NOAA weather radio

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backlash

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Dec 3, 2017
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8,258
Location
Dry and sane side of Washington
Currently we do not have an emergency radio.
I'm thinking it might be a good thing to have just incase.
We don't have tornados, hurricanes, or much chance of flooding.
Earthquakes are rare and so far not very big.
High winds, maybe snow and ice storms but again very rare.
There was one volcano eruption but that was 42 years ago.
After writing all that maybe we don't really need one. :)
I'm looking for suggestions on which is worth buying and what to stay away from.
I did a search on the forum and didn't find anything current.
 
Currently we do not have an emergency radio.
I'm thinking it might be a good thing to have just incase.
We don't have tornados, hurricanes, or much chance of flooding.
Earthquakes are rare and so far not very big.
High winds, maybe snow and ice storms but again very rare.
There was one volcano eruption but that was 42 years ago.
After writing all that maybe we don't really need one. :)
I'm looking for suggestions on which is worth buying and what to stay away from.
I did a search on the forum and didn't find anything current.
Well I'm no help. :(
We have always had several of those for years, and after numerous hurricanes over years, they have never been used.
With our data streams in 3 separate formats, all of them have never been knocked out at once.
1. Internet from buried cable that is proven bulletproof.
2. Cell service with internet access. (If your phone is on, it will be jumping up & down)
3. TV service from a satellite dish. (yes, it beeps on every channel when there is a serious warning EAS)

The weather radios with a hand crank (we have 2) may be useful to someone that has no backup generator.
We already know that if the utility power fails, we have really bad weather, which is all the weather radio can tell you.
If we get an evacuation order, it won't be over the radio, and it sure won't be no dang secret either!😳
The best advice I can give is, don't put all your data in one source. Too many people run everything thru cell service today. If the tower goes down, they have nothing.:mad:
Edit:
FEMA said:
The EAS national test in 2021 was very similar to regular monthly tests typically originated by state authorities. During the test, radios and televisions across the country interrupted normal programming to play the EAS test message in English or Spanish. The EAS test message lasted approximately one minute long...
 
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I have two simple ones that are battery powered.
You don't have to get fancy, you just need the weather channels. There are 6 or 7 on a radio, but only one will work in your area.
Manufacturers have added all sorts of gimmicks trying to get the sale - hand crank recharging, flash lights, etc.
Mine are basic, just the radio, powered by AAA batteries.
 
I bought one of these a couple years ago (thanks @kd4ulw ) The updated model is on amazon for about $80. It has lithium battery, crank, solar, or plug in. It scans automatically, noaa etc. It does a lot more than I use it for.

Kaito Voyager Pro KA600 Digital Solar Crank AM/FM/LW/SW NOAA Weather R

here's a pic of mine.

I need a versatile Radio

radio (2).jpg
 
I guess when I get right down to it I don't think it would get used.
It was something I saw in my internet wandering.
I can count on 2 fingers the times we have lost power for more than a couple of hours and we don't live in an area that has natural disasters I worry about.
I guess I'll save my money for other things I could use.
Lately I have been on a First Aid supply binge. My trauma kit was lacking the things I would need if I had to deal with a gunshot wound at the range so I fixed that shortcoming but you can never have too many medical supplies. :)
I do appreciate the feedback. Thanks everyone.
 
Currently we do not have an emergency radio.
I'm thinking it might be a good thing to have just incase.
We don't have tornados, hurricanes, or much chance of flooding.
Earthquakes are rare and so far not very big.
High winds, maybe snow and ice storms but again very rare.
There was one volcano eruption but that was 42 years ago.
After writing all that maybe we don't really need one. :)
I'm looking for suggestions on which is worth buying and what to stay away from.
I did a search on the forum and didn't find anything current.


I could see having a weather radio, if we did have tornados, hurricanes or flash flooding. As for our earthquakes......so far, that I'm aware of, they haven't figured out how to predict them yet. And St Helens gave everyone plenty of warning that something was going to happen. But I don't think anyone knew how that was going to play out, until it did.

Given our particular area, I think the better investment would be a communication device that could be powered alternatively in case electric wasn't available and batteries only last so long. IF we did have a huge quake that's always threatening with the Cascadia Subduction Zone or if Mt Rainier blew, life could get tricky for an extended time. Though I may be in more danger on the west side than you or anyone on the eastside in either scenario., But yes, thankfully both are rare.
 
