A slide used by television stations during Emergency Broadcast System announcements and tests.

For the record label, see Emergency Broadcast System Records

The Emergency Broadcast System (EBS) was an emergency warning system in the USA used from 1963 to 1997, at which time it was replaced with the Emergency Alert System. Image File history File links Ebs_logo. ... Image File history File links Ebs_logo. ... Emergency Broadcast System Records was a record label setup in UK in the early 1990s by Hawkwind and Doug Smith. ... // Emergency management (or disaster management) is the discipline dealing of with and avoiding risks. ... The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a national system in the U.S. put into place in 1994, superseding the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS) and is jointly coordinated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Federal Emergency Managemant Agency (FEMA), and the National Weather Service (NWS). ...

Purpose

The EBS was initiated in 1963 at the height of the civil defense era to allow the president to address the entire nation in an emergency. EBS replaced the CONELRAD system instituted in 1951. The EBS was later further expanded through an inter-agency effort with the FCC and the National Weather Service (NWS) to permit the system to be used for state and local emergencies. The EBS was replaced by the Emergency Alert System, or EAS, which was initiated in 1994 and fully implemented nationwide in 1997. The old United States civil defense logo. ... CONELRAD (Control of Electromagnetic Radiation) was a planned method of emergency broadcasting to the public of the United States in the event of World War III. It served two purposes; to prevent Soviet bombers from homing-in on American cities by using broadcast stations as beacons, and to provide essential... The FCCs official seal. ... The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce. ... The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a national system in the U.S. put into place in 1994, superseding the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS) and is jointly coordinated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Federal Emergency Managemant Agency (FEMA), and the National Weather Service (NWS). ...

Although the system was never used for a national emergency, it was activated more than 20,000 times between 1976 and 1996 to broadcast civil emergency messages and warnings of severe weather hazards.

System construction

The EBS was designed in a hierarchical system, with a relative handful of "primary" stations. About three dozen around the country had direct communications with the White House (Primary Entry Points), some were connected to state emergency authorities (State Primaries), while others were responsible for information within their own "operational area" (Common Program Control Stations). These stations would originate emergency programming, while other stations would monitor the primary stations for EBS messages to rebroadcast. In a few areas, "primary relay" stations served as relay points between primary stations and other stations that were unable to receive a primary station's broadcast. Many areas also had an "alternate primary" in case one of the critical stations in the link were destroyed or unable to broadcast. Additionally, the White House had a direct connection to all of the national broadcast networks and wire services, and affiliated stations were encouraged to monitor them during an emergency, as well. A broadcast network is an organization, such as a corporation or other association, that provides live or recorded content, such as movies, newscasts, sports, and public affairs programs for broadcast over a group of radio or television stations. ... A news agency is an organization journalists established to supply news reports to organizations in the news trade: newspapers, magazines, and radio and television broadcasters. ...

Activation procedure

Actual activations originated with a primary station, which would transmit the Attention Signal (help· info). This Attention Signal most commonly associated with the EBS was a combination of the sine waves of 853 and 960 Hz. Decoders at relay stations would sound an alarm, alerting the station operator to the incoming message. Then each relay station would broadcast the alert tone and rebroadcast the emergency message from the primary station. Image File history File links Emergency_broadcast_system. ...

A nationwide activation of the EBS was called an Emergency Action Notification (EAN). This was the only type of activation which broadcast stations were not allowed to ignore; the FCC made local civil emergencies and weather advisories optional (except for stations that had agreed to be the "primary" source of such messages). The FCCs official seal. ...

To activate the EAN protocol, the AP and UPI wire services would notify stations with a special message. It began with a full line of X's, and a bell inside the teletype machine would sound ten times. To avoid abuse and mistakes, the message included a confirmation password which changed daily. Stations that subscribed to one of the wire services were not required to activate the EBS if the activation message did not have proper confirmation. The Associated Press, or AP, is an American news agency, the worlds largest such organization. ... Front of UPI Headquarters, Washington, D.C. “UPI” redirects here. ... A news agency is an organization journalists established to supply news reports to organizations in the news trade: newspapers, magazines, and radio and television broadcasters. ... A teleprinter (teletypewriter, teletype or TTY) is a now largely obsolete electro-mechanical typewriter which can be used to communicate typed messages from point to point through a simple electrical communications channel, often just a pair of wires. ...

