In support of the upcoming initial FEMA test of the National Periodic Test (NPT) code of the Emergency Alert System, Monroe Electronics and its subsidiary, Digital Alert Systems, have issued application notes to guide users in the proper configuration of DASDEC™ and One-Net™ EAS/CAP encoder-decoder units.
FEMA has asked broadcast stations and cable operators in West Virginia to set their CAP/EAS devices to automatically broadcast the NPT alert statewide on Sept. 17, 2014, at 2 p.m. EDT. The NPT test will be issued through the FEMA IPAWS (Integrated Public Alert and Warning System) Internet-based Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) servers. Monroe Electronics and Digital Alert Systems have issued guidance in support of this test initiative. This test is the first time the NPT alert code has been used operationally in the Emergency Alert System (EAS).
The application notes are available on the Monroe Electronics and Digital Alert Systems websites, and they offer easy-to-follow instructions on monitoring and automatically forwarding (broadcasting) this unique emergency test code via Monroe R189 One-Net, One-Net SE, DASDEC-I™, and DASDEC-II™ units.
All users of these systems should restrict their location filters to their actual geographic areas of operation, as specified in their local and state EAS plans. With proper configuration of the geographic filters, the DASDEC and One-Net units will only process this NPT test in West Virginia. With proper configuration of automatic forwarding, the user can set the NPT to be broadcast without manual intervention or assistance.
The application note for the Monroe Electronics R189 One-Net is available at http://www.monroe-electronics.com/EAS_pages/eas_applicationnotes.html.
The application note for the Digital Alert Systems DASDEC is available at http://www.digitalalertsystems.com/pdf/APNDAS-140.pdf.
Customers with any questions are encouraged to contact technical support by email at eas@monroe-electronics.com or support@digitalalertsystems.com or by calling 585-765-2254 (Monroe Electronics) or 585-765-1155 (Digital Alert Systems).
Further information about Monroe’s One-Net EAS/CAP system is available at www.monroe-electronics.com. Information about the DASDEC-I and DASDEC-II systems from Digital Alert Systems is available at www.digitalalertsystems.com.