Some of the little noaa monitor radios are about $20. Each year about this time many seniors are able to buy them discounted, even free in some communities around here, senior centers give them away too.

To me a radio in the modern world is no different the storing extra batteries or making sure the spare tire on the truck is inflated. Most likely won't be needed but if I do and don't have them I'm screwed! :oops: A radio is cheap insurance.
 
There are lots of good suggestions made already, but I'll throw this out there: many HAM and GMRS handheld and mobile radios will receive NOAA. If you already have a Baofeng or similar/better radio, you can receive NOAA.
 
Currently we do not have an emergency radio.
I'm thinking it might be a good thing to have just incase.
We don't have tornados, hurricanes, or much chance of flooding.
Earthquakes are rare and so far not very big.
High winds, maybe snow and ice storms but again very rare.
There was one volcano eruption but that was 42 years ago.
After writing all that maybe we don't really need one. :)
I'm looking for suggestions on which is worth buying and what to stay away from.
I did a search on the forum and didn't find anything current.

They had an emergency alert radio at work. I got so tired of the numerous false "Sky is Falling" alerts I unplugged it.
 
There are lots of good suggestions made already, but I'll throw this out there: many HAM and GMRS handheld and mobile radios will receive NOAA. If you already have a Baofeng or similar/better radio, you can receive NOAA.
I was going to suggest this exact same thing. Besides just receiving NOAA broadcasts, you can receive HAM bands. You don't need a license to listen, only to transmit. During an emergency, you may get useful information off of HAM frequencies used in your area, as well as NOAA. Plus, if you are in a true emergency needing assistance, you can legally transmit without a license. At that point, I wouldn't care if transmission was legal or not, but it would be in any case.

I would get a handheld that can also take an optional alkaline battery pack (few and far between, unfortunately). Then go to Costco and buy you some batteries - one of those 40 or 60 packs that cost about $15 and has a shelf live of about ten years. That's going to be so much easier than solar or crank. Leave the alkalines OUT of the radio until you actually need them, to avoid leakage problems.

It would also be worthwhile to buy an upgraded whip antenna for the handheld. That will improve performance multi-fold.

This setup would be great, but not necessarily cheap. Radio $155 (Yaesu FT-60R), Whip antenna $22 (Signal Stuff), Alkaline battery holder $19 (specific for the radio purchased), Costco bulk alkaline batteries $15. So around $215 total, tax and shipping additional. This may be overkill if you are not a licensed HAM. But it's an option you could consider. Getting a technician level HAM license is easy. In the case of the Yaesu FT-60R radio, it is a wide band receiver, so you can receive more than just HAM bands and NOAA broadcasts. Aircraft bands for one, although I don't know how useful those would be in a weather emergency. Maybe they'd be useful, I've never listened to them to know personally.

If all's you want is simple NOAA weather broadcasts, there are much cheaper options. I would get a radio that uses batteries, and then stock a bunch of Costco batteries. I wouldn't bother with the crank stuff. And I imagine solar would be worthless. In the middle of a storm, there's not going to be enough sunlight to give you the 24-48 hours it would take to charge the thing with the little bitty cheap solar cells you'd find on a bargain radio.

One does tend to get an overabundance of "emergencies" announced on the NOAA frequencies. I don't really need to be woken up from a dead sleep to learn that it's raining three counties over. A "winter storm warning" for 1/4" snow accumulation? The definition of an "emergency" is a bit too loose for my tastes. But the radios can still be useful. Just turn them on when you want to listen and turn them off when you don't. You may rapidly tire of how many "emergencies" your area routinely experiences if you enable the alert feature. The radio would be invaluable when hunkered down in your shelter waiting for a tornado to pass however. It really depends on the nature of weather "emergencies" in your area. I could go out and walk the dog during most of our "emergencies".
 
We are in an area that can get a tornado March thru November.
Hurricanes are well reported on in advance, tornadoes are More sudden in nature.
Wife monitors the local TV website’s weather page for the radar. If there’s a heavy storm coming with an ugly squall line, she can always power up the weather radio but set it for alerts. That way it only comes on for a tornado warning.
 
