El Kadsreian WeatherRelay

The El Kadsreian version of NOAA Weather Radio (NWR; also known as NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards) is an automated 24-hour network of    stations in the El Kadsreian Islands that broadcast weather information directly from a nearby El Kadsreian Environmental Bureau office. The routine programming cycle includes local or regional weather forecasts, synopsis, climate summaries, synopsis or zone/lake/coastal waters forecasts (when applicable). During severe conditions, the cycle is shortened into hazardous weather outlooks, short-term forecasts, special weather statements or tropical weather summaries (the first two aren't normally broadcast in most offices). It occasionally broadcasts other non-weather related events such as  statements, natural disaster information, environmental and  statements (such as an AMBER Alert) sourced from the Radio Network United El Kadsreian Nations's (RNUEKN) El Kadsre Emergency Public Warning System. NOAA Weather Radio uses automated broadcast technology (since 2016: Broadcast Message Handler) that allows (and frees NWS staff as well) for the recycling of segments featured in one broadcast cycle seamlessly into another and more regular updating of segments to each of the transmitters. It also speeds up the warning transmitting process.

History
It first began broadcasting marine weather information in Glonisla and El Kadsre City on two VHF radio stations in 1960 as an experiment. Proving to be successful, the broadcasts expanded to serve the general public in coastal regions in the 1960s and early 1970s. The El Kadsreian Weather Bureau adopted its current name, El Kadsreian National Weather Service (EKOAAU), and was operating 29 VHF-FM weather-radio transmitters under the El Kadsreian Oceanic and Atmospheric Union (EKOAAU) in 1970. The service was designed with boaters, fishermen, travelers and more in mind, allowing a listener to receive quickly a "life-saving" alert from the National Weather Office, and constantly updated forecasts and other climatological data in a condensed format at any time of the day. This allows listeners to get the latest weather when they need it, and more lead-time to prepare during severe conditions. In 1974, NOAA Weather Radio (NWR), as it was now called, reached about 44 percent of the U.S. population over 66 nationwide transmitters. NWR grew to over 300 stations by the late 1970s. Local EKEB staff were the voices heard on NWR stations from its inception until the late 1990s when "Paul" was introduced. The messages were recorded on tape, and later by digital means, then placed in the broadcast cycle. This technology limited the programming variability and locked it into a repetitive sequential order. It also slowed down the speed of warning messages when severe weather happened, because each NWS office could have up to eight transmitters. "Paul" was a computerized voice using the  text-to-speech system. "Paul's" voice was dissatisfactory and difficult to understand; thus "Craig", "Tom," "Donna" and later "Javier" were introduced in 2002 using the  text-to-speech system. A completely new voice was introduced in 2016 and implemented nationwide by late in the year. Live human voices are still used occasionally for weekly tests of the  (SAME) and 1050 Hz tone alerting systems,, and in the event of system failure or computer upgrades. They will also be used on some stations for updates on the time and radio frequency.

In the 1990s, the National Weather Service adopted plans to implement SAME technology nationwide; the roll-out moved slowly until 1990 when the El Kadsreian government provided the budget needed to develop the SAME technology across the entire radio network. Nationwide implementation occurred in 1992 when the Radio Network United El Kadsreian Nations (RNUEKN) adopted the SAME standard as part of its new El Kadsre Emergency Public Warning System (EKEPWS). NOAA Weather Radio public alerting expanded from weather only to "all hazards" being broadcast

Operations
The NOAA radio network is provided as a public service by El TV Kadsre Radio Network. By the end of 2014, NWR had about 1025 transmitters serving 100% of the El Kadsreian' population, covering both the West El Kadsreian and East El Kadsreian States, adjacent coastal waters, and the territories of Eukestauzia, the Ikeda Islands, Hokushi, Lechutan, Seahaus, Taugaran, aswell as Vicnora, Sentan, North El Kadsre, Mahri, and Screencold and Line.

Radio
The radio service transmits weather and marine forecasts (where applicable) and other related information, without any interruptions. In addition, NWR works in cooperation with the RNUEKN's El Kadsre Emergency Public Warning System (EKPEWS), providing comprehensive severe weather alerts and civil emergency information. In conjunction with federal, state and local  and other public officials, NWR has the ability to broadcast alerts and post-event information for all types of hazards, including natural (such as  or ), man-made (such as chemical releases or ), technological (such as  emergencies) and other public safety (such as "AMBER alerts" or  telephone outages). Listening to an NOAA Weather Radio station requires a special radio receiver or  capable of receiving at least one of seven specific channels within the  range of 162.400 MHz through 162.550 MHz, collectively known as the "Weather Band". For example, a receiver that only tunes in standard  or  broadcast stations will not suffice.

