Outdoor Living : Weather Radio & Charge Cradle

Rating: - Works Awesome
I had an old Oregon Scientific radio before. This one has much better reception.

I like the travel mode, where you go from your preset SAME code to any. I also like the auto station finder, it just grabs the strongest signal. It sounds good, the volume is adjustable, it starts and stops on the alert tones which the Midland wr300 one does not. I would not purchase one where the alert starts and then simply continues for X minutes.

I wish the scrolling text was in a smaller font so you could see more of the text but for those with weaker eyes its probably best.

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Rating: - Good, sturdy, up-to-date unit, not too hard to program
It used to be that the NOAA weather-alert functions came in three varieties: on top-line walkie-talkies, in cumbersome base units, or integrated with AM and FM. NOAA is a wonderful radio alert-broacasting network, but sometimes it was a little hard to get a unit using NOAA without paying for extras.

Surprise! No walkie-talkie here, nor AM or FM. The Oregon Scientific WR602 is something to cheer about because it only does one thing (NOAA, including SAME) -- and does it very well. It's a constantly recharging unit that includes its own batteries. The unit can easily be turned on but put in "Standby" mode that will sound the alert when bad weather or disasters of various kinds are on the way. Best of all, the charger base holds the unit only about an inch higher, and its sides are barely wider than the unit itself. It's a durable job, too, as a clumsy trip-and-fall on my part did a little damage to me but none for the unit!

For forays into the field (and away from the charger base) you'll need AA cells; the nickle metal-hydride type is recommended, but alkalines work although they may poop out earlier. Keep some handy at home, too, for charger-busting home blackouts.

I am giving this radio a four-star rating insted of a five because the Owner's Manual, which better would have been named an owner's booklet, is a little terse for high-tech scardies like me. I could and did eventually figure it out, but what the "manual" really needs IMHO is a few more drawings, especially a graphic that would depict the various functions the LCD screen is capable of, and therefore where and what kind of (frequently arbitrary) symbols to look for.

Prices vary greatly; Amazon seems to be with or slightly cheaper than the pack at around fifty dollars. BTW I should mention that there are a lot of weather alert radios in the forty-to sixty-dollar range; they vary by function, and can include console models, portables and hand-crank dynamos with built-in flashlight. Sometimes instead of (or alongside) the NOAA weather bands come AM/FM and shortwave features, even the audio part of television. I myself wouldn't go out of the way to get TV audio, though, because after February 9, 2009, when television signals are set to go all digital, your TV band will no longer work.

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Rating: - Easy to use, but not very functional...
The instructions were very easy to read/understand/setup. I had no trouble getting all the settings made, but the radio will not receive a signal anywhere in my home or yard. I emailed the company for any suggestions and they never replied. I do not reccomend this product.

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Rating: - Weather Radio & Charge Cradle
Nice product. Easy enough to program, etc. Charge does not seem to last as long as another reviewer indicates. I had it on stand-by and went on a four night trip to our local lake. It was run down to the point where I had to set-up the time, etc., again. At least it held onto the channel freq. I had set it to.

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Rating: - Good Value
This is a good radio. I like the portability and it gets very good reception, even in the back hills of SE Missouri. Programming is not that difficult and battery life is good. The display is hard to read at certain angles but that is not a major detractor from giving this radio a good review. Comes with a belt clip that is a little flimsy, but I dont really use it anyway.