Thanks bkt and Haertig
I hadn't thought of HAM and GMRS handheld radios.
The options for those are as bewildering as just a radio to listen.
I'll have to do some research to see what's required to get a license and make my decision. Some of them look complicated to operate and probably have a big learning curve.
The cost of handheld BAOFENG radios is not excessive just choosing which one to buy.
I am always open to suggestions from those that know.
 
Thanks bkt and Haertig
I hadn't thought of HAM and GMRS handheld radios.
The options for those are as bewildering as just a radio to listen.
I'll have to do some research to see what's required to get a license and make my decision. Some of them look complicated to operate and probably have a big learning curve.
The cost of handheld BAOFENG radios is not excessive just choosing which one to buy.
I am always open to suggestions from those that know.
HamStudy.org: Cutting edge amateur radio study tools (<-- that's a link - click on it!) is a great resource to study for any level of amateur radio tests, and it's free. Amateur radio doesn't need to be complicated at all - don't be concerned about that. And you have resources here who can help get you started and answer questions.

As for the radio, you really can't mess up with a Baofeng UV-5R. The other models' additional features really aren't necessary. I would agree with Haertig that replacing the antenna is important. Either a Nagoya 771 or a Signalstick are great (I own several of each). You can also order extra batteries for the radio if you wish.
 
HamStudy.org: Cutting edge amateur radio study tools (<-- that's a link - click on it!) is a great resource to study for any level of amateur radio tests, and it's free. Amateur radio doesn't need to be complicated at all - don't be concerned about that. And you have resources here who can help get you started and answer questions.

As for the radio, you really can't mess up with a Baofeng UV-5R. The other models' additional features really aren't necessary. I would agree with Haertig that replacing the antenna is important. Either a Nagoya 771 or a Signalstick are great (I own several of each). You can also order extra batteries for the radio if you wish.
I ordered the radio, antenna, and programming CD and cable from eBay. Less than $50. I took a quick look at the tech. license and I don't think I'll have too much trouble passing that. I'll do some studying and see how it goes.
Thanks everyone for the information.
 
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Well I'm no help. :(
We have always had several of those for years, and after numerous hurricanes over years, they have never been used.
Ok, y'all got to me, so I had to get them all out and play with them.:p
They all still work. The vintage Realistic® weather radio has a scratchy volume control but if you find one of the good spots, it works great. :thumbs:
The hand-crank one works fine on battery (I ain't yo crank-monkey:mad:), even on both shortwave bands:thumbs:.
The Midland "Public Alert", NOAA Weather Radio is not an actual 'radio' but will beep and scroll a message if there is a Warning, Watch, or Advisory in the area.... if it was ever turned on.:rolleyes:
It was a freebie for old people that the in-laws got.
Realistic® rulez!
mosh.gif
 
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The UV-5R is only $26. At that price I might as well get one. Thanks.
The biggest problem with the Baofeng's is that they are difficult to program from their keyboard. Well, "difficult" is being generous. However, if you're just programming in a few NOAA frequencies then you can get by.

You really want computer software and a programming cable to deal with a Baofeng. Some Baofeng's are sold including the cable. Mine wasn't. So I bought this one and it works for me:

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RZ1PBYT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

The software you need is free. It's called "Chirp".

A note on Baofeng performance: It is quite variable, as is the quality control. My Baofeng is a piece of trash. But I know others who have the exact same model - the UV-5R - and their's works OK. For $26, a Baofeng is worth trying if you're not into HAM radio and just want one to receive NOAA weather broadcasts and such. You may need to buy one of the whip antennas - the antenna that came with my Baofeng was as bad as the radio itself. I am not trying to sour you on the Baofeng. For your described use I would guardedly recommend one, with the above mentioned caveats. They're so cheap, it's difficult not to at least try one. Their build quality is quite sturdy too, for only $26.