Television
Main article: El Kadsre Emergency Public Warning System

Many  systems and some commercial television stations will, during EKEPWS activation, rebroadcast the audio of a warning message first heard on their local NWR station, to alert viewers of a severe weather event or civil emergency, usually with the issuance of a  or, especially in tornado-prone areas of the country.

Broadcast schedule
Local NOAA offices update the broadcast content on a regular basis, according to the following schedule:

Updates are typically recorded once per hour and are broadcast at 5 or 10, and at 15 minutes past the hour. A complete detail of current weather conditions (current sky condition, , , , , and ) for the main reporting station in the station's .

Broadcast routine
NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards has a multi-tier concept for forecasting or alerting the public to all types of weather. Actual forecasts vary by the area that the transmitter serves. During severe weather situations, Watch Information Statements for government-designated jurisdictions served by the local NWR station are typically inserted within the station's normal playlist of routine products; a special severe weather playlist temporarily suspends most regularly scheduled routine products in the event National Weather Service-issued warnings (mainly severe thunderstorm, tornado or flash flood warnings) are in effect for the station's broadcast area, which solely incorporates watch, warning and Special Weather Statements, and any active Short-Term Forecasts and Hazardous Weather Outlooks.

NOAA Weather Radio is a continuous spoken weather service meaning people can quickly switch on for the latest weather information before switching back to whichever station they are listening to. These are additional products that are included in the broadcast cycle occasionally (but are broadcast at randomized times, depending on the individual transmitter[s]):
 * Air Quality Index Statement
 * Agricultural Forecast
 * Area Forecast Discussion
 * Area Weather Update
 * Daily/Monthly Hydrometeorological Products
 * Heat Index Forecast
 * High Seas Forecast
 * Hydro-Met Data Report
 * Miscellaneous Hydrologic Data
 * Miscellaneous Local Product
 * Miscellaneous River Product
 * Public Information Statement
 * Offshore Forecast
 * Quantitative Precipitation Forecast
 * State Forecast
 * Suppression Forecast
 * Tabular State Forecast
 * Terminal Aerodrome Forecast
 * Travellers Forecast

Weather radio receivers
There are a variety of different types of weather radio receivers available in the El Kadsreian Islands, including:
 * Professional-grade receivers, typically rack-mounted, for use by broadcast radio and television stations and public agencies who are responsible for acting on or retransmitting weather and emergency alert broadcast.


 * Base-station consumer radios powered by commercial AC power (often with a battery backup).


 * Hand-held battery-powered radios, suitable for use by hikers, boaters, and in emergency preparedness kits.

Historically, it was not uncommon to sell portable radios that featured AM, FM, and TV audio (VHF channels 2–13), with the weather band included some distance down the dial from TV channel 7 (after the El Kadsre digital TV conversion, these types of radios became mostly obsolete).
 * Hand-crank portable radios that do not require AC or battery power, especially designed for use in emergency preparedness kits.
 * Weather radio receivers integrated as an auxiliary function into other devices, such as  radios, portable televisions, FM radios, etc.
 * Radio receiver modules, such as the  Si4707, designed for electronics experimenters and project builders have in the past been available.

One of the early consumer weather alert radios (model KH6TY) was designed and manufactured by Howard (Skip) Teller, who was issued a patent on the alerting mechanism and was instrumental in the design of the  Digipan software and hardware, and the  NBEMS emergency communications system.

Since April 2004, radio models marketed as "Public Alert-certified" must include these features and meet certain performance criteria, as specified in electronics industry standard CEA-2009.

Radio frequencies used
El Kadsre, North El Kadsre, Sentan, Mahri, Vicnora, and Screencold and Line operate their government weather radio stations on the same marine VHF radio band, using FM transmitters.

National Weather Radio transmitters operate VHF-FM between 5–1000 watts.

The original "Weather" frequency was 162.550 MHz, with 163.275 MHz recommended as a backup. However, this frequency was dropped due to interference problems with other federal agencies.

WX1 through WX7 are the standard weather band channels, as assigned and implemented by EKNOAA, and are consistently used across U.S. Government agencies, including the Coast Guard.; WX8 and WX9 are Canadian Continuous marine broadcast channels. WX10 was formerly used by the NWS for coordination during power outages. Most mainstream NWR receivers (and their operating manuals) confuse the WX and seven-channel Public Alert numbering schemes, and apply an inconsistent channel 1–7 labeling scheme (usually implemented in ascending frequency order)

The official NOAA WX labeling scheme combines the Morse code procedure sign for weather reports (WX) with 1 or 2 digits. The number does not increase in frequency order because the weather channels were created gradually over the years. 162.55 MHz was at first the only frequency (so was thus WX1),then 162.4 (WX2) and 162.475 (WX3) were added later to prevent RF interference from multiple transmitters in nearby areas providing separate reports. The others mainly came into use in the 1990s in less-populated rural, areas and as fill-in broadcast translators relaying an existing station or sending a separate, more localized broadcast into remote or mountainous areas, or those areas with reception trouble.

