An early Windows prototype
It explores operator workflow and the shape of the system. It is non-transmitting and exists to make the research questions concrete.
Broadcast technology · Montana-built · Prototype / pre-seed R&D
Emergency alerts.Reimagined in software.
Broadcaster discovery underwayNot for operational use
Research architecturePre-seed
01AcquireAssigned RF + CAP/IP inputsMulti-path
02Decode + validateLegacy EAS/SAME signal processingResearch
03Decide + controlDeterministic fail-safe logicResearch
04Output + verifyBroadcast I/O + isolated self-testResearch
For Montana broadcasters
A serious research effort.
A plain-language invitation.
Awkward Dog is opening a statewide conversation with radio engineers, owners and operators about what a resilient software-defined EAS platform would actually need to do. This page explains the concept, the unanswered questions and the line between today’s prototype and any future operational system.
No field-ready EAS product
There is no production device, authorization, certification, compliance claim, pricing, preorder or installation program.
Requirements from the field
Station architecture, failure modes, recovery realities and representative test conditions from people responsible for keeping alerts available.
The operating reality
Designed from the transmitter site outward.
Emergency-alert infrastructure lives inside real air chains, real rack rooms and real staffing constraints. The research starts there—not with the assumption that moving code onto a computer automatically makes the system better.
Keep essential decisions on site
The target architecture preserves core monitoring, validation, state control and recovery even when a WAN path is unavailable.
Make degraded readiness visible
Input loss, interface failure, watchdog events and incomplete signal paths should become actionable information—not silent risk.
Plan for repair and replacement
Standardized computing and external interfaces could improve diagnosis and lifecycle support, but that hypothesis must be tested against broadcast reality.
Proposed system boundaries
Software at the core.
Hardware where physics demands it.
The concept is not “everything in the cloud” and it does not pretend RF, audio switching or electrical isolation disappear. It separates replaceable computing from purpose-specific interfaces and treats the complete system configuration as the thing that must eventually be evaluated.
INPUT LAYER
Physical + network inputsAssigned monitoring sources
External RF receivers or approved audio interfaces, plus CAP/IP acquisition, source health and signal-level telemetry.
SIGNAL LAYER
DSP + protocolEAS/SAME processing
Research-grade decoding, validation and generation logic measured against noise, timing error, clipping and transport artifacts.
CONTROL LAYER
Local decision coreDeterministic state machine
Explicit alert lifecycle, permissions, duplicate handling, priority, time limits, recovery behavior and independent supervision.
OUTPUT LAYER
Audio + GPIO / AoIP researchIsolated broadcast interfaces
Defined audio and control boundaries for insertion into a station’s air chain, with failure states designed before convenience features.
ASSURANCE LAYER
Observe + recoverLogs, watchdogs and self-test
Continuous health evidence, protected audit history and isolated verification paths intended to reveal latent failures without an on-air activation.
Proposed feasibility work
Six workstreams.
Measured, not assumed.
A future Phase I effort would turn architectural ideas into testable evidence. Exact protocols, fixtures and acceptance thresholds would be refined with broadcast and regulatory expertise before formal testing.
Map stations and failure modes
Document representative radio architectures, monitoring assignments, air-chain interfaces, staffing models and recovery constraints.
Characterize DSP performance
Measure EAS/SAME behavior under weak signals, noise, clipping, timing variation and packetized-audio impairment.
Prove deterministic failure behavior
Exercise crashes, overloads, interface loss, power events and corrupted state against an explicit fail-safe control model.
Reconcile RF and CAP/IP
Research duplicate suppression, conflicting inputs, stale data, degraded-path visibility and operation during WAN interruption.
Verify without going on air
Develop isolated test vectors and end-to-end checks capable of finding latent faults without triggering an operational activation.
Define the trust boundary
Threat-model updates, credentials, remote access, logs, host dependencies and recovery so cybersecurity is part of reliability—not an add-on.
Development gates
No shortcut from prototype to air chain.
Each stage must earn the next. The sequence below is a development framework, not a promised schedule or claim that authorization will be available.
- 01CURRENT
Non-transmitting software prototype
Workflow and architecture exploration on Windows.
- 02NEXT
Broadcaster discovery + feasibility plan
Refine requirements, hazards, representative configurations and measurable research questions.
- 03PROPOSED
Bench research platform
Integrate candidate RF/audio interfaces, control logic, supervision and automated test instrumentation.
