(from the Sage Alerting Systems website)
Updated February 10, 2023
Rev96 Announcement
An FCC Report and Order for PS Docket No. 15-94 adopting new rules to improve the clarity and accessibility of Emergency Alert System (EAS) messages recently went into effect with a compliance date of December 12, 2023. This R&O requires a significant change to EAS procedures, mandating that alerts received via over-the-air “legacy” EAS data tones be held while the possible presence of a matching IPAWS CAP alert is checked for and then used preferentially. There are a few other rules requiring changes on how the text for national alerts is constructed. A firmware update will be required to keep the ENDEC in compliance with the Part 11 rules.
Sage will release a paid update, called Rev96, in June. You will have until December 12, 2023 to install this update. This is a pre-release announcement, the update in not yet available for download. We will send an email to our support email list when Rev96 is available.
The list price is $159 and will be available from any of our US distributors. Any Model 3644 Sage Digital ENDEC originally purchased new from dealer stock after December 12, 2021 (14 months prior to February 2023) is eligible for a free Rev96 update. This includes serial numbers B418750 to B429999.
In addition to the FCC required changes, we will also add several usability features, including automated emailing of log summaries and the conformance report. These two features should reduce the amount of time needed to acquire and review the log data, and reduce the number of people that need to access the ENDEC. It will help to further highlight compliance issues such as failure to receive RWTs and RMTs, and to send RWTs. The FCC also issued a notice of proposed rulemaking in October regarding security. While the NPRM may or may not result in additional rules, Sage is proactively implementing some tools that may assist users in improving security, such as expanding our audit logs to include login/logout and failed login attempts. Our emailed conformance report will also assist with operational readiness.
You can also read additional information in a Q&A format. This announcement will be updated when the release is available.
What is the current version of the ENDEC software?
The current version is Rev95 with CR-Rev6 and P4. Use the “Version” button on the ENDEC’s web page to see your version information. You want to see text that includes this:
Board rev 4/95.00 (or Board rev 5/95.00)
CR-Rev6
You might also see P1 or P2 or P3 or P4 on the line with CR-Rev6. The P numbers denote patches, with various improvements. These are optional, but don’t affect the way the ENDEC deals with alerts. If you are not on the lastest version, see the Firmware Updates page.
Updated August 8, 2022
Security Reminder
Both FEMA and the FCC have recently issued reminders about EAS security.
The current version of the ENDEC software is Rev95 (95-00) with P4 and CR_Rev6. You can check your version by logging into your ENDEC and clicking the Version button. You will see 95-00 on the board rev line, and will see at least P4 and CR-Rev6, in any order, on the line below “Base”. Other tags on that line do not affect the general release firmware update level and may not be the same from one ENEDEC to the next.
If your ENDEC is reachable from the public internet, you need to have a firewall. You also need to use passwords other than the defaults – the ENDEC will warn you about this. Finally, use the ENDEC’s Log page to look for unexpected restarts, settings uploads, and firmware uploads.