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EMnet General Operation: Composing EAS Messages

EMnet General Operation: Composing EAS Messages. EMnet transmits two types of emergency messages:. EMnet messages sent point-to-point, directly to a single station or group of stations text-based messages, which may include attachments usually intended for Emergency Management Stations.

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EMnet General Operation: Composing EAS Messages

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  1. EMnet General Operation: Composing EAS Messages

  2. EMnet transmits two types of emergency messages: • EMnet messages • sent point-to-point, directly to a single station or group of stations • text-based messages, which may include attachments • usually intended for Emergency Management Stations

  3. EMnet transmits two types of emergency messages: • 2. EAS Messages • directed to a geographic area instead of to a single station • includes both text and audio components, and may also include attachments • Usually intended for broadcast to the public

  4. EAS: Emergency Alert System • The Federal Communications Commission • established EAS in 1994 for:  • Presidential warnings to the public in the case of a national emergency • state and local warnings to the public regarding local emergency situations EMnet is one way to send EAS messages. EAS messages sent to a geographic region via EMnet can be received by any other EMnet station configured to receive EAS messages for that region.

  5. NOTE: The Compose EAS feature is available to authorized stations only!

  6. Before you can send an EAS message: • Comlabs must install and enable EAS Origination software on your EMnet system • You must enable your station for EAS Delivery

  7. Enabling EAS Delivery To enable your system for EAS Delivery,right-click on the satellite icon, and select Emergency Alert System, Message Delivery.

  8. Enabling EAS Delivery Enable delivery of encoded EAS messages Click OK This will open the EAS Delivery window. Most of the information in this window is read-only, and set by Comlabs at the server.

  9. Enabling EAS Delivery When you click OK, you may see this message. EMnet requires that users authorized to send EAS messages have user accounts set up in the User Management screen. Click OK to enter the User Management screen. Or, right-click on the EMnet icon, and go to User Management.

  10. Enabling EAS Delivery To create users in the User Management screen, click New.

  11. Enabling EAS Delivery Enter the username and password for each new user, and click OK. When you are done, click OK to close out of the User Management screen. For more information on User Management, please see the User Management PowerPoint tutorial.

  12. Composing EAS Messages To send an EAS message,right-click on the satellite icon, and select Manage Messages to open the EMnet Message Manager.

  13. Composing EAS Messages Click on Compose EAS.This will open the EMnetEAS Encoder.

  14. Composing EAS Messages

  15. EAS Encoder Menu Options • Before showing how to send an EAS message, this tutorial will discuss the EAS Encoder’s various menu options. • File • Tools • Quick Alerts(Quick Alerts are previously saved drafts of EAS messages)

  16. EAS Encoder Menu Options Previously saved Quick Alerts are stored in this folder: C:\Comlabs\EMnet\Remote Station\EAS\QuickAlert . If Register to Handle ALR files is checked, then a desktop shortcut to one of these Quick Alert files will launch the EAS Encoder automatically. (For Windows Vista and Windows 7, UAC may interfere with launching Quick Alerts this way.) The File menu gives options for opening and saving Quick Alerts (drafts of EAS messages) If you have a CAP-compliant emergency message saved as an XML file, you can import it into EMnet with the Import XML File option.

  17. EAS Encoder Menu Options The Alert Configuration option in the Tools menu configures the audio inputs for recording EAS audio. Please note the number in the Pager/Mobile Text Length Warning area. This is the maximum number of characters that can appear in the Short Text window. If you are having trouble recording audio, check to make sure the correct audio input information is entered for the microphone you are using.

  18. Composing EAS Messages If you have created alerts in the past, you may bring up a previously saved alert by clicking on Quick Alert.

  19. Composing EAS Messages Before sending an EAS message, review your state’s EAS plan, and be familiar with the policies and procedures for your area.

  20. Composing EAS Messages There are Four Steps to composing an EAS message: • 1. Select codes • Alert Type • Alert Duration • Destination(s) • 2. Input text • URL • Description • Recommended Action 3. Record or attach audio 4. Activate or save alert

  21. Composing EAS Messages – Selecting Initial Codes Authorized event codes may vary from station to station. Begin creating a new alert by selecting the appropriate alert type from the drop-down list.

  22. Composing EAS Messages – Selecting Initial Codes • Once you have selected the alert type, these fields will fill in automatically: • Message Status • Message Type • Event Category • Urgency • Severity • Certainty

  23. Composing EAS Messages – Selecting Initial Codes You may change these fields if necessary using the drop-down menus.

  24. Composing EAS Messages – Selecting Initial Codes Open the Alert Duration menu, and choose the appropriate duration from the drop-down list.

