Weather Radios

[pjanits]

I started a thread about weather radios because of the tornado in Indiana and Kentucky last week. That happened in the middle of the night.
Got me thinking that I needed something to wake me up at home/Burro if conditions were right.

I was thinking of a hand crank backup with weather alert and maybe the S.A.M.E. feature ( localized alerts only within 40 miles or so- that way I would not get disturbed by an alert hundreds of miles away. )

So far Benita and Suz came up with the Grundig Elton Fr300.
Which seems to have everything except the S.A.M.E. But the price sure looks good.
Anybody else?

[Gary Lynch]

When I lived up in Northern California, by the Oregon border, we surfers had weather alert radios that would wake us if a huge storm or swell was approaching. At that time, years ago, the very best selection was located at businesses that supplied fishermen and boaters. I bet there is one out there that works also on a battery back up. Try searching all the larger online commercial fishing/boating supply houses.

I have a Grundig FR-200 I use when I am in Baja. It is great for emergencies if there is no power. A 'free play' crank radio is a must have IMHO.

[Charles Watts]

Hi Pete!

I keep an Oregon Scientific WR102 in the trailer ... and yes, it has "SAME" programming ... but unless you are traveling down a "beaten path" where you know the 6-digit SAME code for the area in which you are currently camping (and codes for surrounding counties) ... it's hard to set your SAME selection.

http://www.weather.gov/nwr/nwrsame.htm

A few years ago, we bought Oregon Scientific base-station all-hazard weather radios for ourselves and our married kids ... and keep them queued-up and running in our respective bedrooms in our respective homes.

The home-base radios aren't "SAME" radios ... but because we live in the country, we don't get too many "middle of the night" alarms ... although it doesn't bother me to be awaken in the middle of a night and informed about a tornado sighted three counties over. Sometimes a series of middle of the night, multiple county severe thunderstorm weather alerts gets a bit trying ... but still, I figure it's better to be informed ... and semi-awake during the periods.

I'd highly recommend the battery operated WR102 ... especially for carrying in the trailer.

Because we, too, live in tornado zone ... I'd recommend everyone pick up a home-based weather alert radio also. Looking online, I don't think the Oregon Scientific base-station weather alert radio is available ... but the portable WR102 still is

[Suz]

Pete, I hope you don't mind but I moved this topic over to the "Around the Campfire" Section.



I guess this means I'm a moderator again.

Rats ....

[Suz]

First one I got was the Grundig FR200. Later, when I found the FR300 with the weather alert thingy, I got that one.

You can get them at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, use a 20% off coupon, and get a pretty good deal.

[Nick]

While wandering through Target one cold and rainy day we stumbled upon an Oregon Scientific display. We purchased the battery powered weather radio as per Mr Watts instructions. It also serves as a clock so we can tell when it's time to eat.

[Pete Dumbleton]

Originally posted by Charles Watts@Nov 12 2005, 07:54 AM
I keep an Oregon Scientific WR102 in the trailer ... and yes, it has "SAME" programming ... but unless you are traveling down a "beaten path" where you know the 6-digit SAME code for the area in which you are currently camping (and codes for surrounding counties) ... it's hard to set your SAME selection.

Here's a link to the SAME Codes:

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/indexnw.htm#sametable

Click on the state and the counties, SAME Codes for same and broadcast frequencies for the local area are listed -- You can usually get the county from your road map (If you are traveling too fast to keep up with the county you are in, you might not be having as much fun as possible ).

If you really wanted, you could print out all the states and put them in a book, or capture them to a laptop.

I looked on the WestMarine site at the hand-held VHF radios and all they say is NOAA Weather Alert, so I don't know if they handle the SAME codes or not -- Generally, the receiver that comes with a transmitter is going to be more sensitive than a stand-alone receiver (but that isn't always true in the case of high-end receivers) -- The VHF transceivers will usually pick up all the US and CA frequencies and do a better job of it (here on Bainbridge Island WA, on Puget Sound by Seattle, I can pick up CA stations on friend's radio, plus US stations that my ElCheapo Radio Shack can't get).

[pjanits]

Thanks for all your replies so far. I will have to stop at Target and Bed and Beyond and check them out. Also will check out West Marine.
No problem Suz, move it werever you want.\
( You can run but can't hide, huh)

[John McMillin]

Weather band comes standard in my Forester, which is another reason I love the car. It can't get lost, misplaced or run out of batteries. Now when I'm in the the other car, I miss it.