One of the shortcomings of the fallout shelter program of the 1950’s- 1970’s was the lack of communications from shelters to the outside world. The 1962 Fallout Shelter Plan for St. Paul, MN, for example, stated that “many designated shelters will be in places with access to existing telephones. When telephones are available and operable they will serve as basic communications.” The plan also stated, but apparently with no thought as to who would be responsible, “plans should be made to insure that at least one battery operated AM radio receiver plus extra batteries will be made available in the shelter for reception of emergency broadcasting information.”

When I was a student in elementary school, I noticed these gaps. One year, during a tornado drill (that had been scheduled well in advance), I was quite pleased to see that one of the teachers had with him down in the basement a battery-operated radio. It was rather reassuring to see it, since I knew we wouldn’t be cut off totally from the outside world in the event of an emergency, since we would still be able to receive whatever emergency instructions might be forthcoming from the radio.

My reassurnce was dashed that afternoon, however, when I saw that same teacher walking home, carrying his portable radio. It was apparently his personal radio, which he brought to school in preparation for the scheduled drill. In other words, it wouldn’t be around in the event of an actual emergency. If the power were out, we would, indeed, be cut off from the rest of the world.

On another occasion, the school administration was going to have an additional twist on the drill. Instead of heading to the designated shelter when the school’s own bells sounded the warning, each class was instead going to act when the sirens outside went off. When we heard the siren, we were to head for the basement.

Unfortunately, the closest siren was miles away, and wasn’t very loud where we were. Undaunted, my classroom teacher had a solution to the problem. Shortly before the scheduled test, she opened a window at the back of the room, and a designated student sitting near that window was tasked with listening for the siren. The plan went off without a hitch. He heard the siren and warned the class, and we all headed for the shelter. Of course, it occurred to me that the window wasn’t normally left open. In an actual emergency, nobody would have heard the siren.

The 1962 St. Paul shelter plan realized many of these shortcomings, and stated that “two-way radio is being considered as back-up to telephone communication.” It also considered the possibility of using amateur radio. Under the heading of “other desirable equipment” was “portable transmitting-receiving equipment belonging to members of units of RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service). Plans will be made to have designated ‘hams’ take their portable equipment to shelters upon receipt of warning.”

I’m not aware of any specific plans worked out to use RACES in fallout shelters. However, on the national level, there was indeed some planning taking place for two-way radio equipment in shelters. Even though some planning was done, as far as I’m aware, this was never put into place.

In a 1962 report entitled “Fallout Shelter Communications Study,” the engineers conducting this study used Montgomery County, Maryland, as an example, and determined what kinds of communication would be appropriate between the fallout shelters and Emergency Operating Center (EOC) in what the study considered to be a fairly typical county.  The report concluded that the telephone system should serve as the primary communications network for these needs, but also recognized the desirability of two-way radio, and came up with a budget of $391,000 for the county.  Each shelter’s radio was budgeted at a minimum of $250, with another $50 set aside for the antenna.

Specifications for equipment were contained in a 1964 report prepared for the Office of Civil Defense by the same engineering firm. The sketch here of a prototype transceiver for shelter use is from that report.  This report provided specifications for the equipment in each shelter.  The radio for use in the shelters is shown here, and could be either VHF or UHF, in the 150, 460, or 950 MHz band.

A key concern in the design specifications was the fact that the radios would be left unattended for long periods of time.  Therefore, non-corrosive properties were important, and ferrous metals were to be avoided to the extent possible.

Power supply could be either 120 volts AC, or 12 volts DC.  The problems of storing batteries for long periods of time was a challenge, and consideration was given to storing dry batteries.  In addition, batteries from vehicles could be used.  Presumably, they would be brought into the shelter in an emergency.  If the battery needed replacing, presumably a short excursion out to the parking lot could be made when radiation levels decreased.

Ease of operation by untrained personnel was also a concern.  The unit did not have an external microphone.  Instead, both the microphone and speaker were built in, with a push-to-talk switch on the panel.  The only other control on the panel would be the volume control and power switch.  The unit was to have a squelch control, which would be accessible from the front panel.  However, it would be preset, requiring a screwdriver to make any adjustments.  It did include a headphone jack for private listening.

