Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) is a protocol used for framing and classification of broadcasting emergency warning messages. It was developed by the United States National Weather Service for use on its NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) network, and was later adopted by the Federal Communications Commission for the Emergency Alert System, then subsequently by Environment Canada for use on its Weatheradio Canada service. It is also used to set off receivers in Mexico City and surrounding areas as part of the Mexican Seismic Alert System (SASMEX).
From the 1960s to the 1980s, a special feature of the NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) system was the transmission of a single attention tone prior to the broadcast of any message alerting the general public of significant weather events. This became known as the Warning Alarm Tone (WAT). Although it served NWR well, there were many drawbacks. Without staff at media facilities to manually evaluate the need to rebroadcast an NWR message using the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS), automatic rebroadcasting of all messages preceded by just the WAT was unacceptable and impractical. Even if stations and others with the need were willing to allow for this type of automatic capture, assuming the events for activation were critical, there was no way for automated equipment at the station to know when the message was complete and restore it back to normal operation.
SAME had its beginnings in the early 1980s when NOAA's National Weather Service (NWS) began experimenting with system using analog tones in a dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) format to transmit data with radio broadcasts. [1] In 1985, the NWS forecast offices began experimenting with placing special digital codes at the beginning and end of every message concerning life- or property-threatening weather conditions targeting a specific area. The intent of what became SAME was to ultimately transmit a code with the initial broadcast of all NWR messages. However, the roll-out moved slowly until 1995, when the U.S. Government provided the budget needed to develop the SAME technology across the entire radio network. Nationwide implementation occurred in 1997, when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted the SAME standard as part of its new Emergency Alert System (EAS). [2] In 2003, NOAA established a SAME technology standard for weather radio receivers.
The SAME technique was later adopted by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1997 [3] for use in the EAS as well as by Environment Canada [4] for its Weatheradio Canada service in 2004. Much like the original EBS dual-tone , this produces a distinct sound (the ) which is easily recognized by most individuals due to its use in weekly and monthly broadcast tests, as well as weather alert messages. During the said events, viewers and/or listeners will hear these digital codes in the form of buzzes, chirps, and clicking sounds (colloquially known as "duck farts" by broadcast engineers) [5] just before the attention signal is sent out and at the conclusion of the voice message. [6]
In the SAME system, messages are constructed in four parts, the first and last of which are digital and the middle two are audio. The digital sections of a SAME message are AFSK data bursts, with individual bits lasting 1920 μs (1.92 ms) each, giving a bit rate of 5205⁄6 bits per second. A mark bit is four complete cycles of a sine wave, translating to a mark frequency of 20831⁄3 Hz, and a space bit is three complete sine wave cycles, making the space frequency 1562.5 Hz.
The data is sent isochronously and encoded in 8-bit bytes with the most-significant bit of each ASCII byte set to zero. The least-significant bit of each byte is transmitted first, including the preamble. The data stream is bit and byte synchronized on the preamble. [7]
Since there is no error correction, the digital part of a SAME message is transmitted three times, so that decoders can pick "best two out of three" for each byte, thereby eliminating most errors which can cause an activation to fail.[ citation needed ]
The text of the header code is a fixed format:
<Preamble>ZCZC-ORG-EEE-PSSCCC+TTTT-JJJHHMM-LLLLLLLL-
This is broken down as follows:
1. A preamble of binary 10101011 (0xAB in hex) repeated sixteen times, used for "receiver calibration" (i.e., clock synchronization), then the letters ZCZC
as an attention to the decoder (a message activation method inherited from NAVTEX).
2. ORG — Originator code; programmed per unit when put into operation [8]
3. EEE — Event code; programmed at time of event
4. PSSCCC — Location codes (up to 31 location codes per message), each beginning with a dash character; programmed at time of event
5. TTTT — Purge time of the alert event (from exact time of issue)
The National Weather Service is changing the maximum purge time for alerts on NOAA Weather Radio from 6 hours to 99.5 hours by summer 2023 to address long duration events purging before the event begins. [10]
6. JJJHHMM — Exact time of issue, in UTC, (without time zone adjustments).
7. LLLLLLLL — Eight-character station callsign identification, with "/" used instead of "–" (such as the first eight letters of a cable headend's location, WABC/FM
for WABC-FM, KLOX/NWS
for a weather radio station programmed from Los Angeles, or EC/GC/CA
for a Weatheradio Canada station).
