Topic: Can't find the right weather radio

[Speed]

I may be picky, but I'm trying to find a weather radio with features that I think all of them should have. So far, I haven't found what I'm looking for, but there may be 1 model that I'm not familiar with that may work.
I'm looking for a desktop weather radio that has S.A.M.E functionality, has event disabling (voice and siren), honors EOM, and has a display that shows the alert with the duration/expiration time. Along with that, if there are multiple alerts (which has happened a lot this winter) it should have a way to switch between the alerts and possibly have a notification of there being multiple alerts. Of course, a good battery backup system is critical.
I was about to pull the trigger on the Midland WR-300, but found out it plays the voice message for 5 minutes instead of shutting off at EOM. I saw the first alert (WX-150 and WX-200) but it appears they don't show the message or event expiration, and there are battery issues. The Oregon Scientific WR608 doesn't have a manual, but after chatting with a sales rep I found out this device doesn't even allow event alert customizations. Finally I thought about the Sangean CL-100, but a review mentioned that you can only disable the siren for an alert and not the voice. The only other alert radio I've seen mentioned around here is the Reecom models, but I had read that some users were having their radios shut off, though I'm not sure what scenario caused that. One Amazon review also mentioned that there was no indicator for multiple alerts and you had to just go through the alert history to see if any others are still active, but I'm not sure if that's true or not.
I'm leaning towards the Reecom, but I'd like someone to tell me if it has all the features I mentioned and if those problems really exist, because that shutting off could be a show-stopper. I'm not sure how other radios handle multiple alerts so I can't say if that would be a big deal depending on how it's handled. If anyone knows of any other weather radios that I haven't mentioned that have these features, I'd also appreciate that information.

Thanks!

[jimform2k1]

Hi,

Are you sure that the First Alert WX150 or WX200 don't show/scroll the alert/weather message?  Does it not show up where the date displays?

How would the person know what type of weather event/alert has occurred?

I'm also looking for a similar type radio

Jim

[Speed]

Yeah, I was mistaken on that one. I took a closer look at the manual for the WX200 and it does say that it shows NOAA text messages on the screen. I was going by the diagrams and alert sections in the manual, and it only appeared to show the current time. Thanks for catching that.

[LFWX]

Every S.A.M.E. Radio Shack radio I've ever used has event disabling (voice and siren), honors EOM, has a display that shows the alert with the duration/expiration time and gives an indication of multiple alerts. The Reecom also has these features, but I'm not sure about the multiple alerts part, we have one at the school I work at (free from the Department of Homeland Security), I'll check the manual to see what it says.

[Speed]

LFWX,
The RadioShack weather radios seem to have a good feature set, including showing on the screen how many active alerts there are. I'd probably go with one but I'm seeing in the reviews some serious reliability issues. I've had nothing but trouble with RadioShack products myself and swore to never shop there again, but if they were recommended I might have made an exception.
I read the manual for the Reecom online, and it doesn't seem to show how many active alerts there are. I think you would have to scroll through the memory and see if the previous alerts are still active. The RadioShack method of showing the number of active alerts seems better to me, but I definitely don't want to buy something that has a high rate of failure.

[LFWX]

LFWX,
The RadioShack weather radios seem to have a good feature set, including showing on the screen how many active alerts there are. I'd probably go with one but I'm seeing in the reviews some serious reliability issues. I've had nothing but trouble with RadioShack products myself and swore to never shop there again, but if they were recommended I might have made an exception.
I read the manual for the Reecom online, and it doesn't seem to show how many active alerts there are. I think you would have to scroll through the memory and see if the previous alerts are still active. The RadioShack method of showing the number of active alerts seems better to me, but I definitely don't want to buy something that has a high rate of failure.

Hmm...Could it be that the only people writing reviews are the one's that have had defective radios? I've never had trouble with mine or heard of family members (5 additional radios) having trouble. What kind of problems have you read about?

[Speed]

Hmm...Could it be that the only people writing reviews are the one's that have had defective radios? I've never had trouble with mine or heard of family members (5 additional radios) having trouble. What kind of problems have you read about?