- 04PROPOSED
Independent validation
Evaluate performance, cybersecurity, fault response and configuration boundaries with appropriate outside expertise.
- 05REQUIRED BEFORE OPERATIONAL USE
Applicable FCC pathway + permitted evaluation
Pursue only the authorization, certification, compliance work and field activity allowed by the rules and guidance then in effect.
The design standard
Emergency-alert infrastructure should never fail silently.
Pre-seed research
Ambitious about the work.
Exact about the status.
Awkward Dog submitted NSF SBIR/STTR Project Pitch 00125349 in the Wireless Technologies topic area on September 11, 2026. The proposed research moves beyond interface prototyping into RF/DSP, deterministic control, fault tolerance, cybersecurity and automated verification.
No NSF award has been made. Submission does not mean NSF has endorsed, selected or funded the project. Awkward Dog is not accepting orders or representing the platform as production-ready.
Discuss research, funding or technical collaborationMontana broadcaster discovery
Bring the rack-room truth.
A useful research conversation can be as simple as thirty minutes about how your station or group operates today. No purchase, pilot or public endorsement is requested.
Chief engineers + contract engineers
Monitoring assignments, audio paths, relay interfaces, remote sites, maintenance, testing and failure recovery.
Owners, managers + operators
Staffing, training, multi-station workflows, documentation, visibility and the business cost of service interruptions.
EAS specialists + public-safety partners
Protocol interpretation, state-plan realities, security, accessibility, hazards and credible evaluation methods.
30-MINUTE RESEARCH CONVERSATION
What we will ask
- What is in the signal path today?
- What fails, and how do you know?
- What is hard to test remotely?
- What would make a software approach untrustworthy?
- What evidence would you need before considering one?
Who is building it
Broadcast experience.
Software-company thinking.
Awkward Dog was founded in Missoula by Tommy Evans, a broadcast technology leader and third-generation Montanan. The EAS research grows out of firsthand operational work with radio systems and a software-builder’s instinct to make complex infrastructure more visible, serviceable and resilient.
The company also builds specialized operational software, native iOS products and original games. That range is deliberate: rigorous engineering and memorable product design belong in the same business.
About Awkward DogRegulatory boundary
Research is not authorization.
The current prototype is not FCC authorized or certified, is not represented as compliant with 47 CFR Part 11 and must not be used to originate, encode, decode, relay or transmit operational EAS messages. Current participants should continue following applicable FCC rules, their State EAS Plan and the requirements governing their authorized equipment.
Any future operational platform would need to follow the applicable regulatory, certification, cybersecurity, installation and testing pathway in effect at that time.
External links are provided for general reference and do not imply agency endorsement of Awkward Dog or this research.Straight answers
The important questions,
without the fog.
What exists today?
An early, non-transmitting Windows prototype that explores operator workflow and overall system architecture. It is a foundation for research, not a field-ready EAS unit.
Can a station install or operate it today?
No. It is not for operational EAS use, on-air deployment, compliance, testing obligations or substitution for currently required equipment.
Is it FCC authorized, certified or Part 11 compliant?
No. Awkward Dog makes none of those claims. Applicable authorization and compliance work would be a future gate, not an assumption attached to the prototype.
Does “software-defined” mean cloud-dependent?
No. The research target is locally autonomous essential operation. CAP/IP is one proposed input path, but core monitoring, decision and recovery functions are not intended to depend on continuous WAN availability.
Does it eliminate all dedicated hardware?
Not necessarily. RF reception, audio or AoIP interfaces, electrical isolation, control I/O and watchdog functions still need defined physical boundaries. The specific configuration remains a research question.
What happens to existing equipment?
No replacement plan is being proposed today. The project is studying a future architecture; participating stations should continue using and maintaining the equipment required for their operations.
Has NSF funded the project?
No. NSF SBIR/STTR Project Pitch 00125349 was submitted on September 11, 2026. Submission does not mean NSF endorsement, selection or funding.
What will it cost?
Pricing has not been established. There is no product sale or preorder. Feasibility, system boundaries and an eventual regulatory pathway come first.
Who should talk with Awkward Dog?
Montana radio broadcasters, station groups, chief and contract engineers, operators, EAS specialists, public-safety partners and researchers willing to share requirements or challenge assumptions.
Montana broadcasters
Help define what resilient looks like.
Share the real constraints, failure modes and questions the research has to answer. No purchase or public endorsement required.