  25. Composing EAS Messages – Selecting Initial Codes Click the Choose Destinations button to bring up the Incident Zone dialog

  26. Composing EAS Messages – Selecting Initial Codes The Incident Zone list will include all the FIPS destinations that you are authorized to send to. NOTE: At least one FIPS code MUST be selected.

  27. Composing EAS Messages – Selecting Initial Codes Select the desired destination … … and click Add to add this destination to the box on the right.

  28. Composing EAS Messages – Selecting Initial Codes The Comlabs Demo site is used for testing and training. Feel free to practice composing EAS messages with Comlabs Demo as your selected destination. So long as Comlabs Demo is the only selected destination, the message will not be transmitted live.

  29. Composing EAS Messages – Selecting Initial Codes Click on the EMnet tab to send the EAS message to individual EMnet sites. Unless they are *also* set to activate on the specified event code, Stations receiving messages in this way will *not* play activation audio, and will *not* activate EAS decoder equipment to send information over the air.

  30. Composing EAS Messages – Selecting Initial Codes Click on the Email tab to email the EAS message directly to Email addresses you have defined in your Address Manager. NOTE: to send email directly from EMnet, you must have a mail server specified in the Notification Rules dialog. For more information, see the Notification Rules PowerPoint tutorial. You can click Customize Email to specify the format of the email you will be sending.

  31. Composing EAS Messages – Selecting Initial Codes Click on the Groups tab to send the EAS message to groups of EMnet stations and/or email addresses defined in your Address Manager.

  32. Composing EAS Messages – Selecting Initial Codes When you have added the desired destination(s), click OK.

  33. Composing EAS Messages – Adding Text The chosen destinations appear here. Based on the codes you have entered, the Headline has been filled in automatically. This will be the Subject of the message. You may change the Headline if necessary. Since pagers and cell phones truncate messages, the “Short Text” field creates a short version of the message for pager distribution. This text is also editable.

  34. Composing EAS Messages – Adding Text If desired, you can type or paste a web address where those alerted can go for additional information. This address is automatically added to the “Short Text,” if the Short Text field has not been manually edited.

  35. Composing EAS Messages – Adding Text In the Description field, type or paste (Ctrl-v) the Description of the event, in accordance with your state’s guidelines. The description must contain at least 40 characters. Please note that both the Description and Short Text fields include a Spell Check feature!

  36. Composing EAS Messages – Adding Text The final text field to be filled is the Recommended Action. Again, you can type or paste (Ctrl-V) appropriate. (This is not a required field in EMnet. Whether you enter data here, and what information you enter, will depend on your state’s guidelines.)

  37. Composing EAS Messages – Adding Audio To add audio to the message, select one of two options: 1) Click Pre-Recorded Audio to select a previously recorded message. NOTE: attached audio must be in WAV or MP3 format, and must not be more than 2 minutes long. Attached wav files will be automatically converted to MP3.

  38. Composing EAS Messages – Adding Audio To add audio to the message, select one of two options: 2) Click Record Audio to create a new recording.

  39. Composing EAS Messages – Adding Audio If you choose to record new audio, the Record Audio window will appear. The audio you record will be compressed into MP3 format for quick transmission

  40. Composing EAS Messages – Adding Audio You will need to have a microphone attached to your computer. Please verify that the microphone is plugged in and turned on, and that the Alert Configuration settings in the Tools menu point to it correctly.

  41. Composing EAS Messages – Adding Audio A copy of the message will appear here for your reference. It will include the text in the Description and Recommended Action fields.

  42. Composing EAS Messages – Adding Audio Click Record to begin recording.

  43. Composing EAS Messages – Adding Audio Speak slowly and clearly. As you record, keep an eye on the volume. The ideal volume will peak mainly in yellow. As you record, the time will count up here in seconds.

  44. Composing EAS Messages – Adding Audio NOTE: There is a 118 second time limit on recorded messages! When you come to the end of the recording, press Stop.

  45. Composing EAS Messages – Adding Audio Press Play to hear your recording.

  46. Composing EAS Messages – Adding Audio Press Done if you are satisfied with your recording, or press Record to start over with a new recording.

  47. Composing EAS Messages – Adding Audio The chosen audio will appear as an mp3 attachment in the attachment list.

  48. Composing EAS Messages – Attachments If desired, click Attach Files to browse your computer for additional files to attach. NOTE: There is a 2MB limit on how large an EAS message can be after compression. This size limit is to make sure that messages travel at a reasonable speed over the satellite. Please be aware of the size of your attachment.

  49. Composing EAS Messages – Attachments The attached file will also appear in the attachment list.

  50. Composing EAS Messages – Attachments If you wish to remove an attachment, right-click on the unwanted file and select Remove Attachment.

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