Has anyone been noticing an abnormal number of Emergency Broadcast Network tests in the past month or so? Maybe I'm just a bit more sensitive to the announcements right now, but it seems that I've heard them quite frequently on several *different* radio stations lately. And just now, CNN's "Talkback Live" was interrupted on my local cable provider with an EBN test. Anyone else?

-- Nom (nom@de.plume), November 24, 1999

Answers

Being a night person, I'm familiar with late night TV. About 2am each night, my cable is now interrupted by a 30-60 second EBN test. Didn't used to be that-a-way. Even saw that system used for real last summer for a tornado nearby. Tests didn't used to be so often.

-- Powder (powder@keg.com), November 24, 1999.

Yep...here in SoCal too. Been getting a lot of our State Insurance public service messages about preparing for the next "BIG ONE". Will the next big one be an earthquake, or...

-- Uncle Bob (UNCLB0B@Tminus37&counting.down), November 24, 1999.

Dito for the west coast. I'm a night owl too and they hit here just about every night at 1:00 to 2:00am. The EBC announces that "This is a monthly test" but it's just about every night.

They started on a regular basis about 2 months ago. Before that, about once per year.

-- DOC (DOC@...), November 24, 1999.

Northwest coastal area- same here, but with a British accent.

-- maid upname (noid@ihope.com), November 24, 1999.

Actually yes, for some reason they have been running them on PBS right at the start of Sesame Street in the mornings. Luckily the howls of my three year old drown out the annoying beeping, but I know this was not going on even three months ago. We watch Sesame St. three days a week at our house. It is wierd.

-- (iowa@iowa.com), November 24, 1999.

I'm so glad I'm not the only one noticing this! They run late at night, middle of the day... whenever. Sometimes just the visual notice, sometimes with the sound, sometimes just with the "crawl" at the bottom of the screen, sometimes with everything. Sometimes several tests, one after another. I live in the Louisiana swamp and get stations via cable from the two largest cities in LA.

-- Tee (teefleur@yahoo.com), November 24, 1999.

Ditto in Virginia. Digital thru Cox Cable switches to c-span automatically during the test, and most days when I get home from work my tv has been switched to c-span. (if you must know, I leave on the tube to entertain my dogs)

***On a lighter note, who was it that said: "You know you're getting old when you are relieved by the words...."This is ONLY a test"

-- Hokie (nn@va.com), November 24, 1999.

Hey UncleBob!,

There is so much stuff going on in this area re:Emergency preparedness kinds of things. I wondered if suggesting a "tree" of threads by state to SYSOPS would be accepted.

Just a list of factual (haha?) things with comments made elsewhere. It would or might give all of us a picture made of the pieces of this jigsaw.

One post here calls it weird.

If we could all see it by state on a "tree" of mssgs. I believe there would be no more guessing about whether it is weird...... or we/I am to talk about it.

What do you think UncleBob, SYSOPS?

-- maid upname (noid@ihope.com), November 24, 1999.

Here too in Delaware. But ours started back in early summer...at least that's when I first began to say, "Hey...didn't they just do that"?

beej

-- beej (beej@ppbbs.com), November 24, 1999.

-- maid upname --

I think its a good idea...I vote yes.

-- Uncle Bob (UNCLB0B@Tminus37&counting.down), November 24, 1999.

Oh yeah! They started this about 2 months ago where I live,the sirens are tested 1 or 2 times a week,and the "Federal EMB",has displays frequently. The sirens were not a normal cycle before,and are sporadic,as far as times are concerned.

-- nunya (nunya@nunya.ya), November 26, 1999.

The NOAA weather radio system is posting messages that the flood warning system (it is rainy season now) is only intended for full emergencies. Interesting timing.

Didn't some locality announce that Y2K emergency news would use NOAA weather radio channels??

-- noah weather radio (pacific@northwet.net), November 26, 1999.