Python EAS SAME Alert Message Decoder

Created by: Jamieden (James Kitchens)

dsame3 is a program to decode EAS/SAME (Emergency Alert System/Specific Area Message Encoding) alert messages. These messages are primarily used by the National Weather Service for weather-related warnings. dsame will decode a demodulated message, filter by SAME (US/CA) and/or event code, provide readable text, or run an external program.

DO NOT RELY ON THIS PROGRAM WHEN LOSS, DAMAGE, INJURY OR DEATH MAY OCCUR!

###NOTICE

This program was originally written by cuppa_joe, and was rewritten to include new updates and upgrade compatibility so others can modify the code without the headache of trying to work with Python 2.7. THIS IS NOT MY ORIGINAL CODE! I have modified it, and I will be updating it as necessary, since updates seem to have stopped on the original repository.

###Requirements

• Python 3.11+
• (OPTIONAL, UNLESS USING AUDIO DEMODULATION) A weather radio, RTL-SDR or other receiving/source device (ex. Microphone)
• A demodulator, such as multimon-ng (Windows binaries)

NOTE: If you are a Windows user, you may not need to install any software listed above, as the new dependency checker will take care of installing those programs for you

###Installation

For Microsoft Windows, dsame3 is distributed as a self-extracting installer, and downloads for 64-bit and 32-bit systems are available. Run the installer to install the program and optionally multimon-ng and/or rtl_fm.

For Linux and similar systems, dsame3 is available as a compressed (tar.gz or zip) archive which contains the program source. The source repository can also be cloned using git. Extract and run dsame.py using the python interpreter.

Check here to download the latest release.

###Command Line Options

usage: dsame [-h] [--msg MSG] [--same [SAME [SAME ...]]]
             [--event [EVENT [EVENT ...]]] [--lang LANG]
             [--loglevel {10,20,30,40,50}] [--text] [--no-text] [--version]
             [--call CALL] [--command COMMAND] [--source SOURCE] [--frequency FREQ]
             [--ppm PPM] [--record PATH] [--audiofile AUDIOFILE] [--transcribe PATH] 
             [--transcription_model {small,medium,large}]
             [--transcription_device {cpu, cuda, auto}] 
             [--transcription_compute {int8, int8_float16, int16, float16, float32}]
             [--transcription_beam_size SIZE]

####Options

** The only available language options so far are English (EN) and Spanish (SP). The program defaults to English.

*** These models are originally from guillamekln.

**** Sources are now built into the program and will no longer accept script files. This will be fixed in a later update, and the available options to use are rtl, soundcard, and file

###Usage

dsame3 can decode EAS messages from the command line, directly from the output of an external command, or by capturing the ouput of a shell script/batch file or external program. Use msg for command line decoding. The source command is used to capture and decode the output of a script or program. Without one of these options, standard input is used. Press CTRL-C to exit the program.

####Source Scripts

Several sample source scripts and Windows batch files are provided in the scripts directory. If you are using a RTL-SDR device, edit the script to set the frequency, receiver gain and PPM error rate.

###Filtering Alerts

There are two comands used to filter alerts. None, one or both can be specified. The same command is a list of SAME area codes (United States/Canada), and the event command is a list of event codes to monitor.

####Event Codes

This list includes current and proposed event codes.

• Snow Squall Warnings are not conveyed to the EAS, however, it was added just in case/for futureproofing.

An alert must match one of each specified alert type in order to be processed. If an alert type is omitted, any alert will match that type. In most cases, using only SAME codes to filter alerts will be the best option.

###External Commands

The call option runs an external program, script/batch file for each alert. The command option defines the command string sent to that program, script or batch file, or to standard output if the call option is omitted. The following variables can be used in command strings.

####Command Variables

###Sample Commands

Decoding from a text file using standard input:

cat zczc.txt | dsame.py --same 029165

Using a source script to decode from standard input:

dsame.py --same 029165 --source source.sh

Call an external script with the event type and length:

dsame.py --same 029165 --source source.sh --call alert.sh --command "{length}" "{event}"

Decoding a message from the command line:

dsame.py --msg "ZCZC-WXR-RWT-020103-020209-020091-020121-029047-029165-029095-029037+0030-1051700-KEAX/NWS" --text

Print an encoded alert string, and omit the alert text:

dsame.py --source source.sh --no-text --command "ZCZC-{ORG}-{EEE}-{PSSCCC}+{TTTT}-{JJJHHMM}-{LLLLLLLL}-"

Send an alert to a Pushbullet channel:

dsame.py --source source.sh --call pushbullet-channel.sh --command "{event}" "{MESSAGE}"

###Sample Text Output

The National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill, Missouri has issued a Required Weekly Test valid until 12:30 PM for the following counties in Kansas: Leavenworth, Wyandotte, Johnson, Miami, and for the following counties in Missouri: Clay, Platte, Jackson, Cass. (KEAX/NWS)

This experimental Pushbullet channel is updated using dsame3, multimon-ng and a rtl-sdr dongle on a Raspberry Pi 2.

###Known Issues

• SASMEX/SARMEX, a Mexican system for seismic alerts, is not implemented due to lack of documentation. This issue has HOPEFULLY been resolved
• A correct and complete list of ICAO location codes used by the National Weather Service messages is not available. This issue has HOPEFULLY been resolved
• Country detection may not be reliable for some locations with duplicate SAME codes. This issue has HOPEFULLY been resolved
• Date and time information may not be accurate when decoding old messages or messages from another time zone.
• Multimon-ng will not decode the same alert in succession. This should only be an issue during testing and can be avoided by alternating test alerts.