False alarm of 1971

Despite these safeguards, the system was inadvertently activated at 9:33 AM EST on February 20, 1971. A system operator accidentally "played the wrong tape" during a test of the system. As a result, an EBS activation message authenticated with the codeword "HATEFULNESS" was sent through the entire system, ordering stations to cease regular programming and broadcast the alert of a national emergency. A cancellation message with the wrong codeword was sent at 9:59 AM EST; a cancellation message with the correct codeword was not sent until 10:13 AM EST. This false alarm demonstrated major flaws in the EBS system. Many stations had not received the alert, but more importantly, the vast majority of those that did ignored it. The only station in the country that shut down as mandated by FCC rules was WSNS-TV (Ch 44) in Chicago. Numerous investigations were launched, and several changes were made to the EBS. Among them, the on-air alert announcement was streamlined, eliminating language that warned the audience of an imminent attack against the country. is the 51st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. ... A false alarm, also called a nuisance alarm, is the phony report of an emergency, causing unnecessary panic and/or bringing resources (such as fire engines) to a place where they are not needed. ... WSNS-TV 44 is the Telemundo affiliate in Chicago, Illinois. ...

"If This Had Been an Actual Emergency..."

Although it was never used, the FCC's EBS plan involved detailed procedures for stations to follow during an EAN. It included precise scripts that announcers were to read at the outset of the emergency and whenever detailed information was scarce. Among other things, citizens were instructed not to use the telephone, but rather continue listening to broadcast stations for information. The FCCs official seal. ...

As official information began to emerge from various sources, non-primary stations were to broadcast it according to the following priority list:

• Messages from the president
• Statewide emergency information
• Local emergency information (for a station's operational area)
• National programming and news (other than a presidential message)

A presidential message was always required to be aired live during an EAN. For other information, stations were to follow the priority list to decide what should be disseminated first. Lower priority official programming was to be recorded for the earliest available rebroadcast. For other uses, see President of the United States (disambiguation). ...

Participation in EAN emergency broadcasting was done with the "voluntary cooperation" of each station (as noted in the classic test announcement). Stations that were not prepared to be part of the national EBS network were classified as "non-participating" by the FCC. During an EAN, a non-participating station was required to advise listeners/viewers to tune elsewhere to find emergency bulletins. The station's transmitter would then be turned off. Non-participating stations had to remain off-the-air until the EAN was terminated. Under no circumstances could any broadcast station continue with normal programming during a national emergency. The FCCs official seal. ...

Testing the system

Until the system was superseded, radio and television stations were required to perform a Weekly Transmission Test Of The Attention Signal and Test Script on random days and times between 8:30 A.M and local sunset. Stations were required to perform the test at least once a week and were only exempt from performing the test if they had activated the EBS for a state or local emergency or participated in a coordinated state or local EBS test during the past week.

Original plan

Early in the history of the EBS, tests and activations were initiated in a similar way to CONELRAD tests. Primary stations would turn their transmitters off for five seconds, back on for five seconds, off for five seconds more, then would go back on air and transmit a 1000 Hz tone for 15 seconds to alert secondary stations. This quick off-and-on became known to broadcast engineers as the "EBS Stress Test", as older transmitters would sometimes fail after the quick cycling on and off. [1] This became unnecessary as broadcast technology advanced and the two-tone alarm was developed.

Later test pattern

Later on, the EBS Stress Test was scrapped in favor of the following procedure:

1) Normal programming was suspended. Television stations would transmit a video slide such as the one illustrating this entry (numerous designs were available over the years). One of the following announcements written below was transmitted:

• "This is a test. For the next sixty (or thirty) seconds, this station will conduct a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. This is only a test."
• "(name of host station in a particular market) is conducting a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. This is only a test."
• "This is a test. This station is conducting a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. This is only a test."
• "The following is a test of the Emergency Broadcast System."

2) The Attention Signal was transmitted from the EBS encoder for 20 to 25 seconds.

3) The announcement written below (depending on the variation) was transmitted. The first part read:

• "This is a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. The broadcasters of your area in voluntary cooperation with the FCC and other authorities (or, in later years, "federal, state and local authorities") have developed this system to keep you informed in the event of an emergency."

There were a number of variations for the second half of the statement. During the early days of the system, stations other than the designated primary station for an operational area were required to shut down in the event of an emergency (reminiscent of the CONELRAD days), and the message was a variation of:

• "If this had been an actual emergency, you would have been instructed to tune to one of the broadcast stations in your area."
• "If this had been an actual emergency, you would have been instructed where to tune in your area for news and official information".

In later years, as it became easier for stations to record and relay messages from a primary station, and the risk of hostile bombers using broadcast signals to navigate lessened due to the development of ICBMs, the requirement to shut down in the event of activation was dropped, and the message became: A Minuteman III missile soars after a test launch. ...

• "If this had been an actual emergency, the Attention Signal you just heard would have been followed by official information, news or instructions."

As the EBS was about to be replaced by its successor, the aforementioned Emergency Alert System, some stations used the following variant:

• "This station is testing its Emergency Broadcast System equipment. The EBS will soon be replaced by the Emergency Alert System; the EAS will provide timely emergency warnings."

