A Little About Weather Radios

Hi it's Rebecca again, If you've followed my weather page or blog, you know not having a weather radio is a pet peeve of mine. Weather radios are the most  effective way of receiving  warnings  for life threaten weather events;  and come in a variety of prices. But most are highly affordable.  Tornadoes and other violent weather can strike with little warning, however a weather radio can be a great help by alerting you when dangerous weather is heading your way.  This post will talk about weather radio.  I will go into a bit on what a weather radio is, The features, and the types of weather radios on the market.

What is a weather radio?:

Weather Radio is a broadcast service provided by NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). That airs weather reports, weather warnings, and civil and other types of national emergencies. The warnings are provided by the Emergency Alert Service (EAS). Weather radio broadcast over the frequencies between 162.40 and 162.55 MHz.

Features:

Here's what to look for in a weather radio.

SAME (Specific Area Message Encoding), with SAME you can program your radio so that the alert goes off only for the local areas you want to be notified about.

 Some radios let you block certain alerts, others don't. However, certain events like a Tornado warning can't be blocked, which kind you want is up to you. 

Audible Alarm, this is a must have. Many dangerous weather events happen at night while you're sleeping. Also, you will want an alarm that you can turn off.  For instance, if you live on high ground a flood watch or even an warning might be less important to you than a severe thunderstorm warning.

Some weather radios let you adjust the volume. If this is important to you, look for models that allow you to do so.

Battery Backup, Often during a weather emergency electric power is unavailable. Therefore, you will want to have a radio that has a battery backup.

There are radios that also will run on car adapters, and other alternate power sources.

External Antenna Jack, most weather radios are supplied with a built-in antenna; most of the time they do a very good job. But sometimes it can be difficult to receive an adequate signal. When that happens, you want a radio that allows you the ability to hookup an external antenna.

They sell external antennas. However, one thing many don't know, is the weather frequencies sit between the analog TV channels 6 and 7, so a standard VHF TV antenna can also do the job.

The weather alert channels:

All weather radios sold to the public are suppose to be able receive all seven NOAA channels...but it never hurts to make sure the one your buying can access them all.

162.400 MHz

162.425 MHz

162.450 MHz

162.475MHz

162.500 MHz

162.525 MHz

162.550 MHz



Types of Weather Radios:

There are four types of weather radios, portables, desktops, hand crank, and combination.

Portable Radios:

These are the small hand held radios that are easy to take with you when you're on the go, and are exceptionally suited for remote work locations.

Desktop Radios:

These come in a wide range of sizes and styles. Also, prices vary, but the majority of them fall into the 50 to 80 dollar range. So you shouldn't have any trouble finding the perfect radio to match your decor and needs.

Hand Crank Radios:

Even if you buy a desktop weather radio, buying  an hand crank radio can be a good idea. They make a great addition to your emergency kit.  a few cranks of the handle can give you an hour  or more of reception.

Combination Radios:

This type of weather radio is a little different.  These are a blend of weather radio and a  home weather station, with temperature readout and other basic weather forecasting abilities.

You can find weather radios in many places. Such as, Wal-Mart, Target, Sears, Sam's, BJ's, Radio Shack. You can also find them online at such sites as Amazon and eBay.  The only thing I will add is buy a weather radio that is public alert certified and carry the Public Alert logo

Here is a link to a site that will give you information on weather radio frequencies.

Well that's about it, well, with the exception of you purchasing  a weather radio after reading this.

Rebecca