First Alert Public Alert Radio with S.A.M.E
By: First Alert Average Rating: 4.5 Total Reviews: 25
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 On: 2008-07-08
Works great. Easy to program. I like the ability to get tornado alerts only. Green "On" light acts as a dim nightlight were we live were the nearest artificial light is over a mile away. If you live in a city you wont even notice it.
On: 2008-07-08
Works like a champ. The alarm goes off - with ample volume - and lets you know whats happening. The directions on how to set it up are pretty straight forward, once you kind of understand the whole concept of the NOAA alarms. You can set-up for several counties in the local area and then 4 different alarms you want to be notified. Some alarms are automatically set - as for hurricane, tornado, etc. They work great, and Im getting another one for camping and a third for my place of work.
 On: 2008-07-07
The radio was just what I was looking for, easy to use and able to set up just the alerts & areas I wanted.
On: 2008-07-02
Ive had this weather radio for a few weeks now, and it works as advertised. Weve had a variety of storm and flood warnings this spring, and the radio has only alerted for the type of warning and the county that I programmed it for.
No complaints really, other than the light is really bright, so I put it under the bed. That way the alarm will still wake us up, but the light is hidden.
On: 2008-06-28
I purchased this radio after doing research on other weather radios. I first purchased a GPX weather X radio (at Wal-mart) which I returned for a refund due to absolutely NO reception--AM/FM or weather. Did some research online to find a radio that seemed reliable and had good ratings. The Midland was a possibility, but I dont need another AM/FM radio and a few people mentioned that it was difficult to program, so I decided to go with the First Alert. The First Alert manual is easy to follow and the radio was a cinch to program. The radio is completely customizable from what kind of siren (2 choices) for alerts you want to what type of alert or emergency you want to be notified. The reception was very good. Having the S.A.M.E. technology to program what counties you want to receive alerts for is an excellent feature. Plus, the First Alert radio meets the certified "Public Alert" standards for a weather radio. If interested in more information about these standards, see [...]. I might also mention that no sooner did I have the radio set up, the siren went off to alert me of a thunderstorm watch in the area, so needless to say, it worked! Ive only had the radio for about 3 days now and am happy with its performance so far. Im hoping there wont be an issues with it in the future--only time will tell. All in all a good radio for a good price.
On: 2008-06-28
I received the weather radio very quickly. As I was programming it on my lap, a tornado warning came across radio. We went right to the basement Wow! That was fast! It was easy for me to program and I appreciate that. I recommend it highly.
On: 2008-06-26
We bought this because the tornado sirens in our area wouldnt wake us in the middle of the night. The S.A.M.E. technology is nice to have because you can program what watches/warnings you want to receive audible alerts for. It will flash a watch light but no alarm unless you choose to be alerted. We got it for tornado warnings specifically and it just went off as we were getting ready to go to bed. So were in the basment now and are thankful we bought this little gem. Its given us definite peace of mind. Id recommend it to anyone.
On: 2008-06-21
Unit arrived within five days in good working order. Reception was good and set up was straight forward with minimal reference to the guide book. Disabling the unwanted alarms, which was almost all of them except tornado warnings, was not difficult. Menues were easier to follow than with the Midland 300 unit which I previously owned and always felt uneasy because the tornado option was missing from a long list of warnings you could either enable or disable. Now Im a Happy Camper because I feel that my family will be alerted, day or night, if there is a tornado warning issued for my county.
On: 2008-06-20
We are very pleased with this radio from First Alert -- it proved its value the first day I set it up when the radios alert was the only thing which prevented my wife from driving into the middle of a very severe thunderstorm. Great reception, fairly easy to program, reliable (at least for the few months weve had it).
On: 2008-06-10
I looked at several radios prior to this radio, I looked at the midland because of its high amount of ratings, however I was looking for strictly a weather radio, I have other radios available if I need to hear an AM/FM radio. This unit is basic and to the point, it is a weather radio with an added alarm function, and I found it easy to setup. The first day I had it I received a severe thunderstorm warning and it worked exactly as expected. Also, this radio has the ability to choose which events you receive alerts for. Great radio. Great value.