Each field of the header code is terminated by a dash character, including the station ID at the end; individual PSSCCC location numbers are also separated by dashes, with a plus (+) separating the last location from the purge time that follows it.
An EAS message contains these elements, in this transmitted sequence:
NNNN
(EOM).There is one second of blank audio between each section, and before and after each message. For those used to packet communications systems where each packet has a checksum, note that there is no checksum used in the message format. The header and EOM are transmitted 3 times, [12] and the receiver is obliged to implement columnar parity correction.
The combined tones date back to 1976[ citation needed ] when they were made part of the Emergency Broadcast System, the EAS' predecessor.
There are roughly 80 different event codes that are used in EAS. These codes are defined federally by the FCC for use in the EAS system and publicly by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) standard [13] for SAME protocol weather radio receiver decoder units.
All but the first six of these used to be optional and could be programmed into encoder/decoder units at the request of the broadcaster. However, a July 12, 2007, memo by the FCC now requires mandatory participation in state and local level EAS by broadcasters. Furthermore, the creation and evolution of a voluntary standard by the CEA in December 2003 has provided participating manufacturers of weather radio receivers a single definitive reference to use when designing and programming receivers. In addition, some receiver manufacturers have added an additional layer as to whether or not an event code can be user-suppressed (e.g., a Hurricane Warning in a Midwest US State) or will never be allowed to be suppressed (e.g., Nuclear Power Plant Warning).
USA type key | CAN/MEX type key | Event level key | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
M | Mandatory code | AB | Administrative bulletin | ADV | Advisory |
O1 | Original optional code | CI | Currently implemented | WCH | Watch |
O2 | 2002 optional code [14] [15] | RT | Required test | WRN | Warning |
O3 | 2017 optional code [16] | FI | For future implementation | TEST | Test |
NI | Not implemented | NI | Not implemented | ||
TS | Testing for Implementation |
Event Code | U.S. Type | CAN. Type | MEX. Type | Event Description | Event Level |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
ADR | O1 | AB | NI | Administrative Message | ADV |
AVA | O2 | FI | NI | Avalanche Watch | WCH |
AVW | O2 | FI | NI | Avalanche Warning | WRN |
BLU | O3 | NI | NI | Blue Alert | WRN |
BZW | O1 | CI | NI | Blizzard Warning | WRN |
CAE | O2 | FI | NI | Child Abduction Emergency | ADV |
CDW | O2 | FI | NI | Civil Danger Warning | WRN |
CEM | O1 | FI | NI | Civil Emergency Message | WRN |
CFA | O2 | FI | NI | Coastal Flood Watch | WCH |
CFW | O2 | FI | NI | Coastal Flood Warning | WRN |
DMO | O1 | AB | NI | Practice/Demo Warning | TEST |
DSW | O2 | CI | NI | Dust Storm Warning | WRN |
EAN | M | FI | NI | National Emergency Message (Formerly known as "Emergency Action Notification", and is a national-level EAS activation. If it's ever used, it will be seen on all broadcast stations at the same time across the country, to carry a live Presidential message.) | WRN |
EAT | NI | FI | NI | Emergency Action Termination (No longer used after 2012. It was NOT used to terminate the Emergency Action Notification test of 2011.) | ADV |
