I got this radio as a gift and when I set it up per the instructions but have run into reception problems.
Problem:
The SAME codes don't trigger the alerts as expected. For my area, I have set the frequency of the nearest tower. About 20 miles as the bird flys at 1000 watts. I configured 2 counties codes so that required that I pick multiple counties. I really don't want all counties because I am in range of at least 10 counties. So when I chose these options and my Same codes, the radio doesn't broadcast the weekly test nor any alerts for my area. Instead the radio says "Check Reception" about every 30 seconds. This implies that my county SAME codes aren't receiving signals. I've confirmed my county codes are correct.
As a side item, I added an external antenna that works on the 164.475 frequency and it still did not help reception. I even connected a VHF HAM antenna that is up at 40' and got the same results. If I put the radio in All Counties mode, it receives the weekly test alert just fine.
Hard part:
OK, here is the hard part, I have another weather alert radio with SAME alerts and it also does not work based in my local county codes so the problem is likely my understanding on the same code use or something else.
Any help is appreciated,
Marshall