Need advice WEATHER RADIO

[TinaMischke]

I travel full time and am on my second weather radio, with lots of frustrations.  The first one was obviously a cheapo and the knobs broke within 3 months.  The second one, a Midland 120ez, is supposed to be a good one but I haven’t gotten any signals in over 6 months.  The last two places Iv’e been in Oklahoma had severe thunderstorms and hail and the radio sat silently the whole time.  It’s set on “any” for location. 

I really want one that has a very strong signal no matter where I’m camped.  Don’t care about other bells and whistles like hand-cranking, etc.  I would like to keep it plugged in to an outlet or usb full time (except when driving) as I almost 100% of the time have electrical where I’m parked.  I just want to be able to pick up AM radio signals and NOAA weather updates no matter where I am.

When I was in the south, I could push the button and get a looping weather report any time of day or night.  Now, I’m in Oklahoma and nothing!

What do you use?  What do you like/dislike about your model?

[Randyretired]

I use my phone.  There are weather forecasts on the internet and there are numerous apps that will send warnings.  Gave up my weather radio a few years ago.

[whj469]

I have to agree with the phone. The weather radio is old time as per my grandchildren.

[2gypsies]

Internet isn't always available and sometimes you're not within a good phone signal.  We're all for a weather radio.  Ours is an oldie so can't recommend a new model.  Good luck!

[Flying Finn]

We have a weather radio. Would not travel without one.  To find ours I went to Google and did a search for the best weather radios for 2017 and 2018.  We chose a Midland.  Has weather alert am, fm, tv, multiple power sources, hand crank, solar,  ac, dc light etc. 

We also use our cell phone, and the weather band on the truck cb. 

[Twotoes]

Go to Cabellas, Bas Pro Shop etc and go to the hunting section. They will have good inexpensive weather radios 

[FL-JOE]

We bought one from either Walgreen or CVS a couple years ago.  It worked at first but then at some CG's we couldn't get squat.  Can't tell you the brand because it is stored under the bed with other stuff we don't use.

We went back to having alerts set on our I-phones.  It has worked well so far.

[edatlanta]

I have a marine radio that has the weather channels on it and alarms tool.  But the cell phone is a great idea with all of the weather apps available.

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

Be aware that cell phone apps are great until towers go down... either lose power or are literally on the ground. A radio doesn't have that issue.  We have an OLD Radio Shack weather radio, little square box.   

[Pieere]

I used a Cobra 129 WX while on the road traveling. Used a hand-held scanner from Radio Shack with r-re-chareable batteries and a AC adapter while parked. Now since I have parked permanent I use a Midland AC unit with battery backup in case the power goes down! 

[chirakawa]

9 minutes ago, Alie&Jim's Carrilite said:

Be aware that cell phone apps are great until towers go down... either lose power or are literally on the ground. A radio doesn't have that issue.    

Radios don't get their signals from towers?

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

42 minutes ago, chirakawa said:

Radios don't get their signals from towers?

Cell Towers are line of sight, chances of losing a radio tower are far fewer than a cell tower.  Look at all the recent hurricanes.  Mexico beach didn't have cell service for weeks because the towers were down, but they had radio communications and alerts.

[hemsteadc]

8 hours ago, Alie&Jim's Carrilite said:

.  Mexico beach didn't have cell service for weeks because the towers were down, but they had radio communications and alerts.

And OP's didn't work in Oklahoma.  I'd consider a weather radio a device of last resort.  In probably 99% of cases your phone will do the job. 

[chirakawa]

11 hours ago, Alie&Jim's Carrilite said:

Cell Towers are line of sight, chances of losing a radio tower are far fewer than a cell tower.  Look at all the recent hurricanes.  Mexico beach didn't have cell service for weeks because the towers were down, but they had radio communications and alerts.

I guess my experience is just totally different.  Since cellphones have gotten widespread popular, I've worked through four hurricanes in SE Texas.  In all four cases, we relied heavily on Verizon cellular when landlines were all but useless.  Never, ever, not even once did I not have cell service.

On the other hand, after Rita came through, all the television stations were down for weeks.  Most radio stations were down.  DISH Network provided alternative stations from another part of Texas so that we could see news about our area.  I can't say whether the weather radio broadcasts were interrupted or not, since I never tried to use them.

As for your statement of "chances of losing a radio tower are far fewer than a cell tower", I can't say one way or the other, other than my own experiences.  I think they are both built to survive Hurricane force winds.  I think their auxiliary power source is a more fragile area.  Without power, even a standing tower is pretty useless.  In my area, most, if not all, Verizon towers have natural gas generators on site.

[jbh]

  First of all, it's an FM radio working on VHF freqs, and the transmitters may be surprisingly low-powered.

  So how do we deal with that. First, we get the antenna outdoors up on the roof or similar. Many WX radios have an antenna connection. If you have an ordinary FM dash radio with the antenna on the roof, get a splitter connector and a length  of cable and plug your WX radio into that. If not, perhaps you can connect an ordinary whip  FM antenna on a cable directly to the WX radio. No, the wavelength doesn't match but it's close enough.

  My MH body is aluminum. effectively a Faraday cage that blocks radio signals. I have to get the antenna in a window facing the transmitter to get anything. If this was critical I'd have a marine VHF (closer freq match) antenna up at the top of the rear ladder with the coax plugged into the WB.

  Of course you have to make sure you're tuned to appropriate channel and SAME code if you want to get alerts. Here's the list: https://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/coverage/county_coverage.html

  Once you enter the SAME code and channel, you should not only hear the broadcast but recieve the Weekly Test of the alert system.

  Of course you may simply be out of range. Locally my transmitters are TPA, MCO and MLB; TPA and MLB aren't heard at all and MCO is marginal.  I wouldn't count on getting an alert, but I probably would if I was 20 miles closer.

  What I do if significant weather is coming is monitor various internet sources, weather radio, and ordinary radio and tv stations as appropriate. Usually a radar feed is the earliest warning with tv stations being the slowest, but of course you have to be looking at the radar feed to be warned.