CONELRAD
It all started with CONELRAD ( Control of Electromagnetic Radiation ) back in 1951 , just in time for the Cold War ( Does n’t CONELRAD sound like a Cold War acronym ? ) Actually , that ’s not entirely reliable . Radio stations and networks could break into their regularly scheduled programming in guinea pig of an emergency before 1951 . In fact , they did on that tragical day in December , 1941 . But it was all ad hoc until CONELRAD was born .
In the event of an emergency ( especially a nuclear one ) television receiver and FM radio would stop broadcasting . AM station would then transmit warnings and updates for several min , before going off the line . Then , another station would take over on the same absolute frequency , and so on in a round redbreast chain . Why ? To confuse enemy aircraft , of course ! ( Ever marvel why many old radios have a triangle - in - circle German mark on sure AM frequencies ? That ’s because they were require to by practice of law between 1953 and 1963 . )
National Emergency Alarm Repeater
CONELRAD was not very successful , prostrate to simulated alarms from lightening tempest , and such . So in 1956 , the government unfreeze the NEAR ( National Emergency Alarm Repeater ) program . This was a very small box that you ’d plug into an vent . In grammatical case of an exigency , a peculiar sign would be transmit over the power power system . allot to this piece over on PBS ’ Web web site : “ For unspecified reasons , the course of study go defunct and the devices were destroyed by their various manufacturers . ”
“If This Had Been an Actual Emergency…”
Ah , the one most of us grew up take heed about , the EBS . The Emergency Broadcast System put back CONELRAD in 1963 and used often ( as in more than 20 K times ) . Thankfully , it was never used for what it was really intend for ( warfare or the threat of war ) , but rather dangerous weather risk .
There was , however , a major fictitious consternation in 1971 , that , in different times , might have brought us to the brink of war . Yes , it seems the scheme was inadvertently activated by a teletype wheeler dealer who unexpectedly " played the incorrect mag tape " during a trial of the system . The codeword " hatefulness " was beam through the intact system , ordering stations to cease veritable scheduling and circularize the alert of a national parking brake .
The outcome ? Many station never even encounter the alert . More interesting and , er , alarming ? The majority of those that did disregard it ! The net consequence ? Numerous investigations were launched .
Emergency Alert System
In 1997 , the EBS was supervene upon by the EAS . Though it ’s never been used , thankfully , in possibility , the President should be able to speak to all citizen through every potential medium ( including things like Direct TV ) within 10 minutes of an hand brake . country or local authorities , the National Weather Service , or even the spreader also have access to this scheme for less emergencies .
The whole system works off a series of digital decoders and encoders , which the FCC oversees . There are more than 80 unlike categories of pinch warnings , including your received crack cocaine warnings but also things like the AMBER Alert System for child abduction emergencies .
Interestingly , according to WIKI , “ ‘ … the EAS was not actuate nationally or regionally in New York or Washington during the [ 9/11 ] terrorist flak on the nation . ’ Richard Rudman , then chair of the EAS National Advisory Committee explained that near immediate insurance coverage in the home sensitive mean that the media itself ply the warning or alert of what had fall out and what might happen as quickly as the information could be distributed . ‘ Some events really do service as their own warning signal and warnings . With the straightaway live media reportage , the pauperization for an EAS warning was diminish . ’ ”