EQW | O2 | FI | CI | Earthquake Warning | WRN |
EVI | O1 | FI | NI | Evacuation Immediate | WRN |
EWW | O3 | NI | NI | Extreme Wind Warning | WRN |
FFA | O1 | FI | NI | Flash Flood Watch | WCH |
FFS | O1 | FI | NI | Flash Flood Statement | ADV |
FFW | O1 | FI | NI | Flash Flood Warning | WRN |
FLA | O1 | FI | NI | Flood Watch | WCH |
FLS | O1 | FI | NI | Flood Statement | ADV |
FLW | O1 | FI | NI | Flood Warning | WRN |
FRW | O2 | FI | NI | Fire Warning | WRN |
FSW | NI | CI | NI | Flash Freeze Warning | WRN |
FZW | NI | CI | NI | Freeze Warning (also known as a "Frost Warning" in Canada.) | WRN |
HLS | O1 | FI | TS | Hurricane Local Statement | ADV |
HMW | O2 | FI | NI | Hazardous Materials Warning | WRN |
HUA | O1 | CI | TS | Hurricane Watch | WCH |
HUW | O1 | CI | TS | Hurricane Warning | WRN |
HWA | O1 | FI | NI | High Wind Watch | WCH |
HWW | O1 | CI | NI | High Wind Warning | WRN |
LAE | O2 | FI | NI | Local Area Emergency | ADV |
LEW | O2 | FI | NI | Law Enforcement Warning | WRN |
NAT | NI | AB | NI | National Audible Test | TEST |
NIC | M | AB | NI | National Information Center (Never used, but assumed to be a National Emergency Message follow-up. This code was discontinued on December 12, 2023.[ citation needed ]) | ADV |
NMN | O2 | AB | NI | Network Notification Message | ADV |
NPT | M | AB | NI | Nationwide Test of the Emergency Alert System (formerly known as "National Periodic Test") | TEST |
NST | NI | AB | NI | National Silent Test | TEST |
NUW | O2 | FI | NI | Nuclear Power Plant Warning | WRN |
RHW | O2 | FI | NI | Radiological Hazard Warning | WRN |
RMT | M | RT | NI | Required Monthly Test (These are required to contain headers, an attention signal, an audio message, and end of message tones.) | TEST |
RWT | M | RT | CI | Required Weekly Test (These only require headers and end of message tones, but an attention signal and/or audio message are optional except for NOAA Weather Radio stations.) | TEST |
SMW | O2 | TS | NI | Special Marine Warning | WRN |
SPS | O1 | FI | NI | Special Weather Statement | ADV |
SPW | O2 | FI | NI | Shelter In-Place warning | WRN |
SQW | O1 | CI | NI | Snow Squall Warning | WRN |
SSA | O3 | NI | NI | Storm Surge Watch | WCH |
SSW | O3 | NI | NI | Storm Surge Warning | WRN |
SVA | O1 | CI | NI | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | WCH |
SVR | O1 | CI | NI | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | WRN |
SVS | O1 | TS | NI | Severe Weather Statement (U.S., CAN) | ADV |
TOA | O1 | CI | NI | Tornado Watch | WCH |
TOE | O2 | FI | NI | 911 Telephone Outage Emergency | ADV |
TOR | O1 | CI | NI | Tornado Warning [17] | WRN |
TRA | O2 | CI | NI | Tropical Storm Watch | WCH |
TRW | O2 | CI | NI | Tropical Storm Warning | WRN |
TSA | O1 | TS | NI | Tsunami Watch | WCH |
TSW | O1 | TS | NI | Tsunami Warning | WRN |
VOW | O2 | FI | CI | Volcano Warning | WRN |
WSA | O1 | CI | NI | Winter Storm Watch | WCH |
WSW | O1 | CI | NI | Winter Storm Warning | WRN |
??A | O2 | CI | NI | Unrecognized Watch | WCH |
??E | O2 | CI | NI | Unrecognized Emergency | ADV |
??S | O2 | CI | NI | Unrecognized Statement | ADV |
??W | O2 | CI | NI | Unrecognized Warning | WRN |
* Unrecognized Alerts are only seen on NOAA Weather Radios. This is typically due to poor reception, or for newly-implemented event codes, which an older radio may not recognize.