On: 2008-06-02
Weve had the radio for a month or so. There have been several watches and warnings, and what I like about this radio is that it has lights indicating an advisory, a watch and a warning. So, you can look at it from across the room and still know whats going on. After the initial siren sounds, one of the lights stays lit. It changes and a new alarm sounds if the advisory/watch/warning changes and the light turns off once it has been lifted. The radio is easy to program. Also, it will hold your SAME code even if the batteries are removed or die (youll have to reset the other information, though). We havent had the battery trouble a previous reviewer mentioned.
 On: 2008-06-01
Great unit except....placed new alkaline batteries in it with switch set to alkaline. Unit has been plugged in with no power outages. Found today that batteries are all dead. Apparently this will use the battery power for some reason even when it is plugged in.
On: 2008-05-30
We just bought this radio with SAME to replace an older radio that we first unwisely replaced with a GPX. This radio is designed well, is solidly built, and works well. Plus you can program in your own county and tell it which alerts you want sirens to go off for, and which ones you dont. An excellent value. This is the one you want, if the $40 range is do-able on your budget!
On: 2008-05-19
This product is a nice addition to helping our family be prepared in the event of a weather incident. I am pleased with it performance thus far.
On: 2008-05-16
While living in the Midwest for many years, I was never nervous about severe weather: there were warning sirens, pretty predictable weather patterns and comprehensive news coverage. Unfortunately, I have learned that where I live now (Chapel Hill, NC) has neither warning sirens (!) nor predictable weather patterns (but does have good weather coverage if you know to turn it on). After learning about a tornado warning in the northern part of the county only because a coworker happened to have the weather report up on her computer, I started researching weather radios. I settled on this one for its programmable features and based upon the other reviews (and the cost, though I actually paid a little more than what theyre advertising now, but this is more than worth it). Last week, it really got a workout with the massive storms that came through, including the tornadoes in Greensboro. Once again, I can take comfort knowing that something will wake me up when there is nasty weather coming through, as it doesnt seem like theyll be installing sirens any time soon (which baffles me, considering this is the same metro area that shuts down at even the slightest whisper of the word "snow" during the winter months, so youd think the weather paranoia would be a year-round phenomenon).
This radio was easy to set up; the instruction manual looks intimidating, but really, just follow the steps and youll find that the set-up and basic use is very intuitive. Even the lowest volume setting for the alert and radio is enough to wake me and I can hear it clearly from the other end of the apartment (and even if it wakes the neighbors, I argue that a weather radio is a bit different than a barking dog or booming subwoofer). I dont use the alarm feature and while the beeping noise when you press the buttons is a little excessive, you can turn the beep off. I have it programmed for my county and the three or four surrounding counties and it is quite easy to select which alerts you want to receive and which you dont.
Overall, I highly recommend this (or honestly, any other reliable) weather radio. Even if you live in an area with sirens, you dont always hear them depending on where in town you live in relation to where the sirens are located and especially when you factor in variables like air conditioning, televisions, radios, dishwashers and other noisy everyday items that may prevent you from hearing them. Best of luck in your search and stay safe.
On: 2008-04-27
Product was easy to set up, fortunately have not had a test of its emergency alerts. Only thing is LED light on panel is pretty bright...if you need a nightlight in a bedroom it would provide one. Wish they had a way to turn that off. But, well made product.
On: 2008-04-19
We really like this First Alert Weather Radio. We bought a Midland first, but couldnt get a signal no matter where we put it. We had a First Alert for years that was great and lasted several years, but we bought the Midland because at the time we couldnt find another First Alert. After the Midland mistake we searched and found this First Alert Public Alert Radio. We get a good signal and receive all of the alerts and warnings that we need. We live in North Texas and need a reliable weather radio for the scary Spring weather. I recommend this First Alert!
On: 2008-04-07
Nice weather radio. It is not the most attractive design but it does the job. It is adjustable to your local weather bands and public alert systems. I think I would recommend this to a family member. I feel safer with this in my house.
On: 2008-03-10
I purchased this weather alert radio after the tornados that hit Kentucky several weeks ago. I wanted a radio that let me set which alerts you want it to notify you about and which counties you want to monitor. This is really helpful so its not going off all the time. The only thing I dont like about it is the LED light that is always lit - its bright enough that we cant keep it in the bedroom so we put it in the hallway outside the room and it actually works as a nice night light.