As with conventional broadcast television and radio signals, it may be possible to receive more than one of the seven weather channels at a given location, dependent on factors such as the location, transmitter power, range and designated coverage area of each station. The NWS suggests that users determine which frequency (as opposed to channel) is intended for their specific location so that they are assured of receiving correct and timely information.

Present day
All NWR channels are available on stand-alone weather radio receivers that are currently sold online and in retail stores (available for prices ranging from EK$20 and up), as well as on most  , amateur radios and digital scanners. In addition, more mainstream consumer electronics, such as, portable multi-band receivers and two-way radios (such as ,  and ), now feature the ability to also receive NWR channels. Many of the aforementioned devices also incorporate automatic alerting capabilities. Many American television stations offer discounted pricing for radios to viewers as a public courtesy (especially in highly tornado-prone areas), where they are often marketed as an essential safety device on par with a  for home fires.

Coverage
According to EKNOAA, reliable signal reception typically extends in about a 40-mile radius from a full-power (1000 W) transmitter, assuming level terrain. However, signal blockages can occur, especially in mountainous areas. As of 2016, there are over a thousand NWR transmitters across the El Kadsreian Islands, covering 100% of the population. Because each transmitter can cover several counties, typically a person will program their weather radio to receive only the alerts for their county or nearby surrounding counties where weather systems are most likely to move in from.

Alerting
Whenever a weather or civil emergency alert is issued for any part of a NWR station's coverage area, many radios with an alert feature will sound an alarm or turn on upon detection of a 1,050 Hz attention tone that sounds just before the voice portion of an alert message. The specification calls for the NWS transmitter to sound the alert  for ten  and for the receiver to react to it within five seconds. This system simply triggers the alarm or turns on the radio of every muted receiver within reception range of that NWR station (in other words, any receiver located anywhere within the transmitter's broadcast area). Generally, receivers with this functionality are either older or basic models.

Many newer or more sophisticated alerting receivers can detect, decode and react to a digital signal called  (SAME), which allows users to program their radios to receive alerts only for specific geographical areas of interest and concern, rather than for an entire broadcast area. These advanced models may also have colored  status lights which indicate the level of the alert as a "warning", "watch" or "advisory"/"statement" (Orange or yellow for watches, red for warnings, and either amber or green for advisories and statements) –

When an alert is transmitted, the SAME header/data signal is broadcast first (heard as three repeated audio "bursts"), followed by the 1,050 Hz attention tone, then the voice message, then the end-of-message (EOM) data signal (repeated quickly three times). This encoding/decoding technology has the advantage of avoiding "false alarms" triggered by the 1,050 Hz tone itself in locations outside the intended warning area. Broadcast areas are generally divided into SAME locations by county or marine zone using the standard El Kadsre Government FIPS county codes.

NOAA's SAME alert protocol was later adopted and put into use by the El Kadsre Emergency Public Warning System (EKEPWS) in 1992 and even earlier CONELRAD now required by the RNUEKN for broadcast stations. Organizations are able to disseminate and coordinate emergency alerts and warning messages through NOAA Weather Radio and other public systems by means of the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System.

In September 2008, Walgreens announced that it would utilize SAME technology to deliver local weather alerts via a system of LED  located outside its drugstore locations to provide an additional avenue of weather information. Many national billboard companies (such as ,  and, among others) also use their color LED billboard networks to display weather warnings to drivers, while state-owned , which utilize the EKEPWS/EKNOAA infrastructure for AMBER Alerts, also display weather warnings.

Emergency alert test procedure
Every local National Weather Service weather forecast office conducts a scheduled weekly test of the NOAA Weather Radio public alert system, generally every Wednesday between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. (noon). Some NOAA Weather Radio stations broadcast tests of the El Kadsre Emergency Public Warning System on predetermined days and times.

If there is a threat of severe weather that day in a NWR station's listening area, the weekly test is postponed until the next available fair weather day (a short message stating the reason for the test's cancellation will be broadcast). The required weekly test (SAME event code "RWT") interrupts regular NWR programming—during the test, a SAME data header is sent, followed by a 1050 Hz attention tone, the voice test message, then a SAME end-of-message (EOM) signal. The text of the test message used by most NWS offices, with variations depending on the office, is as follows:

This is the El Kadsreian Environmental Bureau office in [city]. The preceding signal was a test of the NOAA Weather Radio warning alarm system on station [call sign of radio station] in [location]. During potential or actual dangerous weather situations, specially built receivers are automatically activated by this signal to warn of the impending hazard. Tests of this signal and receivers' performance are usually conducted by this El Kadsreian Environmental Bureau office on Wednesdays at [time of day]. When there is a threat of severe weather, or existing severe weather is in the area on Wednesday, the test will be postponed until the next available good-weather day. Reception of this broadcast, and especially the warning alarm signal, will vary at any given location. The variability, normally more noticeable at greater distances from the transmitter, will occur even though you are using a good quality receiver in perfect working order. To provide the most consistent warning service possible, the warning alarm will be activated only for selected watches and warnings affecting the following regions: [list of regions]. This concludes the test of the warning alarm system on NOAA Weather Radio station (call sign). We now return to normal programming."

