bit-tech Shopping: First Alert Weather Radio WX-150 NOAA Public Alert Radio with SAME

Rating: 8

Time with product: 1 Month

Strengths: Very good reception. No false alarms. Selectable locality settings with S.A.M.E. technology

Weaknesses: Keep many extra batteries on hand for use during power outages, as batteries do not last long when there's no AC power. No indication on when the alert will end (minor quibble).

Summary: I have an older model Radio Shack Weatheradio with alarm. Models, like the RadioShack radio, without Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) alert you to every alert issued by your regional weather station whether close to you or not. I sometimes turned off the old radio during storm events that were far from my immediate area that occurred in the middle of the night and kept me awake, which obviously defeated its purpose. This radio reports both weather and civil warnings (like chemical leaks or AMBER alerts), unlike a weather radio. Setting it up is very easy and customizable to only the county you live in, and allows you to exclude some specific alarms (such as flash floods that don't affect my home). Wall-mountable, too. One of the best $20 bills I ever spent.A red light stays on throughout the alert period, but the LCD does not display the time left in the alert. That, and the battery-drain, loses one star from my rating.