If you do decide to get a HAM license (and I would recommend that), you probably will want to step up from the Baofeng however. My recommendation for that is the Yaesu FT-60R. Those go for $155. So compared to the $26 Baofeng, that's quite a difference in price. AND a significant upgrade in performance and features. But without a HAM license, I admit that the Yaesu would be overkill just to listen to weather broadcasts. You can get an alkaline battery bolder for the Baofeng, and I think that's a plus for any emergency radio. Of the inexpensive handhelds, the only ones that have optional alkaline battery holder accessories are the Baofeng, the Yaesu FT-60R (this specific model, other Yaesu's don't), and the ICOM IC-V86. There may be other current-production radios that have this accessory, but I am not familiar with them. Alkaline batteries will last a long time for receiving only. When you start transmitting though, they will be eaten up quickly. And the transmit power when using alkalines is less than when using the radio's normal rechargeable pack (which is Lithium or NiMH). Realize though, a good antenna makes more difference than transmit power. A radio with a good antenna but with output power reduced to, say, 2 or 3 watts due to alkaline batteries will outperform that same radio with it's full 5 watt rechargeable battery power output, but using the cheap rubber ducky antenna that it came with. And a good antenna will greatly enhance your reception no matter what type of batteries you use. One other thing - the Baofeng's have a pretty weak audio output. You usually have to turn them to full volume and even then put them closer to your ear to hear, especially in a noisy environment. The Yaesu's audio is a heck of a lot louder and clearer. But, the Baofeng does work, and you don't need the best of everything for the seldom-used weather radio case. You probably wouldn't be able to hear your Baofeng with a tornado right overhead however.

Try the Baofeng though. The radio, a good antenna, and the alkaline battery holder should run about $60 total. About the cost of a nice dinner for two at a restaurant. If it doesn't work for you? Oh well. No big financial loss. But don't use the Baofeng as a benchmark to judge other handheld HAM radios. You can get a lot better performance. But not at the $26 price point.
 
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There is an app for that!! I'm a total weather geek!! Have many wx radios, but........ I can listen to the wx radio on my phone! Search your app store for noaa weather radio! 😉😀


Yes but whos weather report will I get? My phone doesn't know where I am. Apparently I am frequently in Reno, sometimes in Seattle and once I was even in Minnesota. Except I've never been to any of those locations. I think my phone is cheating on me!!
 
Yes but whos weather report will I get? My phone doesn't know where I am. Apparently I am frequently in Reno, sometimes in Seattle and once I was even in Minnesota. Except I've never been to any of those locations. I think my phone is cheating on me!!
No but you are cheating the phone. ;)

When you disallow sharing your location data (good idea) the apps have to guess.

Ben
 
I received my new Baofeng UV-5R radio so I can listen to NOAA and emergency broadcasts. The radio came with a UK power plug so I can't charge the battery but it's OK for now. I ordered a UK to US adapter and wrote the eBay seller a message. Hopefully he makes it right.
I don't plan on becoming an active HAM operator and will most likely never transmit.
However the Tech license exam seems to be fairly easy and cheap so I might take it just because.
Thanks everyone for your input.
 
I received my new Baofeng UV-5R radio ...
The documentation that comes with the Baofeng is useless. So users wrote their own much more detailed documentation.

I am going to attach two PDF files to this post. One will be the UV-5R Operating Manual (as written by users). The other is a "cheat sheet" that details the UV-5R's menu system. Probably best to read the Operating Manual first before trying to make sense of the menu cheat sheet.
 

Attachments

  • Baofeng_UV-5R_Operating_Manual.pdf
    1.2 MB · Views: 9
  • 5RMenus.pdf
    94 KB · Views: 21
The documentation that comes with the Baofeng is useless. So users wrote their own much more detailed documentation.

I am going to attach two PDF files to this post. One will be the UV-5R Operating Manual (as written by users). The other is a "cheat sheet" that details the UV-5R's menu system. Probably best to read the Operating Manual first before trying to make sense of the menu cheat sheet.
Thank you.
 
I think there is an app you can download to a smartphone that essentially turns your phone into a weather radio.

At any rate, we have the Eton Sidekick weather radio shown below. I highly recommend it. It is much more than just a weather radio. It has four modes for power: rechargeable lithium batteries, regular batteries, solar, and a hand crank.
1648473748100.png

1648473798751.png

  • AM/FM/NOAA weather bands
  • S.A.M.E. and NOAA weather alerts
  • Huge ambient light with dimmer
  • Bluetooth® ready
  • 2600 mAh rechargeable lithium battery
  • Digital tuner and display
  • 5V—2.1A USB output for charging smartphones
  • Top mounted efficiency solar panel charging
  • Hand crank power
  • Rugged1 and IPX4 splashproof
  • Bright LED flashlight
  • Red emergency beacon
 

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