the
StreamCAST service, at a cost of less than a dollar
a day. |
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Opinion
All-digital AM is coming –
but not to worry. |
How will
digital broadcasting on AM affect Information (TIS/HAR)
Radio Stations?
WASHINGTON, DC: Just before Thanksgiving, the FCC
opened up a
"Notice of Proposed Rulemaking" seeking comment on
the advisability of allowing full-power broadcast radio
stations the option to migrate from analog to
all-digital. The National Association of Broadcasters
(NAB) has signaled that it will support the effort,
which all but guarantees that it will roll forward in
some form or another. But how could this change impact
10-watt (TIS/HAR) Information Radio Stations? |
 |
Answer: Most 10 watt Information
Radio Stations will see no adverse effects. Why?
AM Receivers The main reason is because the
change to "all-digital" affects only specific
broadcasters. It does not affect the ability of existing
(and future) AM radio receivers to receive analog AM
radio signals. Yes, even future "HD" (digital) radio
receivers will not be "all digital." They will still
continue to pick up analog AM signals in addition to
digital ones.
10 Watt Information Stations will not
be required to make any changes of any kind. They will
remain 100% analog. That means they will continue to be
receivable on all AM receivers.
AM Broadcasters Commercial AM
broadcasters will not be compelled to make the change to
all-digital. It will be totally optional. So, in real-world
terms, the broadcasters with the deepest pockets
and in the most competitive markets will be first to make the
cut-over. That means you can expect to see it happen
initially at the big city AM stations. Due to the
5-figure cost for a broadcaster to make the upgrade, it
remains to be seen if the conversion will penetrate to
marginally profitable radio stations in smaller cities
and rural areas.
Increased noise? The new
digital format (which is named “MA3”) that will be employed by
broadcasters could affect a few Information Stations.
But like the
proverbial slot machine, the cherries would have to line
up just right for it to be an issue. The broadcast station would have to be 1)
in the immediate area, 2) on the first adjacent
frequency, and 3) would have to add
digital side-bands – which not all broadcasters will do.
Digital sidebands will double the digital station's
bandwidth and could cause noise to Information Stations
on next-door frequencies, if they are really close by.
Digital downside? It’s the
opinion of the American Association of Information Radio
Operators (AAIRO) that the real risk of an All-Digital
AM conversion is not to Information Stations but to the broadcasters who choose to make
the change. Certainly they will reap the quality and
bandwidth benefits for a not-so-small investment.
Someday they will be able to play music again and may
have multiple program streams. But listeners who have
digital AM radios won’t notice much of a difference if
their favorite station goes digital, especially if the format is
news-talk – like most AM’s are today. Voice quality on
analog AM is already pretty good. And because only
18% of cars on the road have digital-capable receivers,
if a broadcast station made the cut-over today, it would instantly
evaporate 82% of its audience , chasing the majority
of the listeners to FM, satellite radio - and,
ironically - to AM competitors
that choose to remain analog.
Emergency Consideration As
pointed out by Paul Riismandel in his recent Radio
Survivor blog entitled, “Can We Save AM Radio by
Killing it?”, one of the worst results would be if
during an emergency, local listeners would fire up their
battery-operated analog radios only to find that their
local radio broadcaster has gone-all digital. Instead of
updated news and emergency information, they would
receive an amorphous mass of digital hiss.
That could be an unintended – but very real –
consequence of the all-digital AM conversion, which
would serve to underline why localized Information Radio
Stations (TIS) could be the real lifesavers when their
communities count on them most. |
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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. |