Tag Archives: Weather Radios

Weather radios given to communities in path of natural disasters

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, NT, who writes:

Hi Thomas,

A few months ago, a city in northern California gave away weather radios to help their community prepare for fire season. And last year a county in Georgia did the same thing in advance of extreme weather.

With all the fires and severe weather happening around the world, I’m curious if other communities have been doing emergency radio give-aways? I thought you or other SWLing Post readers might have seen similar stories?

73,
NT

Great question, NT!

Post readers: please comment if you know of other communities around the world who’ve deployed weather radios in an effort to prepare for natural disasters.

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Weather Radio Review: Grant recommends the Reecom R-1650

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Grant, who comments on our recent post about weather radios:

I’ve been pretty happy with the Reecom R-1650.

I’ve had it over 10 years and it’s been a solid performer. It has a long battery backup on 4 AA’s. It also does AM/FM, has alarm out, antenna in, audio out etc.

It’s fairly smart and doesn’t alert me when the Wednesday tests are happening but does light up during the test so it’s easy to see that it’s working and receiving alerts as it should. Getting through the programming menu is a little weird (as it is with most weather radios) but I can usually figure it out with having to hunt down the manual even though I haven’t been in the menu in years.

With the advent of the cell phone, where no one thinks they need a radio anymore for anything, the best deal in weather radios is often found at Goodwill or your local thrift shop. You can often find models with S.A.M.E for $2-3.

Thank you for the recommendation, Grant! I was not familiar with Reecom weather products. I’m especially impressed with the 185 hour backup time from a set of four AA cells! Impressive. I doubt other models can claim that amount of backup power time–a full week.

Even eHam has positive reviews of Reecom dating back to 2006.

It appears Reecom only distributes their products through Amazon.com, but I discovered a load of Reecom radios on eBay, many at prices well below $30 shipped. 

Grant, you also make a great point about checking out thrift stores. Many people don’t know what a weather radio is, so thrift stores sell them for $2.00 or $3.00 in their electronics pile. Just make sure you find the matching power supply.

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Weather Radio Review: Steve recommends the Sangean CL-100

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Steve Lebkuecher, who comments on our recent post about weather radios:

I have the Sangean CL-100 and highly recommend the radio for several reasons and in fact I bought several for family members as gifts. The Sangean CL-100 looks like an alarm clock and is what I use as an alarm clock but the CL-100 is a full featured weather radio as well.

The audio quality for general broadcast is excellent for a radio this size and the build quality is very good. I bought mine several years ago and have not had any issues. (About $60.00 from Amazon)

Some of the features I like and why:

S.A.M,E (Specific Area Message Encoding) Alerts only for your county. If a thunderstorm passes through a county next to you at 4:00 AM you will not be woken up. This has happened to me several times with my previous non S.A.M.E radio and I just ended up turning the radio completely off which obviously left me vulnerable to the next event.

Selectable Alerts – disable alerts that you may not care about such as wind advisory. Again I have been woken up with my previous weather radio that didn’t have this feature for a wind advisory early in the morning. Very irritating.

End-of-message (EOM) Radio turns off after alert is given so you don’t have to get out of bed just to turn the alert off.

RBDS (Radio Broadcast Data System) You can set the radios clock as well as the radio will display station ID and song name.

Display is excellent and has a wide viewing angle plus you can adjust the brightness. I do wish the display was a little bigger and mounted on the front of the radio VS the top so it would be easier to see the time if you wake up during the night.

Two separate alarms and can be programed for different days of the week.

Human Wake-up System – Alarm starts at a very low level and gradually builds up in volume. You can set the alarm to buzzer or radio broadcast. I hate being jolted out of bed by a nasty sounding alarm.

The jacks include DC power in, stereo earphone, AM external antenna, FM/weather external antenna, aux-in, external alert and grounding terminal.

Thank you for your review of the CL-100, Steve! I had forgotten about this particular weather radio and didn’t realize it was still on the market. I now recall an earlier post where Jeff McMahon touted the CL-100.

I love the CL-100 display and the fact that it doubles so well as a proper alarm clock. At time of posting, I notice one on eBay for $44 shipped–I hope someone buys it before I do. (Seriously–I’m very tempted.)

Shop for the Sangean CL-100 at:

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NOAA Weather Radio Review: three excellent choices under $90

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The Midland WR120 weather radio.

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Jim T, who writes with the following inquiry:

Wondering if you can give me some guidance re: NOAA weather radios.

We’re looking to be better prepared for disasters, bad weather etc. and have narrowed our radio candidates to CC Crane, Sangean and Kaito.

AM/FM would be nice, hand cranking and solar as well, but just want to get NOAA alerts should we have an earthquake here in the NW. Willing to spend $50-100 for something quality with relevant features to it. Your thoughts would be appreciated!

Thanks for your message, Jim. There are dozens of inexpensive weather radio models on the market, but I know a few good options based on my personal experience.

