If this had been an actual emergency, the attention signal you just heard would be followed by news, information and official instructions, along with the sound of me running amok about the studio in abject terror with appropriate screams, shrieks and hysterical crying from the realization that we’re probably going to be incinerated very shortly. This concludes this test and, in all likelihood, my employment with this station as well as any hope of ever again working in this business.
Zoomer30 I still have an old AM radio with the civil defense frequencies marked on it. It still works, but if it blew a tube, I might not be able to get a replacement!
Zoomer, those markings were mandated by federal law. Marie, Antique Radio Supply in Tempe AZ should be able to help with tube issues. You might also find some of the antique radio groups on Facebook helpful.
Weird.. I remember hearing this when (in 2004) my friend found a OLD media device that was in his grandfather's attic, to me this was like irreplaceable treasure.. Really interested me and i've found the audio! :D
it has been renamed the department of homeland security and they have just brought back conelrad first nationwide test is coming up october 3 2018 drills are beginning again over the next year due to tensions with china russia and north korea
@@VickyGeagan you got one thing right: there was a national EAS test in October 2018. Other than that....@The Cat In The Hat, there is NO official national Civil Defense program. The federal government decided it was simply too expensive to continue on that route. If you do a little research, you'll find out that the vast majority of the fallout shelters have been decommissioned and those that haven't are for federal and state COG programs. The drills were discontinued once Russia began converting the majority of their long range bomber based nuclear capabilities to ICBMs and submarine launched Cruise missiles, which cut down public reaction time from hours to minutes. Russia still has a limited CD program and they practice often, the last drill moved over four million people inside a huge shelter complex like Cheyenne mountain's.
I’ve always wondered how these tests were similar to, and how they differed from, EBS ones. Wonder if there are any recordings of EBS tests available between 1963, when the system was first implemented and 1976, when tests began to be conducted the way we are all familiar with.
There’s a test from KDKA from 1969 on UA-cam. The tests from that era were exactly the same as the later ones we all know and love, just with the older 1000khz tone and “Stress Test”.
I think the advice was for people who could hear the message over the static, but were put off by the shifts in volume as the broadcast transmission was shifted from one station to the next. Of course, most AM radios by that time had some degree of automatic gain control, but it was probably not designed to handle this kind of round-robin broadcasting.
CONELRAD ceased in 1963,, replaced by the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS); it was not confined to any frequency (or frequencies). The EBS was to be used, not only in case of a national emergency, but also to warn of natural disasters (tornadoes, etc.).
If this had been an actual emergency, the attention signal you just heard would be followed by news, information and official instructions, along with the sound of me running amok about the studio in abject terror with appropriate screams, shrieks and hysterical crying from the realization that we’re probably going to be incinerated very shortly. This concludes this test and, in all likelihood, my employment with this station as well as any hope of ever again working in this business.
I believe this took place on April 28th, 1961, and was intended to test how quickly Conelrad could get "up and running" in case of a Soviet attack.
"When it fades suddenly in a loud burst of static, kiss your ass goodbye"
Spooky how the radio had the CD freq marked on the dial. A different time.
Zoomer30 I still have an old AM radio with the civil defense frequencies marked on it. It still works, but if it blew a tube, I might not be able to get a replacement!
Zoomer, those markings were mandated by federal law.
Marie, Antique Radio Supply in Tempe AZ should be able to help with tube issues. You might also find some of the antique radio groups on Facebook helpful.
@@mariekatherine5238 so do I. Tubes are still available. However capacitors are often more failure prone.
Weird.. I remember hearing this when (in 2004) my friend found a OLD media device that was in his grandfather's attic, to me this was like irreplaceable treasure.. Really interested me and i've found the audio! :D
640 and 1240 on your AM band.
"simply turn up the volume"
Hilarious!
@cdgjr Depended on which relay it was at. the signal went back and forth between volunteer stations I think
I have the Zenith radio that has the CD triangles. All radios in the US made between 1953 and 1963, had them.
Unlike today, Conelrad was never intended for nor ever used for if there was a tornado coming.
I worked at WPGC. Not until the late 1980s though.
What ever happened to the Civil Defence? And why did the nuclear drills stop....
it has been renamed the department of homeland security and they have just brought back conelrad first nationwide test is coming up october 3 2018 drills are beginning again over the next year due to tensions with china russia and north korea
@@VickyGeagan you got one thing right: there was a national EAS test in October 2018. Other than that....@The Cat In The Hat, there is NO official national Civil Defense program. The federal government decided it was simply too expensive to continue on that route. If you do a little research, you'll find out that the vast majority of the fallout shelters have been decommissioned and those that haven't are for federal and state COG programs. The drills were discontinued once Russia began converting the majority of their long range bomber based nuclear capabilities to ICBMs and submarine launched Cruise missiles, which cut down public reaction time from hours to minutes. Russia still has a limited CD program and they practice often, the last drill moved over four million people inside a huge shelter complex like Cheyenne mountain's.
what is with that guy's big ol head
It's a mix of official headshot/caricature. Pretty common in advertising of the 60s
I’ve always wondered how these tests were similar to, and how they differed from, EBS ones.
Wonder if there are any recordings of EBS tests available between 1963, when the system was first implemented and 1976, when tests began to be conducted the way we are all familiar with.
There’s a test from KDKA from 1969 on UA-cam. The tests from that era were exactly the same as the later ones we all know and love, just with the older 1000khz tone and “Stress Test”.
640 and 1240
I Want Your Wpgc Airchecks , Let's Trade ...... From The Guy That Was With Bette Midler ...
So, if you can't hear the EBS due to static, turn up the radio. More like, turn up the static.
Or retune the radio. Just a thought.
I think the advice was for people who could hear the message over the static, but were put off by the shifts in volume as the broadcast transmission was shifted from one station to the next. Of course, most AM radios by that time had some degree of automatic gain control, but it was probably not designed to handle this kind of round-robin broadcasting.
Conelrad is now only 1240
CONELRAD ceased in 1963,, replaced by the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS); it was not confined to any frequency (or frequencies). The EBS was to be used, not only in case of a national emergency, but also to warn of natural disasters
(tornadoes, etc.).
and the EBS was replaced by the Emergency Alert System in 1997.