The test concluded with one of the following phrases:

• "(sponsoring station in a particular market) serves the (name of operational area) area. This concludes this test of the Emergency Broadcast System."

• "This station serves the (name of operational area) area. This concludes this test of the Emergency Broadcast System."

These variations were heard in different parts of the country throughout the years depending on FCC regulations at the time, local preferences, and whether the specific station performing the test was a primary EBS station or not. At least one version made explicit reference to an attack on the United States as being a possible scenario for EBS activation. The announcement text was mandated by the FCC.

Stations had the option of either reading the test script live, or using recorded versions. Jingle producer Terry Moss (of "L.A. Air Force" fame) offered a sung version of the most common script on his Cheap Radio Thrills and WHEN radio in Syracuse, New York had their own sung version. In the late 1970s, however, the FCC prohibited singing the test script or reading it as if it were a joke.^{[citation needed]} A jingle is a memorable slogan, set to an engaging melody, mainly broadcast on radio and sometimes on television commercials. ... Nickname: The Salt City Location of Syracuse within the state of New York Coordinates: City Government  - Mayor Matthew Driscoll Area  - City 66. ...

Purpose of the test and cultural impact

The purpose of the test was to allow the FCC and broadcasters to verify that EBS tone transmitters and decoders were functioning properly. In addition to the weekly test, test activations of the entire system were conducted periodically for many years. These tests showed that about 80% of broadcast outlets nationwide would carry emergency programming within a period of five minutes when the system was activated.

The weekly broadcast of the EBS test message made it part of American cultural fabric of the era, and became the subject of all kinds of jokes and skits. Several people have testified about being frightened by the Test Pattern as children, and actual emergencies scared them even more.

Use in fiction

The Emergency Broadcast System was used in numerous films and television productions, usually in the context of a nuclear exchange. A version of the EBS warning signal is heard during The Day After, a film about a nuclear attack on the United States, and the activation of a version of EBS are the last sounds heard in Countdown to Looking Glass, a Canadian-made film about the lead-up to a nuclear war. The EBS Test Script was also parodied in a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip on February 21, 1987 where Calvin is promptly spanked and consoles himself by saying that when the house caves in his mother will show gratitude, and in a Peanuts comic strip on October 19, 1988. The film Signs also features the recognizable alert tone accompanied by a test pattern. In addition, a Dexter's Laboratory episode's ("911") main plot centered on the EBS, though it was created and aired after the switch to the EAS. It was also referenced in Bobby's World when Bobby's mother is thought to be in labor but it is a false alarm, to which Bobby sees the EBS testing on TV and imagines an announcement akin to "It is only a false delivery of pregnancy. Had the baby actually come, Uncle Ted would have passed out cigars and all the women of the family would be annoyed by it." It is also featured in the pinball game Attack from Mars at a random starting point: "This is the Emergency Broadcast System. Earth is under attack! An attack from Mars!" The Simpsons featured a variation of the EBS in the episode "Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming", when Krusty the Clown activated it from a civil defense shack in order to keep his show on the air after television had been eliminated due to Sideshow Bob's bomb threat. This article is about the 1983 TV movie about nuclear war. ... Countdown to Looking Glass is a Canadian made-for-television movie that premiered in the United States on HBO on 14 October 1984 and was also broadcast on CTV in Canada. ... Listen to this article (3 parts) (info) Part 1ʉۢ Part 2ʉۢ Part 3 This audio file was created from an article revision dated 2006-01-29, and may not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... For other uses, see Peanut (disambiguation). ... is the 292nd day of the year (293rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... Signs is a 2002 science fiction thriller film directed by M. Night Shyamalan starring Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin, and Abigail Breslin. ... Dexters Laboratory (Dexters Lab for short and also the name for the mini series which involved his robot dog) is an American animated television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky. ... Bobbys World is a childrens animated television series, which ran from 1990 to 1998, on FOX. It was about the daily life of Bobby Generic (pronounced , unlike the adjective that is pronounced ) and his very overactive imagination on how he sees the world. ... An electronic pinball machine (Theatre of Magic), released 1995. ... Simpsons redirects here. ... The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. ...

See also

• Four minute warning
• CONELRAD

The four minute warning was conceived by the British Government during the Cold War. ... CONELRAD (Control of Electromagnetic Radiation) was a planned method of emergency broadcasting to the public of the United States in the event of World War III. It served two purposes; to prevent Soviet bombers from homing-in on American cities by using broadcast stations as beacons, and to provide essential...

External links

• The EBS Authenticator Word List and old EBS documents
• What happened to the Emergency Broadcast System? by Cecil Adams, Chicago Reader
• Personal remembrance of the 1971 false alarm with scans of relevant teletype messages and immediately following UPI story
• A 1984 EBS Test on WFLD-TV, Chicago