We live on the coast in SE Alaska and we're wondering if this radio is a good option for getting earthquake &amp; tsunami warnings?
589036
It has 7 standard NOAA stations programmed into it. You should check with your local NOAA broadcasting to see if it would be effective. You can visit Midland's website for the product manual to view the actual frequencies.
1300861
Yes.It is as sensitive as you want it to be.You can adjust the sensitivity so it detects very small and very distant earthquakes before the major shaking hits your house.It was so sensitive that when I was in Los Angeles I had to turn it way down.
1389133
This is a great radio, but it does not serve as a weather alert radio where you can program in your county or region to receive alerts when severe weather is in the area. As with most radios, you have to manually dial in the AM or FM stations you want to hear. We've used this radio while taking cover from a tornado in our underground storm shelter, and it worked great!
589037
It works good for local severe weather warnings i bought as base for numerous hand held walkie talkie units for a couple of mile range. So...hmmm
1300862
The alarm would inform you of any local earthquake activity. However the alarm is only useful if your have a plan of what to do when it goes off. I suggest you have a plan of what to do for a very mild quake, a moderate to severe quake (That will probably cause property damage), and a very severe quake. If you are really concerned, you should practice, with your family, so that you will all react automatically. Best wishes.
364444
That depends on the type of environment your in. I have had up to 5 mile reception on marine side and up to a couple miles in GMRS in city environment. I'm sure both would be better if on the water. I give the radio 4.5 stars
746576
the am/fm tuning is good but we really do not use it much for that purpose. We wish the weather alerts could be more specific to our local area.
1033454
Dear "dimple". I may not be the right person to ask. I live on block island and am living on the west side of the island. The RI stations on the mainland are east of us and my house is in a valley, so to speak. The only VHF station is ch. 12 and I rarely get it. The station itself is about 50 miles from the island. I wish I could be of more help.
1965889
I have had my Kaito for several years. The manual is difficult to understand but the actual product has been great for me. As far as the firmware goes I recall seeing that as well at some point in time but there wasn't a version issued that I know about. I don't think there was any need for one. I noticed that you mentioned in your previous review about AM reception being very poor. I have don't use the AM or the shortwave band (very much) but wonder if the optional external antenna would help. Please don't give up too soon. Believe it or not it has a lot of potential.
518936
It has a better receiver than my radio shack radio. I was impressed with the clarity of am, fm as well. 100 miles seems like a possibility if the broadcast station is a strong one.
2095524
Yes, if you turn it to "On", it'll play out the normal NWS broadcast. The "Alarm" button puts it in a mode where the NOAA alert broadcast will activate it and it'll start broadcasting. Or the weekly test will go off and terrify your wife. YMMV.
82412
You probably need to adjust the sensitivity. Mine goes off if there's an earthquake close, but also it depends on if the primary waves reach me. Check other Q&A;'s here on how to adjust it. If it's set right, it should give you a few seconds warning before you feel the earthquake.
1159978
The radios are good for line of site. If there are obstacles in the way there will be interference. Once I was on a high hill and picked up a conversation almost 50 miles away. Other times when we are riding our ATV's on the trail and I go around a hill in front of my friends (only a couple hundred yards back) they can't understand me until they are back in sight or close to it. Other times when we are separated in the hills and trying to hook up, I've been able to talk to them miles away. No way to know when you'll have reception or not. I love my radios and have bought 3 sets of them. I get better, more reliable reception than with any others I have tried.
2014238
I am also ham and also remain shortwave listener. Question was on propagation conditions. A year ago they were excellent, and I expected (!) they would stay that way. No such luck. Conclusion: Given decent propagation, whole PL-600 series will do an excellent job. Only solution with volatile sunspot activity is not monitoring daily, all the bands and morning, noon afternoon and evening. That way you will get an idea of the patterns of reception that are beginning to be perceptible.Further conclusion: Given a decent chance, PL-660 is excellent to outstanding radio. I am now researching to decide between regular and SSB radio. SSB incoming or not is further indicator of propagation thanks to hams. I am also ham and also remain shortwave listener. Question was on propagation conditions. A year ago they were excellent, and I expected (!) they would stay that way. No such luck. Conclusion: Given decent propagation, whole PL-600 series will do an excellent job. Only solution with volatile sunspot activity is not monitoring daily, all the bands and morning, noon afternoon and evening. That way you will get an idea of the patterns of reception that are beginning to be perceptible.Further conclusion: Given a decent chance, PL-660 is excellent to outstanding radio. I am now researching to... » Read More I am also ham and also remain shortwave listener. Question was on propagation conditions. A year ago they were excellent, and I expected (!) they would stay that way. No such luck. Conclusion: Given decent propagation, whole PL-600 series will do an excellent job. Only solution with volatile sunspot activity is not monitoring daily, all the bands and morning, noon afternoon and evening. That way you will get an idea of the patterns of reception that are beginning to be perceptible.Further conclusion: Given a decent chance, PL-660 is excellent to outstanding radio. I am now researching to decide between regular and SSB radio. SSB incoming or not is further indicator of propagation thanks to hams. « Show Less
530329
The range depends on the terrain since VHF is line of sight transmission. Mountains and islands interfere with the range. It also won't reach as far as a built in VHF radios which are about 5 times as powerful as the handheld units. It's a good quality radio which has a range at least equal to the other handhelds on the market. In my experience, this one appears to reach at least 5-6 nautical miles, and farther in the right conditions. I'm very pleased with it.
1802762
I can not answer yet. After installation i hVe not been home to witness performance evel. It is a pendulem that contacts an adjustable v shaped contact so I am sure it will work as described. The unique a.arm sound shuld verify an earthquake. If i were sleeping that may give my famly more time to get to safer places. We are in orange county area.
1775745
First you should know that I have neither radio. However I do have a First Alert radio similar in operation to the WR300 and Uniden scanners similar to the Uniden 500 channel radio. If you are interested in only the NOAA weather alerts then the WR300 would be a good choice. The Uniden is a scanner radio which can also be set to receive your local public service channels such as police and fire. This particular Uniden radio however is only capable of receiving analog radio transmissions and many public services have switched to digital and/or trunking systems. This Uniden radio will not receive those public service systems. If you are interested in that you should check what is used in your area. Both will receive NOAA but if I was interested in only NOAA weather alerts I would use the WR300 with the S.A.M.E. feature. THat is my opinion. Hope it helps.