Former method of emergency broadcasting in the United States
For the band, see Conelrad (band).
CONELRAD
CONELRAD Logo, incorporating the shield of United States Civil Defense
Type
Emergency warning system
Country
United States
Broadcast area
Nationwide
Ownership
Owner
Federal Civil Defense Administration
History
Launch date
1951
Closed
August 5, 1963
Replaced by
Emergency Broadcast System (as Emergency Action Notification System)
Coverage
Stations
640 AM or 1240 AM
Transmitters
Various
CONELRAD (Control of Electromagnetic Radiation) was a method of emergency broadcasting to the public of the United States in the event of enemy attack during the Cold War. It was intended to allow continuous broadcast of civil defense information to the public using radio stations, while rapidly switching the transmitter stations to make the broadcasts unsuitable for Soviet bombers that might attempt to home in on the signals (as was done during World War II, when German radio stations, based in or near cities, were used as beacons by bomber pilots).
U.S. President Harry S. Truman established CONELRAD in 1951. After the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles reduced the likelihood of a bomber attack, and the development of superior navigation systems that did not rely on radio direction finding for use in those bomber aircraft which were sent against the United States, CONELRAD was replaced by the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS) on August 5, 1963, which was later replaced by the Emergency Alert System (EAS) on January 1, 1997; all have been administered by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).[1]
Unlike the EBS and EAS, CONELRAD was never intended for use in local civil emergencies such as severe weather. However, the system's alerting protocol could be used for alerting of a natural disaster by 1957.[2]
^"Defense: Sign-off for conelrad". TIME. July 12, 1963. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
^Janzen, Lukas (December 2017). "WE MUST BE READY FOR A NEW DANGER: OPERATION ALERT, CONELRAD, AND CIVIL DEFENSE IN THE EARLY COLD WAR". Retrieved 7 October 2022.
CONELRAD (Control of Electromagnetic Radiation) was a method of emergency broadcasting to the public of the United States in the event of enemy attack...
used, along with the Emergency Override system. It replaced the previous CONELRAD system and was used from 1963 to 1997, at which point it was replaced by...
170. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7. "CONELRAD: Atomic Platters - Sheldon Allman: Folk Songs for the 21st Century [1960]". conelrad.com. Archived from the original...
communication of emergencies. In 1951, President Harry S. Truman established the CONELRAD (Control of Electromagnetic Radiation) Plan. Under the system, a few primary...
hot plasma surrounding the spacecraft blocks radio signals. In the USA, CONELRAD and EBS (which are now discontinued), and EAS (which is currently active)...
Persuasive Cartography, The PJ Mode Collection, Cornell University Library CONELRAD Cold War Pop Culture Site Archived 29 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine...
Washington Post 6 Nov. 1981, C3 sec. "CONELRAD: THE ATOMIC CAFE | Jayne Loader Interview [Fall 2002, Winter 2005]". Conelrad.com. Retrieved 24 February 2023...
Many of the locations were given "fallout shelter" designation signs. CONELRAD radio information systems were adopted, whereby the commercial radio sector...
color-coded war plans HANDEL Homeland Security Advisory System BIKINI state CONELRAD Four-minute warning Preparing for Emergencies U.S. Military on 'High Alert'...
to 5,000 watts on June 16, 1954. WJPG was a CONELRAD authorized radio station, meaning that if CONELRAD were activated, WJPG would remain on the air...
stays at school during test". Palo Alto Times (archived w/clipping at Conelrad.com). February 7, 1958. Archived from the original on February 28, 2018...
61; Silver (1995). Shapiro (2002), p. 96. See also Atomic Films: The CONELRAD 100. Kinnard (1988), pp. 67–73. Lev (2003), pp. 186, 184; Braucort (1970)...
color-coded war plans HANDEL Homeland Security Advisory System BIKINI state CONELRAD Four-minute warning Preparing for Emergencies Tiffini Theisen (2023). "What...
non-test activation permitted (the same rule also applied to the earlier CONELRAD system). The EAN signifies a national emergency, as the wording shows....
replacement for the earlier Emergency Broadcast System (EBS) and even earlier CONELRAD – now required by the FCC for standard broadcast TV and radio stations...
Unashamed, Film writer Kim Morgan on Barbara Payton Barbara Payton at IMDb CONELRAD production history of Barbara Payton's film Run for the Hills John O'Dowd...
president Dr. Frank Stanton in an exchange with a writer with the web site CONELRAD. Godfrey learned to fly in 1929 while working in broadcast radio in the...
Civil Defense Authority United States civil defense Duck and Cover (film) CONELRAD Peters, Gerhard; Woolley, John T. "Harry S. Truman, Executive Order 10186—Establishing...
Media. p. 431. Walker Edmiston at IMDb Walker Edmiston at Memory Alpha CONELRAD Appreciation (archived) Walker Edmiston at Mark Evanier's News From Me...
"Billboard year end charts 1956". Billboard.com. Retrieved January 8, 2018. "CONELRAD - ATOMIC PLATTERS: Uranium by The Commodores [1955]". Atomicplatters.com...
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