Conelrad on FM or TV?
 

I was browsing an antique radio site a few minutes ago and noticed that most of the late '50s-'60s sets had the Conelrad emergency broadcast frequencies marked with the small triangle icon at 640 and 1240 kHz, as required by the FCC during that time frame. This got me to wondering. Was there ever an emergency warning system even remotely similar to Conelrad designed for and used by FM broadcast stations of the same period (1953-'63)? Every FM radio I've ever seen in my life, including every AM/FM set in my small collection (at least one of which, my Zenith MJ1035 which dates to 1961, is entirely devoid of the CD marks anywhere on the FM dial. How were listeners to FM stations to know when a Conelrad alert had been issued and was active for their area? Did the FM stations simply instruct their listeners to tune to 640 or 1240 and then go off the air for the duration of the emergency? For that matter, how did TV stations alert viewers to Conelrad emergency broadcasts? I've never seen a TV set in my life with CD marks anywhere on the VHF tuning dial. I'm old enough at almost 52 (grew up during the Cold War era) to remember the tail end of Conelrad and have heard many tests of the system over radio and TV before the system was abolished and replaced by EBS (the Emergency Broadcast System) and later the current EAS (Emergency Alert System), but never once heard the system activated in northeastern Ohio for anything other than weekly tests (This is a test. For the next 60 seconds, this station will conduct a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. This is only a test.) I know the present Emergency Alert System sends warnings of impending severe weather over local radio and television stations, but I'm wondering what, if anything other than tests, the original Conelrad system was ever used for after the end of the war. :scratch2:

Jeff...I started out in AM radio, and it was well after Conelrad was superseded by EBS then EAS. By the time I was on FM in the late 70's, it was EBS all the way. I don't think FM or TV were even considered when Conelrad was put into place. I guess the warning system would've been the big buzz of an electromagnetic pulse, followed by static or snow.

The system was to use AM stations all broadcasting the same networked message in a rotating pattern with the stations going on and off the air randomly so they couldn't be used for aircraft homing=in purposes. Probably 99% of the people had some kind of AM radio and transistor portables were coming on the market. AM radio was king with FM really in its infancy then, not many people had sets and I don't think there were any portable sets. It was relegated in many cases to just simulcasting the AM program or playing background music, etc. TV was big and bulky and would be left behind in a dash for cover. I believe that FM and TV stations would broadcast a message to turn on 640 or 1240 AM radio and then go off the air.

I remember listening to a test of the system back then in the late '50's: the AM band was dead as all stations had retuned to one of the two frequencies. In a particular area they rotated air time for a few seconds, so the signal went up and down and changed tone a little depending on which transmitter was on.

Reece

I also remember the format of the old Conelrad (later to become EBS, Emergency Broadcasting System) tests. On TV there would be that huge "CD" symbol which, on a color set, would appear as the letters CD in bright red against a white triangle; the triangle was set against a dark blue circular background. (On a B&W set, of course, it would all be in black, white and shades of gray, but imposing and attention-grabbing nevertheless.) There was the usual announcement, "This is a test. For the next sixty seconds...", followed by a 400-Hz warning tone, then the station would cut its audio carrier for 15 seconds; the video carrier would go off the air for a similar length of time, then the announcement would come on once again. "This has been a test of the Conelrad emergency broadcast system. If this had been an actual emergency, normal broadcasting would have been discontinued and only designated Conelrad emergency broadcasting stations would (remain on the air). . . . This concludes this test . . . "

I'll never forget a heck of a scare I had while watching TV one afternoon when I was seven years old. I forget what show I was watching (probably a cartoon program), but when the show broke for a commercial, the station I was watching ran its normal weekly Conelrad test. We had a 21" TV at the time, and boy, when that big Conelrad symbol showed on the screen big as life as the test began, I took off running down the hall in our house (from the living room to the bedrooms in back). I was scared to death, and sure the Russians were going to invade northeastern Ohio and blow us all to kingdom come!

