Low-Power AM Puts Warnings On-the-Air

The Federal Communications Commission allows government agencies to operate low-power AM broadcast stations, called Travelers Information Stations (TIS), that can be used for a variety of purposes. These stations, typically on frequencies at the edges of the AM broadcast band (such as 540 and 1710 kHz.), cover areas of a few square miles. They can be operated 24/7 or just turned on for special events or emergencies.

Hormann America sells complete low-power broadcasting systems and can retrofit older installations with a Common Alerting Protocol-enabled controller. This unit accepts content--recorded messages, text-to-speech spoken messages, etc.--and feeds it to the transmitter. This content can be fed to the TIS controller using a variety of means and updated whenever necessary. This allows messages to be quickly changed from tourism and community announcements to emergency alerts and back again when the incident concludes.

Our TIS systems can be mobile or fixed. Teamed with an mobile electronic signboard, motorists can be easily told to turn their radios to the mobile TIS frequency for information on your event.

Although originally intended for parks, airports, and other tourism applications, TIS stations can be a excellent addition to a community warning system and used for a variety of purposes throughout the year.

Please contact us for more information on our complete TIS systems, add-on controllers, and related systems.