The clock ticking toward the Sept. 30 deadline for CAP compliance will get a lot louder within the next couple of weeks if the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), as expected, releases the list of equipment passing its conformance testing.

Observers say certification work by FEMA — which is a part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security — appears to be on schedule for the late March release. They also say that the evolution of the emergency alert mechanisms is something for which operators need to prepare. There is no crisis, however, if operators have been following their EAS obligations and the transition during the past year. However, operators who have not paid enough attention need to start, they say.

Two of the main vendors of this gear to the cable industry are Monroe Electronics and Trilithic. Both have gear in the FEMA lab at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, KY. Trilithic has submitted its EASyPLUS encoder/decoder and EASyCAP software. Monroe is awaiting word on its One-Net Model R189 encoder/decoder and other broadcast gear, according to Ed Czarnecki, Monroe Electronics’ senior director of strategy, development and regulatory affairs. Continue reading →