Note that all of these radios work in both the US (via NOAA) and Canada (via Environment Canada)–both countries have been using the S.A.M.E. (Specific Area Message Encoding) weather alert system since 2004.

The Midland WR120: A dedicated weather radio

If you’re looking for a weather radio to plug in and continuously monitor weather alerts through the S.A.M.E. system, I recommend a dedicated weather radio like theMidland WR120. These radios don’t typically have AM/FM functions, but are entirely devoted to the seven weather radio frequencies in the US and Canada (162.400, 162.425, 162.450, 162.475, 162.500, 162.525, and 162.550 MHz). They plug into mains power and the better ones have battery backup in case of power outages.

I have family that own the Midland WR120. They’ve used it for years and it’s worked flawlessly. Once you set up the radio with your preferred NOAA frequency and SAME alert regions, it will alarm and automatically play NOAA weather radio alerts when they’re issued for your area.  My family use this for tornado and storm alerts.

The Midland WR120 uses three AA alkaline cells for emergency power back-up. It’s very much a “set it and forget it” radio and, in my opinion, a bargain at $29.99.

As with any SAME alert radio, be aware that sometimes the alarm can be annoying. Depending on where you live and how the alert system is set up, you might get notifications for isolated weather events on the other side of your county–the S.A.M.E. system cannot pinpoint your neighborhood.

Still, I believe S.A.M.E. notifications are worth any extra inconvenience, especially if you live in an area prone to sudden storms and earthquakes.

Purchase options:

C. Crane CC Skywave: A portable shortwave radio with excellent NOAA weather reception

The C.Crane CC Skywave

If you’re looking for a battery powered radio to use during emergencies that has much more than NOAA weather radio, I’d recommend the C.Crane CC Skywave. Not only is it a full-fledged AM/FM/Shortwave and Air band radio, but it has exceptional NOAA weather radio reception with a weather alert function. The CC Skywave is a great radio to take on travels or keep in the home in case of an emergency. It’ll operate for ages on a set of two AA batteries, though I always keep a pack of four on standby just in case.

You can read a thorough review of the CC Skywave by clicking here. Note that C. Crane is also taking orders for their new CC Skywave SSB which is an upgraded version of the original CC Skywave and includes SSB mode, but costs $80 more than the original.

Purchase options:

C. Crane CC Solar Observer: A self-powered AM/FM NOAA weather radio

There are a number of self-powered NOAA weather radios out there, but frankly, many are very cheap and the mechanical action of the hand crank are prone to fail early.

I believe one of the best is the CC Solar Observer by C. Crane. It’s durable, and can also run on three AA cells, and is an overall great radio in terms of sensitivity on AM/FM as well. Unique in the world of self-powered radios, it also has a backlit display (which can be turned off or on)–a fantastic feature if the power is out.

Like other self-powered analog radios, the CC Solar Observer has no S.A.M.E. alert functionality.

Purchase options:

One more option: Eton self-powered weather radios

The Eton FRX5 sport weather alert, a digital display and futuristic design.

I would also encourage you to check out the wide selection of self-powered weather radios through Eton Corporation.

Many are digital and even have S.A.M.E. weather alerts. I haven’t commented on performance since I haven’t personally tested the 2016 and later models.

Eton typically packs a lot of features in their self-powered radios–having manufactured them for well over a decade, they’ve implemented iterative improvements along the way.

I have tested previous models extensively.

I particularly like the Eton FRX5 although being a digital radio, you get less play time per hand-powered crank–that’s why I prefer analog self-powered radios. The CC Solar Observer, for example, will yield roughly 40 minutes of listening time (at moderate volume levels) on 2-4 minutes of cranking.

Still, if charged fully in advance, I’m sure the FRX5 will play for hours. Note that using S.A.M.E. functionality in standby mode will deplete batteries more quickly.

Click here to view Eton’s full Red Cross radio line on the Eton Corporation website.

Any other recommendations?

Post readers, if I’ve omitted a worthy receiver, please comment with your recommendation.

I hope this helps with your decision, Jim! Thanks for the question!

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C.Crane Observer on sale this week for $29.95

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I just received an electronic sales ad from C.Crane announcing that they’re selling off their stock of the C. Crane Observer for $29.95.

Though this is not a shortwave radio, I do think this is a superb value. I’ve used the Observer; it is sturdy, has excellent AM reception (it is a C. Crane, after all) and also includes FM and the NOAA weather bands (useful in the US). It also has a flashlight and even a fully functional dial light.

The Observer also has excellent ergonomics, is simple to operate, and–best of all–has the added feature of being self-powered.

What’s more, C. Crane also includes adapters which can be plugged into many cell phones and iPods to charge them using the radio’s crank power–again, a highly useful feature if you lose power and need to place an important cell phone call.

This is a great little radio to have on hand in case of a power outage or severe weather. C. Crane claims that this offer is only good while supplies last; I doubt they will last long. I’m going to hasten this process, and take one from their stock, myself.

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