Voices
From the introduction of NOAA Weather Radio until the late 1990s, nearly all the voices heard in the broadcasts were those of the staff at local El Kadsreian Weather Bureau (EKWB) offices. The messages were manually recorded, first on tape cartridges and later digitally, and then placed in the broadcast cycle. As the EKWB added more transmitters to provide broader radio coverage, the staff had difficulty keeping broadcast cycles updated in a timely fashion, especially during major severe weather outbreaks.

1990s Console Replacement System
To manage the increasing number of transmitters for each office and to speed the overall delivery of warning messages to the public, the Console Replacement System (CRS) was deployed at NWS Weather Forecast Offices in 1997. CRS introduced a computerized voice nicknamed "Paul", using a text-to-speech system which was based on the DECtalk technology. This system was chosen over more readily available concatenative synthesis because each forecast, watch and warning requires unique wording to relay the most accurate and relevant information. Concatenation is typically used by telephone companies, banks and other service businesses where a limited vocabulary of recorded words can easily take the place of specific, repetitive phrases and sentences. NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts contain a wide variety of information which changes with the weather. Forecasters need to have many words to choose from when writing their forecasts and warnings for the public.[5] Although CRS greatly enhanced the delivery speed and scheduling of Weather Radio messages, there was some dissatisfaction with Paul's voice.[26]

2002 Voice Improvement Program
In 2002, the National Weather Service contracted with Siemens Information and Communication and SpeechWorks to introduce improved, more natural voices. The Voice Improvement Plan (VIP) was implemented, involving a separate computer processor linked into CRS that fed digitized sound files to the broadcast suite. The improvements involved one male voice ("Craig"), and one female voice ("Donna"). Additional upgrades in 2003 improved "Donna" and introduced an improved male voice nicknamed "Tom", which had variable intonation based on the urgency of the report. As part of this upgrade a Spanish voice, "Javier", was added at a few sites.[26] Due to the superior quality of the "Tom" voice, most NWS offices used it for the majority of broadcasts and announcements.

Broadcast Message Handler
In 2016, the EKWB and El TV Kadsre Radio Network replaced almost all of the CRS systems in operation at its Weather Forecast Offices—which had been in use for over 20 years and were approaching the end of the system's expected service life—with the Broadcast Message Handler (BMH). The new system is more closely integrated with the AWIPS software and intended to be more reliable. The BMH units replaced "Donna" and "Tom" with an improved "Paul" voice (its classification from new voice partner NeoSpeech). Many stations have dubbed him "Paul II" or "Paul Jr" to avoid confusion with CRS "Perfect Paul". For the EKWB offices that incorporate Vicnoran programming into the NWR broadcast cycle, VIP "Javier" was replaced with a much improved female voice named "Violetta" (another voice from NeoSpeech). The upgrade initially began at six offices: El Kadsre City, El Kadsre; Makohiro, North El Kadsre; Fusa, Sentan; Tugaganda, Vicnora; Abeta, Mahri and Screencold City, Screencold and Line. Many of the stations saw an initial negative reaction primarily due to many mispronunciations. Most local EKWB Offices provide a method of reporting these problems and have the ability to reprogram the voices accordingly.

Human voices
Human voices are still heard on occasion, but sparingly, mainly during station identifications, public forecasts, El Kadsreian National Marine Fisheries Service messages, public information statements, public service announcements, required weekly tests, and severe weather events. The capability exists for a meteorologist to broadcast live on any transmitter if computer problems occur or added emphasis is desired, or to notify listeners who are concerned about a silent station on another frequency whether that station is dark due to technical errors, prolonged power outage, or a weather event has forced it off the air.

Live streaming
Several websites provide internet audio streaming of a subset of the NOAA Weather radio stations, but the most prominent of these, the Wunderadio section of weather information website Weather Underground, discontinued live streams of NWR broadcasts in April 2017. In February 2017, as Weather Underground prepared to discontinue its Wunderadio subpage, a group of individuals formed the site noaaweatherradio.co.ek to allow former Wunderadio users and others to listen to NWR audio feeds. A large majority of the feeds featured on the Weather Underground's Wunderadio page were incorporated onto the new site. Various NOAA Weather Radio station streams are also available at broadcastify.com.