Uploaded June 2023 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
CONELRAD (CONtrol of ELectronic RADiation) was an American public radio alert system operational between 1951 and 1963, intended to provide citizens with government alerts and civil defence instructions in the event of a national emergency such as a nuclear attack. As part of the system, all commercial AM radios sold in the country between 1953-1963 were required by law to have the two CONELRAD frequencies - 640 and 1240 kHz - marked on their tuning dials. Fundamentally flawed, CONELRAD was one of many alert systems implemented during the second half of the 20th Century, culminating in today's Emergency Alert System (EAS).
SOURCES:
coldwar-ct.com/Conelrad_EBS_EAS.html
https://people.ohio.edu/postr/bapix/Conalert.htm
oldradio.com/current/bc_conel.htm
CONELRAD (CONtrol of ELectronic RADiation) was an American public radio alert system operational between 1951 and 1963, intended to provide citizens with government alerts and civil defence instructions in the event of a national emergency such as a nuclear attack. As part of the system, all commercial AM radios sold in the country between 1953-1963 were required by law to have the two CONELRAD frequencies - 640 and 1240 kHz - marked on their tuning dials. Fundamentally flawed, CONELRAD was one of many alert systems implemented during the second half of the 20th Century, culminating in today's Emergency Alert System (EAS).
SOURCES:
coldwar-ct.com/Conelrad_EBS_EAS.html
https://people.ohio.edu/postr/bapix/Conalert.htm
oldradio.com/current/bc_conel.htm