The cost for equipment was estimated at between $250 and $420 per shelter, with an additional $10 to $100 for the antenna, which would be installed prior to the emergency.

It was recommended that the radios be licensed as local government service, perhaps on the same frequencies as other municipal services.  It was anticipated that any necessary drills might be conducted on weekends, causing minimal interference to the other governmental users.

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US Gov’t photo.

A 1969 report prepared for the Office of Civil Defense details a proposal that was never adopted for a program called CHAT: Crisis Home Alerting Technique. In recognition of the fact that this military acronym wouldn’t be of much use with the public, a more descriptive name was proposed for dealings with the public: Emergency Broadcast System Sleep Alert.

The Emergency Broadcast System was designed to alert the public through normal broadcast stations of enemy attack. Sirens were available in many areas, but large portions of the population would be unable to hear them, especially at night. And at night, most Americans would be asleep, and not listening to radio or television. A nighttime attack would catch Americans by surprise, unless they were sleeping in shifts to listen to the news.

In a “bolt out of the blue” attack, the problem of nighttime alerts remained problematic. But during periods of strategic crisis, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, CHAT or “Sleep Alert” provided an answer. During such a crisis, Americans could get their sleep, but also be able to receive warning. Upon determining that a crisis existed which might require warning the population, the President would activate the system, and the public would be notified to tune to participating stations in their area. The President would then make the following announcement, probably at 11:00 PM Eastern Time:

In a moment my voice will begin to fade; merely turn your volume up until you can hear me again. This is part of a system which will permit you to receive later emergency information. Please leave your receivers on constantly; when you wish to sleep, turn the volume down to a comfortable level, and I will be able to reach you my means of your radios and televisions.

The stations would then reduce their modulation to 10-20%. VHF TV stations would reduce the audio to zero. Viewers tuning in after 11:00 would know that they were tuned in, because they would see a message on the screen explaining that the station was operating in the sleep-alert mode. In addition, the detent tuning of VHF television receivers would ensure that the viewer was properly tuned in.

AM radio stations presented a problem, because listeners tuning in after 11:00 would need to know that their radio was tuned in to the proper station. Therefore, it was decided that “subdued materials” could be broadcast. The report noted that “the more exciting up-tempo kinds of music or the strident, demanding voice delivery techniques employed at many rock and roll stations” should be avoided. Instead, the program would be soft music or perhaps a clock ticking, with occasional station identification by “an announcer speaking softly but with calm authority” with the following message:

You are listening to the Emergency Broadcast System Sleep Alert. Stay tuned for a possible emergency warning from the United States Government. Adjust your radio volume to a level at which you can sleep. This station will resume broadcasting more loudly if warning is necessary. See your newspaper for more information.

Station personnel would then monitor the AP and UPI wires for warning messages. Stations without wire service would monitor Emergency Broadcast System primary stations. In the event of that fateful message, the station would turn up the volume to normal modulation, meaning that all of the listeners would confront a radio playing at full blast, which would presumably be enough to wake them. The station would then transmit a loud alert signal, followed by the following message:

Attack–Attack. The United States is Under Nuclear Attack. I repeat–the United States is under nuclear attack. Take shelter. Take shelter immediately. You are in danger–you can save your life if you take shelter immediately. This is the emergency broadcast system.

Assuming that there was no attack during the night, the station would gradually increase its modulation at 7:00 AM, and resume normal programming.  CHAT was viewed as an interim measure, and had the advantage of not requiring any new equipment either on the part of broadcasters or the public. The plan was to replace it eventually with a more reliable system. But as a stopgap, it had the advantage of being able to be adopted readily. It was, however, never adopted.

It was at least a decade before the first 24-hour warning system came into effect, in the form of alerts broadcast on NOAA weather radio in the mid-1970’s. However, it was always subject to question how well NOAA weather radio was integrated into the national warning system. However, NOAA now makes clear that it will broadcast Presidential alerts during a national emergency, and it appears to be well integrated into the National Warning System. Modern NOAA weather receivers, such as the one shown here, take advantage of digital encoding (SAME), which will limit the number of false alarms for weather events in surrounding areas.

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