I originally bought the Midland WR300 Weather Radio, and was so disappointed in its performance, that I went and read more of the 500+ reviews on that product. Based upon a few of the reviews, I ended up purchasing this item from Reecom, and returning the Midland.
Much better backlight (green vs the Midland's blue), and the biggest and most important difference is its simple setup and programming compared to the Midland.
Don't be fooled by the Midland's high ratings.
The Reecom costs a little more, but well worth the money. Reecom R-1650 Weather Alert Radio With AM/FM Clock Radio
My husband and I live in the southern U.S., which is starting to get tornadoes on the scale of what you might expect in Oklahoma and Kansas (we don't get the big F-4s and F-5s, but in one recent year our state had 36 funnel clouds in the month of April alone). In the springtime it can seem like you get a tornado watch or warning every other day. Since all the houses around here are built on limestone and we don't have a basement, it's prudent to pay attention to the weather so you can start getting your gear together to build up a bunker in your bathroom or inner hallway if it's looking like your house may get hit by the big one.
We bought one of these radios three years ago b/c we live right on the edge between two big counties, and it seemed a good idea to be able to receive weather warnings from both of them. We liked the radio so much we came back right away and bought another one....Then a third one after one of the first two suffered an acid leak from one of the AA batteries we put in it and quit working without A/C power. We get A LOT of power outages, so we needed to get another battery-op radio, now I'm back here buying another one to give my mom....
Things I like about this radio:
* It is LOUD. When the siren goes off, you can hear it on the other end of the house, and the volume telling you what's going on is loud too. You don't want to have to be fooling around with the volume switch if the message is 'TORNADO WARNING FOR YOUR AREA, GET IN THE CLOSET NOW.'
* You can modify the alerts. I set the weekly alarm not to sound the siren, and we really don't need to get waked up at 3 AM to be told there's a "thunderstorm watch". I keep the radio in the kitchen set to go off for all the alerts, but the one that will wake us up only sounds an alarm for a tornado warning.
* It gets a good, strong signal. We're pretty far from the NOAA station but you can hear that thing broad as day and with no fiddling around trying to tune in the station.
* The sound on it is pretty good. I listen to plain old FM radio on the Reecom I keep in the kitchen and it's got a pretty good tone on it.
* It's sturdy. Unfortunately my Reecom has hit the concrete floor a couple of times thanks to my cats knocking it off the counter. It's still going strong.
* It's pretty easy to operate. There's a big "RADIO" button and a "STOP," so you don't keep restoring to defaults or erasing your weather radio settings by accident.
The price on these is lower than it once was and I've had good luck getting my radios shipped from Reecom right away. I'm just glad they make a really robust radio for those of us who live in real danger from tornadoes, at least you know what's going on while you're cowering in the closet with your lights out. I also had tried the Midland and not been very happy with it - I'll be back buying another Reecom if one of these goes out on me.
EDIT: I ordered two of these radios recently and had a problem with the order - not only did Reecom call me before it even arrived to give me a heads up, they priority-mailed a new radio to me after I got the wrong order. Two thumbs up for their customer service, which is outstanding.
This is a very good weather radio with S.A.M.E. It's not perfect, but as close as any will come. Programming is cumbersome, performance is excellent. My wife and I sleep on a different level of our home than our children and I trust my family's life with this product. I have tried many and wouldn't use any other product on the market right now. Would get five stars if programming were a little more user-friendly.
I have purchased four of these units for my family and recommended it to many friends. I did extensive research on current products and the Reecom unit is by far the best inexpensive radio (under $100) of its type on the market. If you want great service, reliable performance and the comfort of knowing that you will recieve available weather alerts during emergencies, then this unit is the one you want. I have no complaints after two years of service. My wife relies on it. It is so flexible that you can turn off alerts you do not want and it has a lot of useful features.
Great radio packed with features.
This is my second purchase. The first one was given as a gift to my father.
The only item I do not like about the radio is the digital volume control. I like to set the music soft when going to bed and it seems the adjustment is too soft or too loud, unable to fine adjust.
Don't lose the owner's manual. You will not be able to program the radio without it. I suggest putting the manual in a zip top bag and taping it to the bottom of the radio. - Alert - Emergency Radio - Noaa - Weather Radio'
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