DTV and Emergency Notification

Archived from groups: alt.video.digital-tv (More info?)

On Thu, 29 Sep 2005 03:00:16 GMT K. B. <hotmail.com@lis2lis2> wrote:
| <http://www.tvtechnology.com/features/digital_tv/f_charles_rhodes-09.21.05.shtml>
|
| The public has not been told that the end of analog
| terrestrial broadcasting is only a few years away.
|
| With the introduction of terrestrial DTV broadcasting, the
| receiver can monitor incoming data for emergency alarms on a
| 24/7 basis. Only a small portion of the receiver needs power
| to do this--probably no more than an electric clock. When an
| alarm is broadcast locally, the receiver could emit an sound
| and automatically turn on the display electronics.
|
| ---
|
| What's wrong with just using a battery powered radio?

If you're talking about a radio to receive the initial emergency
announcement, it would have to be continuously powered. If it is
battery powered, it could run down over a few weeks or months.
This is one reason mains powered fire detectors have become required
in homes (people don't replace their batteries on things they do
not routinely use).

A battery powered radio would then be used during the emergency if
mains power has failed, as it is likely to do in cases like hurricanes,
tornados, floods, earthquakes, blizzards, and possibly even for
terrorist attacks.

OK, so let's consider a small plug-in radio. That could work. But
you'd have to get people to buy one. It seems that some people want to
force people to have the emergency communications reception capability
without having had to think to buy it specifically.

A combination radio with mains plug in that can charge batteries, and
include a crank power generator to recharge them without mains power,
and has the emergency signal detector with alarm, would be nice to
have. I think a few of those are made. But getting everyone to buy
one could be the remaining issue. Some might see integrating this into
a TV as the way to be sure everyone has it. I'm on the fence whether
this is a good idea.

--
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| Phil Howard KA9WGN | http://linuxhomepage.com/ http://ham.org/ |
| (first name) at ipal.net | http://phil.ipal.org/ http://ka9wgn.ham.org/ |
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