Product Description

Midland is a world leader in wireless two-way and weather/hazard alert radios, with an extensive line of land mobile radios, CB, GMRS and FRS radios, MURS radios, weather-monitor alert radios, itinerant radios and a line of quality antennas and accessories.PRODUCT FEATURES:Weather/All Hazards alert radio;S.A.M.E. Localized reception;7 N.O.A.A. Channels;Digital front panel display;25 Programmable Counties;User selectable warning system;Choice of Voice, Siren, or Tone Alert;Time, Date and Alarm Clock with full display.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16589 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Midland Consumer Radio
• Model: WR-100
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 2.25" h x 5.50" w x 9.50" l, 1.48 pounds

Features

• Receives All NOAA Weather Channels
• S.A.M.E. Technology
• Memory System for 25 Counties
• Clock with Alarm
• User Selectable Warning , Siren, Voice or Flashing LED

Amazon.com Product Description
Stay alert to the conditions that affect you with Midland's WR-100 weather/all-hazard radio. The unit offers S.A.M.E. technology (Specific Area Message Encoding), which preprograms the device to receive only those warnings that apply to your local area--you can choose state, county, and/or nearby counties. The single-speaker radio offers 25 programmable county codes, access to 7 NOAA weather channels, time/date and alarm functions, and a choice of voice, siren, or tone alert.

In the event of special warning broadcasts, the monitor is automatically activated along with a loud tone, an LED light and an alert message on its 8-character LCD. Emergency weather bulletins include alerts about tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, ice/snow storms, and other severe weather. Other emergencies might include Amber alerts, explosions, fires, or hazardous chemical spills.

The radio uses the supplied AC power adapter or 3 AA backup batteries (not included). Batteries should give you approximately 24 hours of continuous operation; the clock will run for at least 10 days on batteries when the monitor is turned off (using the monitor on/off control).

What's in the Box
Radio, AC power adapter, and a user's manual.

Customer Reviews

It works!
In retrospect, I wish I had ordered the WR-300, as the WR-100 does not have an AM/FM tuner. When you're hiding out in your bathroom during severe weather (and my WR-100 is located in my master bathroom for convenience), it would be nice to be able to listen to your local radio stations for bulletins. Still, this radio performed flawlessly just a few hours after I opened it up. It woke me up at 1am to tell me there was a tornado watch in my area, and I turned on The Weather Channel and confirmed this.

The manual comes with a set of instructions on how to get the radio up and running. DO NOT SKIP THESE! You should not assume that you know how to use this product intuitively, because it is not a very intuitive product at first. It will become extremely easy to use later, but only AFTER following the instructions in the manual to the letter. SAME codes for your region can be found at http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/indexnw.htm#sametable

I bought this radio even though it had a few bad reviews, because I was pretty sure that some of the bad reviews were just operator error. My radio runs just fine plugged into household current, and will run for several days on the 3 backup AA batteries. Keep a pack of spare AA batteries around, because this radio is a real lifesaver and you don't want it to run dry during a power failure.

Two reasons I gave this radio 4 stars instead of 5:
1. No AM/FM radio. If you need that, get the WR-300.
2. When the weather radio switch on the right side is set to "on", every keypress will react with a very loud BEEP! If you use this radio as an alarm clock in a quiet bedroom, you must first turn that switch to "off" and then the unit will operate silently while you adjust your alarm time or activate the backlight to check the time. This is a small nuisance and I wish it had been designed differently. Don't forget to turn that switch back "on" when you're done, or the radio won't sound an alarm in case of an emergency.

This Radio Can Save Your Bacon
Note: this is a copy of a review that I posted for the WR-100B, which appears to be nearly the same (check both listings for best price).

I live in Oregon, which is not noted for severe storms, but I was really caught "off guard" last week when a severe thunderstorm with a large amount of hail blew through. Severe weather can occur almost anywhere! Shortly after the storm, I ordered one of these weather alert radios to keep me more aware of any local hazard that could pose a threat.

The radio itself is quite sensitive, and provides reception of several more distant weather stations that can not be picked up by less sensitive receivers such as the general purpose (AM/FM/TV/Wx) Sony 410 (see my review of the Sony).

The big deal here is the weather alert function... The radio can be set to be silent until it receives a specially coded message from the NOAA weather station. The radio can be programmed to respond to "codes" from one area or several, so you can adjust your "zone of protection" to suit your needs. When a warning that affects the area that you have programmed in (by setting specific SAME codes) is detected, a loud alarm or flashing light or voice alert will sound (your choice).

If it is desired to hear a weather report, just push the "weather" button on the unit and listen... very much like those old Radio Shack "weather cubes" that were very popular 20 years ago, but with better reception.

Everyone should have one (or more) of these.

Response to review about will not run on DC power
This product works perfect...and was a great price especially with the rebate....To the person with the problem making the unit run on DC power....you had it plugged into the wrong jack on the back...NOT the middle jack...Plug DC cord into jack labeled DC....and then it will run fine on household current and not eat your batteries.