This was the first unit I was looking at:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3506941&filterName=Brand&filterValue=RadioShack
It has 47 reviews and most of them are for the unit not picking up alerts.

For some reason, this one isn't under their weather radios category, but I found out about it and had to search for the model # to find it:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2170274&numProdsPerPage=60
I'm sure that's an older model but it's the same thing in the reviews of it not being reliable or dying fairly early.

The only other one I was looking at is this one:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3523686
That one has decent reviews, so it makes me wonder if the reliability of the previous models really is a problem. Only issue with this one is the backlight that you can't turn off that some say is too bright. The skywarn stuff seems interesting, but there are some complaints about reception and batteries being drained.

Which models have you used? I would like to get a RadioShack because it seems most of the weather radios are in stock at local stores, so I wouldn't have to pay shipping.

Thanks!

[miraculon]

Although the radio itself is very simple, the Weather EAR from http://www.emergencyalertradio.com/ used with the Earwatch software might give you the logging capability. It has S.A.M.E. capability. The drawback is that you would need to have it connected to the PC all the time.

The main thing that it is lacking is the display, but perhaps the PC logging via Earwatch might be work for you.

I have an older model Weather EAR for about 10 years now and it is very reliable. I originally set it up with the serial cable and EAR Configuration program. The one I have is well built and never has given me trouble.

Greg

[LFWX]

I'm currently using model 12-258 (out of production) http://www.radioshack.com/graphics/uc/rsk/Support/ProductManuals/1200258_PM_EN.pdf
Two people I know are using model 12-262 http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2170274&numProdsPerPage=60
Three people I know are using another out of production model, I'll try to get the model number over the weekend.
Possibly 12-249 http://www.radioshack.com/graphics/uc/rsk/Support/ProductManuals/1200249_PM_EN.pdf
Possibly 12-250 http://www.radioshack.com/graphics/uc/rsk/Support/ProductManuals/1200250_PM_EN.pdf

The model 12-258 I'm using will also not let you turn the back light off, but it is not too bright and may have gotten dimmer with age.

[Speed]

I went to my local RadioShack and they had a few models. They had model 12-262 on clearance, and they also had model 12-521 and 12-519. The one thing I was dissapointed with was that based on the manual, it apperas the 12-519 doesn't show how many active alerts there are, which was one of the features I liked about the RadioShack radios. I saw some complains that you can't set the volume of the voice alerts on the 12-262, but the manual does show a way to adjust volume. Do you know if you can change the voice volume? I think the siren is set at a fixed volume and it seems really loud. I wish you could adjust that as well. I see the 521 model allows for daytime and nighttime volumes, but that doesn't sway me one way or the other.
I would like the Reecom, but I saw there is an issue with back-to-back alerts. It sounds like the radio doesn't shut off after the first EOM tone, and even waits until a little while after the last tone. However, if another alert comes through immediately, the radio stays on permanently because the last state was "radio on" since it didn't switch to standby from the previous alert. I saw one post online that said it doesn't appear the R-1630 suffers from this, so does anyone with experience with the Reecom models know if this is true? If I go with Reecom, I'll miss the count of active alerts, but I'll be willing to miss that in favor of reliability.

[LFWX]

I am almost certain you can adjust the volume of the 12-262 (possible while running the siren test?), I'll try in the morning at work.
Yes, you can adjust the voice alert volume.
We (the school I work for) only have our Reecom programmed for one county, so back to back alerts is not a problem.

EDIT - I see on page 10 of the manual - the 12-262 has a selectable audio alert for loss of signal, however I also can not find a way to adjust the alert volume (we may have a slightly different model at work, I'll verify this also)

[LFWX]

Here is the procedure for adjusting the siren volume on the model 12-262.

While in the normal operating mode:
1) Press the UP or DOWN button. (this will activate the siren)
2) Press the UP or DOWN button until the desired volume is reached.
3) Press the MENU button. (this will return the radio to the normal operating mode)