FEMA has announced the date for the 2023 NPT, now known as the “Nationwide Test of the Emergency Alert System.”
The date chosen is October 4th at 11:20 PM Pacific Time, with a backup date of October 11.
The plan is to test EAS and WEA systems. The FormTwo will be granted an extra day, requiring it to be filed by October 5th. Form Three will be due no later than November 20th. If you have any changes in station ownership or contacts since earlier this year, you should update your Form One, too, before September 15th. You can access the forms on the ETRS page.
More information is on the FEMA and the FCC sites.
The FCC on July 23, 2023 issued a Report and Order allowing a limited number of analog FM stations on TV channel 6 to continue to operate.
Photo by Robert Gonsett
Stations such as Venture Technology’s KRPE San Diego have been operating with Special Temporary Authorities to operate with a digital TV signal and analog FM on 87.7 or 87.75 MHz. These stations have proven capable of delivering an ATSC 3.0 signal compatible with the existing standards and yet continue to provide audio service compatible with most FM radio tuners.
The FCC also specifically stated that, at least for the time being, they would not allow the entire channel 6 spectrum from 82–88 MHz to be open to analog FM service, nor would they allow new stations to adopt the 87.7 analog carrier configuration.
Join SBE Chapter 36 at our after-work, in-person networking opportunity on Wednesday, August 16 at McGregor’s Grill, 10475 San Diego Mission Rd, San Diego, east of I-15 off Friars Road. This is an informal, no-host get-together for dinner and drinks. We’ll be there at 5:30 PM but come when you can. Parking here can be challenging, but there is authorized overload parking at the lot next door just west of the mini-mall where McGregor’s is located. There’s a trivia quiz at 9:00 that you can join if you’re into that.
The FCC in late June announced a week-long filing window for new Low Power FM station licenses for the entire band in early November 2023. This will be the first filing window since 2013. Interested parties are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the application process. You can monitor the FCC’s LPFM web page for more information. San Diego applicants should know that there’s no open spectrum and that power limitations that apply near the Mexican border make interference-free operations unlikely.
Eric Boldt is the Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the National Weather Service (NWS) Los Angeles/Oxnard forecast office located in Oxnard, providing weather and climate predictions for Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo Counties. He is responsible for the NWS office’s critical partnerships with city, county, and state agencies, and manages the public outreach and preparedness programs for the third-largest population center and the second-largest media industry in the nation. Eric has a B.S. in Atmospheric Science from the University of Kansas and has worked in the field of meteorology for nearly 35 years.
Eric’s presentation will cover NWS Support and Best Practices for Non-Weather Emergency Messages over NOAA Weather Radio.
Join us Tuesday, July 11th, at 11:30 AM via Zoom. Organized by SBE Chapter 47 Los Angeles. Register here.
