"Low Tech" Low Power AM Radio Stations
Will They Save the Day, January 1, 2000?

By Bill Baker

If power goes south in your community on January 1, 2000, how will you tell citizens what direction to turn? If an industrial emergency exists because of a lack of communication or control, how can you notify nearby residents?

As the countdown to 2000 continues, many cities, counties and their industries are looking for a reliable communication system that will function on Day 1, 2000 – in the event that every PC, two-way radio, cable TV link, telephone and power outlet goes cold. One candidate looks especially promising: Low-power AM (TIS) radio.

CASE STUDY
Naperville, IL in Chicago’s growing west suburban area:

On a particularly wet day in 1996, 9.7 inches of rain fell on Naperville in less than 10 hours. The Du Page River, a gurgling brook that divides the city, became a lake, flooding more than 10,000 homes and knocking out communications.

States Naperville’s Emergency Preparedness Director Bill Reynolds, "Our cable access TV channel was down, and our low power AM station was our only link we had to our citizens."

Anticipating a weather-related disaster in tornado-prone northeastern Illinois, Reynolds had installed the 10-watt AM TIS radio station in 1995, just in time, as it turned out, for the deluge.

EASY ACCESS
The popularity of the low power AM stations, classed by the FCC as "Travelers Information Stations" (TIS) is rooted first in the fact that virtually everyone has access to an AM radio receiver in their car or in their home. Second, most of those receivers can be battery powered, either by 9-volt or D-cells, or by the 12-volt battery system of any car.

Hundreds of communities have added TIS radio stations in recent years, commonly as an adjunct to a siren system and frequently doubling as a dispenser of general city and visitor information (during non-disaster periods). Naperville, in fact, discovered that calls to city switchboards were reduced significantly by broadcasting information on things such as leaf pick-up regulations. Other communities operate TIS radio in combination with area industry or military facilities. TIS broadcast radius is 3-5 miles in most areas.

The trend to TIS radio stations for city information began with the San Francisco Bay Area community of Newark, CA, in 1987. The city placed such a radio station on the air just months in advance of the 1988 earthquake. As the year 2000 approaches, these stations, independent from vulnerable external links, are growing in popularity.

WHY COUNT ON TIS RADIO SYSTEMS?
TIS radio systems are simple enough that Y2K issues are not relevant. Station components – the transmitters and digital message players – are not aware of the calendar date. Due to their low output power, they operate easily on solar power. TIS radio systems may be operated locally, or, if communications are up, by land-line/cell-phone as well.

In an era where the devil may be in the details of hi-tech, low-tech systems such as TIS radio may offer the salvation. When citizens ask "Where do we turn next?" – the answer just may be something like "1610 AM".

About the Author
Bill Baker is President of Information Station Specialists, Inc., Zeeland, MI. For more information on this topic call (616) 772-2300, fax (616) 772-2966, e-mail: bill@issinfosite.com or visit their web site at www.issinfosite.com.