On: 2008-03-03
This radio can be programmed not to sound alerts which are unimportant to me. For example, I dont want to hear flash flood warnings as I am not in an area prone to flooding. Basically, what I really want are tornado warnings when issued for three specific counties in Tennessee and one county in Kentucky. This radio can do that. (There are some alerts which cannot be blocked, but these are rare, for example a chemical hazard warning.)
The radio is fairly easy to program. It took me about 30 minutes to get everything the way I wanted it. It runs on AC power and has backup power provided by 4 AA batteries (not included). Overall, I rate this as a very effective, well-designed product, and I have just purchased some additional units for friends.
On: 2007-12-18
I bought this to replace an older weather radio we had. The sensitivity is great, we live in a hilly region and it picked up two stations fine. It seems to be working well.
On: 2007-12-03
Would be five stars except we havent had any bad weather to test the alarm. Come to think of it, we havent had any weather at all in Piedmont NC.
Fairly easy to program. No need to hire rocket scientist.
On: 2007-07-22
This little unit is easy to set up and has the SAME functionality which is important to me since I didnt want to hear warnings for places that werent near to me. Other units I looked at had extra options like AM/FM radio but I didnt need those features. I just wanted something that would wake me up if a tornado was coming my way. This will warn you of many other things and you can set what you want to be notified about. Follow the instructions, its pretty easy. It also will take rechargeable NiMH or Ni-Cad batteries and keep them charged. Or, you can switch it to accept Alkaline. The battery backup is important to have. Great unit, no complaints.
On: 2007-06-23
I had been looking at the Midland model 300. But after a whopper t-storm rolled through the other night, I high-tailed it over to Circuit City for a browse. They only had this F.A. model, and it was hideously overpriced (CC is competitive on some products, not close on others...go figure). So I bought it. Set-up was easy. Havent had any alerts yet. Will return for a revised review after the next storm hits.
On: 2007-06-06
This radio arrived (and was set up) two days before very heavy thunderstorms with hail and high winds hit my area. It was early evening and the weather looked sunny and clear outside, when this thing goes off for no apparent reason. I thought it was a mistake or false alarm, but when I turned on the cable weather channel the radar showed a huge thunder storm rapidly forming in the West and moving my way. Its very late in the Spring season right now for a storm like this and I wasnt expecting any harsh weather. I had time to get the cars under cover, find the cat & put her inside and bring in the outdoor furniture cushions before the storm hit. In our neighborhood, we lost some big limbs a few trees and some cars were damaged by hail. Fortunately, I had no damage.
The instructions are not very complicated and the set-up was much, much easier than that required for a VCR or TIVO. It has battery back-up in case the power goes off and doesnt take up a lot of space on the night stand or dresser. Also, you can program which alerts you want to hear and limit the alerts to those applicable to only the County you live in. This really cuts down on unnecessary alarms. For example, though we are in an area that can have flash floods, I dont need this warning because I dont go out in heavy rain or flooding anyway. A warning about a storm only is sufficient. I think I might get this radio as a gift for some elderly friends and relatives of mine. Its a good and very unobtrusive watchdog.
On: 2007-06-05
This radio arrived (and was set up) two days before very heavy thunderstorms with hail and high winds hit my area. It was early evening and the weather looked sunny and clear outside, when this thing goes off for no apparent reason. I thought it was a mistake or false alarm, but when I turned on the cable weather channel the radar showed a huge thunder storm rapidly forming in the West and moving my way. Its very late in the Spring season right now for a storm like this and I wasnt expecting any harsh weather. I had time to get the cars under cover, find the cat & put her inside and bring in the outdoor furniture cushions before the storm hit. In our neighborhood, we lost some big limbs a few trees and some cars were damaged by hail. Fortunately, I had no damage.
The instructions are not very complicated and the set-up was much, much easier than that required for a VCR or TIVO. It has battery back-up in case the power goes off and doesnt take up a lot of space on the night stand or dresser. Also, you can program which alerts you want to hear and limit the alerts to those applicable to only the County you live in. This really cuts down on unnecessary alarms. For example, though we are in an area that can have flash floods, I dont need this warning because I dont go out in heavy rain or flooding anyway. A warning about a storm only is sufficient. I think I might get this radio as a gift for some elderly friends and relatives of mine. Its a good and very unobtrusive watchdog.
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