This radio arrived (and was set up) two days before very heavy thunderstorms with hail and high winds hit my area. It was early evening and the weather looked sunny and clear outside, when this thing goes off for no apparent reason. I thought it was a mistake or false alarm, but when I turned on the cable weather channel the radar showed a huge thunder storm rapidly forming in the West and moving my way. It's very late in the Spring season right now for a storm like this and I wasn't expecting any harsh weather. I had time to get the cars under cover, find the cat & put her inside and bring in the outdoor furniture cushions before the storm hit. In our neighborhood, we lost some big limbs a few trees and some cars were damaged by hail. Fortunately, I had no damage.
The instructions are not very complicated and the set-up was much, much easier than that required for a VCR or TIVO. It has battery back-up in case the power goes off and doesn't take up a lot of space on the night stand or dresser. Also, you can program which alerts you want to hear and limit the alerts to those applicable to only the County you live in. This really cuts down on unnecessary alarms. For example, though we are in an area that can have flash floods, I don't need this warning because I don't go out in heavy rain or flooding anyway. A warning about a storm only is sufficient. I think I might get this radio as a gift for some elderly friends and relatives of mine. It's a good and very unobtrusive watchdog. First Alert Public Alert Radio with S.A.M.E
This radio can be programmed not to sound alerts which are unimportant to me. For example, I don't want to hear flash flood warnings as I am not in an area prone to flooding. Basically, what I really want are tornado warnings when issued for three specific counties in Tennessee and one county in Kentucky. This radio can do that. (There are some alerts which cannot be blocked, but these are rare, for example a chemical hazard warning.)
The radio is fairly easy to program. It took me about 30 minutes to get everything the way I wanted it. It runs on AC power and has backup power provided by 4 AA batteries (not included). Overall, I rate this as a very effective, well-designed product, and I have just purchased some additional units for friends.
This little unit is easy to set up and has the SAME functionality which is important to me since I didn't want to hear warnings for places that weren't near to me. Other units I looked at had extra options like AM/FM radio but I didn't need those features. I just wanted something that would wake me up if a tornado was coming my way. This will warn you of many other things and you can set what you want to be notified about. Follow the instructions, it's pretty easy. It also will take rechargeable NiMH or Ni-Cad batteries and keep them charged. Or, you can switch it to accept Alkaline. The battery backup is important to have. Great unit, no complaints.
Let's get to the point. What you want in a weather radio is for it to work when it's supposed to and be easy to set up. This one does that. I have programmed a Midland WR-300 for my In-Laws, and it was a long winded pain. They still can't figure out how to use it. I own an Oregon Scientific WR-103... an equal P.I.T.A. to set up, and you can't shut off the weekly test siren, which is an irritant to us day sleepers. You also can't mute the frigging beeps each time a button is pressed. Surely someone can come up with a more pleasant tone for this purpose.
Anyway, the First Alert is really easy to set up, and much more intuitive to use. I can mute the weekly test siren, and still the radio will notify me through the display if recent tests have failed. I can mute the irritating button beeps, and easily select which alerts I want to hear. This radio also holds your settings even without power, so you never have to reprogram after the first time. It has battery power in the event of power loss, and it will even charge the on board batteries when plugged in, alkaline or NiMH. You will appreciate that feature if you've ever had a radio that lost it's settings during a power outage.
What makes this radio deal even sweeter is that it's almost half the price here than it is at the Shack. Buy this one!
We really like this First Alert Weather Radio. We bought a Midland first, but couldn't get a signal no matter where we put it. We had a First Alert for years that was great and lasted several years, but we bought the Midland because at the time we couldn't find another First Alert. After the Midland mistake we searched and found this First Alert Public Alert Radio. We get a good signal and receive all of the alerts and warnings that we need. We live in North Texas and need a reliable weather radio for the scary Spring weather. I recommend this First Alert!
I've had the 'First Alert Public Alert Radio with S.A.M.E' for about two months now and it continues to surprise me - in a good way! I had been using an ancient hand sized portable alert radio for the last 8 years and this is a HUGE improvement.
Pros:
- SAME technology that works. Not being woken up for a severe thunderstorm on the other side of the state is priceless.
- When an alert activates the radio, the tone sounds, the alert plays, and then the radio returns to standby until the watch/warning is updated. However, a light continues to flash red or orange depending on the type of alert. This is a really nice feature - I have a dog that would be driven nuts by the sound so I always had to turn my old radio off when I left for work and then reprogram everything when I got home. I can leave this radio plugged in and programmed.
- Easy to understand features/directions as long as you read the owners manual (for me it took about 10 minutes total for set-up).
- You can deactivate alerts. I live in MN and am not all that concerned about Hurricanes. :-) The alerts I do have programmed function beautifully.
- Nice size. Smaller than my CD alarm clock and reception comes in loud and clear without the antennae up.
- You have the ability to turn OFF the tone that sounds whenever you push a button. Surprisingly, this was one of the main reasons I chose this unit over its competitors.
- Decent volume control - on the lowest setting I can hear the alert throughout my single level townhome.
Cons:
- While I like the size, I do wish that it was a tad smaller. This is just my personal preference (and a sign of how much I like it) since having it slightly smaller would allow me to bring it camping.
- The system stores several alert messages, allowing you to scroll through them if say you missed one while you were at work. A 'delete' button would have been very handy (like an answering machine).
Overall, I give the unit a solid 4.5/5 stars. It has great features (though I think there's always room for improvement) and it's a fairly inexpensive way to gain peace of mind. - Weather Radio - Weather - Weather Alert - Same'
Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information
