TESTIMONIALS

Kevin Means, San Diego Police Airborne Law Enforcement Unit

“I may sound like I’m a rep for Power Sonix when you read this, but I’m not. We had some old (NAT) PAs in our old aircraft that sounded like Charlie Brown's mother talking (“Wah wah wah”). And that was at 300 feet AGL and 20 knots. We figured that making PA announcements were some of (the) riskiest missions we performed because we had to fly so low and slow for people to understand what we were saying. When we replaced the aircraft we also replaced the (NAT) PAs with Power Sonix.

I cannot begin to tell you how much better they work when we use them. We now make PA announcements at 800 feet AGL at 50 knots and people hear us clearly and at significant distances. Very impressive systems and well worth the money. Kev”

Click here to see SDPD flight log of burglery suspect captured using Power Sonix PA.

Click here to see SDPD flight log of murder suspect captured using Power Sonix PA.

Click here to see a SDPD night vision camera recording with cockpit audio using Power Sonix loud speakers to apprehend a suspect.

Director James D. Goltz, Ph.D., California Emergency Management Agency

“Once again, I would like to thank you and your colleagues for participating in California's Live Code Tsunami Warning Communications Test on March 24. All of us, including representatives of the National Weather Service, the California Emergency Management Agency and the several participating jurisdictions in this year's test were impressed by the efficiency and professionalism demonstrated by you and the members of your team. As you know, the test we conduct each year in California employs "live" tsunami event codes in testing the Emergency Alert System. These live codes cause a message to be released over EAS affiliated radio and television stations indicating that "a tsunami warning has been issued for counties x, y and z." We conduct this test annually to assure that this final link in conveying a tsunami warning message to the public will work as intended in a real tsunami emergency.

Although the original intent of this test was, as indicated above, to test the Emergency Alert System, additional exercise elements have been added including tsunami siren activation, selective evacuations, reverse 911 calling and, during the last two years of testing, the Civil Air Patrol flyover using the CAP Speaker System. I must admit being somewhat skeptical at first that a message could be clearly and audibly conveyed above engine noise from an airplane. But we were quickly convinced that it not only worked very well but that (also) has the potential to be a major warning asset in an actual tsunami emergency. In 2010, we asked that you expand the area in which the CAP Speaker system was used and you accommodated our request.

This morning, I reviewed the survey responses received from 152 people in the test area (Del Norte, Humboldt and Mendocino Counties as well as North Coast Tribes) and discovered that 52% (79 of 152) reported that their primary means of notification during the test was the CAPS Speaker System. Thus, the message from the aircraft outperformed the EAS system, which was the basic system we tested, as well as the sirens and the Reverse 911 calls."

Click here to see the original testimonial document addressed to Captain Scott Bakker of the Oregon Civil Air Patrol whose plane is equipped with Power Sonix.

Troy Nicolini, Tsunami Program Manager, NW California, NOAA

I want to commend the Brookings Civil Air Patrol (CAP) for their participation in the Tsunami Warning Communications Test that was conducted on March 25th, 2009 in Humboldt County. This test involved the Emergency Alert System and other notification systems such as outdoor tsunami sirens, reverse calling, and NOAA Weather Radio. A unique feature of this test is that the activation of the Emergency Alert System was done as if this was a real tsunami. This was done to ensure that the system would work for a real tsunami. The use of an airplane mounted public address system was added to the test just weeks before the test.

Feedback was received from hundreds of residents regarding the test and the use of the CAP public address system. We also stationed observers throughout the flight path, and encouraged local elected officials and responding agencies to also provide feedback. All of the feedback was extremely positive. It was very clear that the new technology being employed by the CAP truly represents a new era in airplane mounted public address system. Any skeptics of such an approach were completely convinced by this event and this new technology.

Lt. Col. Thomas P. Brehm, Hawaii Wing, Civil Air Patrol

Hawaii Wing has been conducting Tsunami warnings in our state for over 60 years. A key part of our Tsunami warning is the speaker systems mounted on our aircraft. For the past several years, the state and Hawaii CAP have been searching for a improved system. This new system (Power Sonix) not only increases the output of our current speaker system, but provides clarity in all transmissions as attested by the State Civil Defense officials and observers on the ground that were on hand to personally witness the successful test.

The airborne test was conducted above Hickam AFB at 1000 feet above the ground in a racetrack pattern. The profile was coordinated with PAO Hickam AFB, Pearl Harbor Naval Base, and appropriate Air Traffic Control/FAA agencies. Captain Bakker, utilizing the Power Sonix equipment conducted the test in the aircraft which included a verbal message in the form of a test pattern, followed by some taped music. Ground observers that were standing outside were able to easily identify the voice message and the music. In addition, some residents living on Hickam AFB reported being able to hear and identify the message and music while inside their quarters. Harold Buckle, a representative of City and County of Honolulu, observed the aerial test from a vantage point on Hickam AFB. He indicated that he was able to hear the audible message clearly and could easily understand the test message and identify the music that was played.

Click here to see the original testimonial document.

Lt Col Anthony J. Pollizzi, Jr.,
Commander, Det 8 Pacific Liaison Region, CAP-USAF

Please pass along my personal congratulations to Capt. Bakker, of your South Coast Composite Squadron, on receiving a best practice award for the use of your aerial speaker system (from Power Sonix) in Oregon Wing's last Operational Evaluation. The utilization of this cutting edge technology to better accomplish the mission of saving lives was a major factor in the overall "Excellent" rating your wing received. The aerial speaker system utilized on his unit's CAP corporate airplane impressed everyone with its clarity and range.

Capt. Bakker's cutting edge work in this area should be highlighted and presented as a benchmark for other units. Researching the speaker system and mounting it on the airplane with FAA approval was no small task. This resource will no doubt save many lives should there ever be a tsunami evacuation. His unit also proved just how useful clear air-to-ground communications can be when conducting an aerial search.

Click here to see the original testimonial document.