I don't remember a heck of a lot from when I was seven, but that Conelrad scare left enough of an impression on me that I doubt if I'll ever forget it if I should live to be one hundred years old. Today, of course, I realize that when the EAS (Emergency Alert System) tests show on TV or are broadcast over local radio, they are almost always just tests to make certain the system is ready for an actual emergency. EAS (EBS as well) has been activated in this area (Northeast Ohio), however, during severe weather events such as snowstorms (we get at least one big storm every winter off Lake Erie; the phenomenon responsible for this is known here on the Great Lakes as "lake effect"), which is exactly why the system was developed in the first place--to alert area residents of impending or current violent weather conditions or other hazards. These days, especially since 9/11, I wouldn't be surprised if EAS was activated in case, Heaven forbid, a terrorist attack was launched on a major structure in one of our major cities or, again Heaven forbid, those darned terrorists launched a poison-gas attack on a major metropolitan area. The warnings over EAS are heard on every radio station in the affected area, unlike Conelrad which required standard broadcast, FM, television and even CB and amateur stations to be silenced for the duration of the emergency; the only station to be heard in this case would be the designated Conelrad/EBS alert station, which would switch from 640 to 1240 kHz and vice-versa at random intervals in an attempt to confuse radio-direction-finding gear used by enemy aircraft. To this end, the Conelrad emergency alert station never used a call sign or announced its location at any time during an actual emergency.

All radio and TV stations in the affected area will carry EAS information in the event of an emergency; none will be silenced as was required under Conelrad rules. EAS's predecessor, the Emergency Broadcast System, operated in much the same manner as EAS does today: broadcasting emergency warnings over all radio and television stations in the affected area (including FM stations), so that no one will be out of the loop (except for listeners to satellite radio, as I explain below) in the event of a local or national emergency.

The only question I have about the effectiveness of the EAS is whether people listening to XM or Sirius satellite radio will hear local emergency warnings; after all, XM and Sirius are national satellite networks with no ties to local areas. How would someone listening to a music program, for example, over XM satellite radio be alerted to a local or national emergency? The area's local broadcast stations, of course, would carry the warnings via EAS, but listeners to satellite services may well be left out of the loop and may not know until it is too late that a local or national state of emergency has been declared. I certainly hope, for the sake of the safety of the people of the US, that there is some sort of emergency plan in place for local emergency warnings to override national satellite programming as many people these days don't bother with local AM or FM radio anymore, preferring, rather, to get their music over XM or Sirius satellite.

BTW, every metropolitan area had (and still has to this day, under EAS) a designated Emergency Broadcast System alert station, as did Conelrad. The key EAS stations for northern Ohio, for example, are WTAM-1100 on AM radio and WEWS TV channel 5. WEWS has been a key Conelrad/EBS/EAS emergency station in this area for decades, ever since Conelrad; in those days the station was a member of the old Civil Defense Disaster Network. Under EAS, I'm sure the station would carry EAS warnings pretty much in sync with the other seven local TV stations in Cleveland; in fact, I have seen situations where, when one local station runs an EAS test (mostly late at night, when they are running infomercials), the others will follow in quick succession. Moreover, the cable system in this area (Time Warner and likely others around the country) are set up so that if there is any kind of EAS activity on any local TV station, be it a test or an actual emergency, the system will switch every TV set to channel 3 so that no one on the system will miss it--even if they are watching a program on a cable channel. If a viewer tries to switch channels, he or she will find the EAS alert on every station carried on the cable. This is about as close to a "fail safe" emergency warning system for cable TV as we may come for some time. The standard OTA EAS warning system will alert viewers using over-air antennas, analog TVs and ATSC/QAM tuners, as always, to emergency conditions, so no one should ever be caught off guard in case of an emergency.

No, no, no! That was the opening of "The Outer Limits". :rolleyes:

Just kidding, of course. Actually I do remember everything that has been mentioned so far, just not as accurately or with that amount of detail. I also remember test patterns, playing the National Anthem when the station went on the air in the morning and the daily Sermonette when they signed off at night, or was it the other way around? Thanks for the historical information folks! It's been a good read.

Hi,

Conelrad was only applicable to AM radio stations. EBS (Emergency Broadcast System) was applicable to all broadcasters as are EAS (Emergency Alert System)/ Amber Alert.