Event Code | U.S. Type | CAN. Type | Event Description | Event Level |
---|---|---|---|---|
TXB | O2 | AB | Transmitter Backup On | ADV |
TXF | O2 | AB | Transmitter Carrier Off | ADV |
TXO | O2 | AB | Transmitter Carrier On | ADV |
TXP | O2 | AB | Transmitter Primary On | ADV |
Event Code | U.S. Type | CAN. Type | Event Description | Event Level |
---|---|---|---|---|
BHW | NI | FI | Biological Hazard Warning | WRN |
BWW | NI | FI | Boil Water Warning | WRN |
CHW | NI | FI | Chemical Hazard Warning | WRN |
CWW | NI | FI | Contaminated Water Warning | WRN |
DBA | NI | FI | Dam Watch | WCH |
DBW | NI | FI | Dam Break Warning | WRN |
DEW | NI | FI | Contagious Disease Warning | WRN |
EVA | NI | FI | Evacuation Watch | WCH |
FCW | NI | FI | Food Contamination Warning | WRN |
IBW | NI | FI | Iceberg Warning | WRN |
IFW | NI | FI | Industrial Fire Warning | WRN |
LSW | NI | FI | Landslide Warning | WRN |
POS | NI | FI | Power Outage Advisory | ADV |
WFA | NI | FI | Wild Fire Watch | WCH |
WFW | NI | FI | Wild Fire Warning | WRN |
The FCC established naming conventions for EAS event codes. The third letter of the code must be one of the following. [23]
Third letter of event code | Category | Description |
---|---|---|
W | Warning | An event that alone poses a significant threat to public safety and/or property, probability of occurrence and location is high, and the onset time is relatively short. |
A | Watch | Meets the classification of a warning, but either the onset time, probability of occurrence, or location is uncertain. |
E | Emergency | An event that, by itself, would not kill, injure or do property damage, but indirectly may cause other things to happen that result in a hazard. |
S | Statement | A message containing follow up information to a warning, watch, or emergency. |
The exception to this convention is for "TOR" (tornado warning), "SVR" (severe thunderstorm warning), "EVI" (evacuation immediate), "EAN, EAT, NIC" (the EAS national activation codes), and "ADR" (administrative messages). [14]
There are many weather/all-hazards radio receivers that are equipped with the SAME alert feature, which allows users to program SAME/FIPS/CLC codes for their designated area or areas of their interest and/or concern rather than the entire broadcast area. (For example, a person living in Irving, Texas, would program a FIPS code for Dallas County. However, if there is a need to know of severe weather from the west and northwest ahead of time, the user would program additional FIPS codes for Denton and Tarrant Counties.)
On a more specialized receiver, a user has the option to eliminate any SAME alert codes that may not apply to their area such as a "Special Marine Warning" or a "Coastal Flood Warning". Once the SAME header is sent by NOAA/NWS and if it matches the desired code(s), the receivers then decode the event, scroll it on their display screens, and sound an alarm.
Receivers receive on one of the following National Weather Service network frequencies (in MHz): 162.400, 162.425, 162.450, 162.475, 162.500, 162.525, and 162.550. The signals are typically receivable up to 40 miles (80 km) from the transmitters. [24]
The Emergency Broadcast System (EBS), sometimes called the Emergency Action Notification System (EANS), was an emergency warning system used in the United States. It was the most commonly used, along with the Emergency Override system. It replaced the previous CONELRAD system and was used from 1963 to 1997, at which point it was replaced by the Emergency Alert System.
CONELRAD was a method of emergency broadcasting to the public of the United States in the event of enemy attack during the Cold War. It was intended to allow continuous broadcast of civil defense information to the public using radio stations, while rapidly switching the transmitter stations to make the broadcasts unsuitable for Soviet bombers that might attempt to home in on the signals.
The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a national warning system in the United States designed to allow authorized officials to broadcast emergency alerts and warning messages to the public via cable, satellite and broadcast television and AM, FM and satellite radio. Informally, Emergency Alert System is sometimes conflated with its mobile phone counterpart Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), a different but related system. However, both the EAS and WEA, among other systems, are coordinated under the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS). The EAS, and more broadly IPAWS, allows federal, state, and local authorities to efficiently broadcast emergency alert and warning messages across multiple channels. The EAS became operational on January 1, 1997, after being approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in November 1994, replacing the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS), and largely supplanted Local Access Alert systems, though Local Access Alert systems are still used from time to time. Its main improvement over the EBS, and perhaps its most distinctive feature, is its application of a digitally encoded audio signal known as Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME), which is responsible for the characteristic "screeching" or "chirping" sounds at the start and end of each message. The first signal is the "header" which encodes, among other information, the alert type and locations, or the specific area that should receive the message. The last short burst marks the end-of-message. These signals are read by specialized encoder-decoder equipment. This design allows for automated station-to-station relay of alerts to only the area the alert was intended for.
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