Reminder: ETRS Registration, ETRS Form One Due August 26

Attention all you EAS participants. The deadline for registering with the Commission's EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS) AND submitting your ETRS Form One is fast approaching. We alerted you to the August 26, 2016 deadline a couple of months ago - but, what with the distractions of summer and all, we figure it's a good idea to provide a reminder, just in case.

To get the ball rolling, all you have to do is head to the ETRS Registration page on the FCC's website (or you can get there less efficiently by first going to the FCC's ETRS page and clicking on the link available there). At the Registration page you'll be asked to answer a dozen or so identifying questions. Note in particular that you'll be needing (among other things) the FRN and FRN password for the EAS participant being registered, so it'd be a good idea to have those handy when you start the process.

After you're registered, you'll be able to complete Form One. We strongly recommend that you take a look at Form One before you jump in because it demands a number of things that we're guessing you may not have on the tip of your tongue. F'rinstance, what are your antenna coordinates (in NAD83, please)? How about the make and model of your EAS gear? The software version that gear is running? Feel free to print out the version of Form One at this link and rough it in in pencil before logging on and trying to complete it online. Down here in the CommLawBlog bunker, we haven't tried our hand at Form One because we're not EAS participants. We have heard from a number of our readers, though, that the process can be slow and frustrating, so getting on this sooner rather than later would be a good idea - and remember that, once it's been filed, your Form One can be edited until September 26 (that would be two days before the next nationwide EAS test is scheduled).

Good luck.