( 19 reviews )
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Posted: Apr 22 2009
I purchased this radio mainly because I wanted something portable during a round of storms. I have had this radio for about a year now and it has not let me down one time. We live way out in the country and we do not have a problem with reception at all. I followed the directions on the website to set it up and what I love is even when you have to change the batteries it does not lose it's programming information. We live in an area where we cannot hear sirens when needed so it is important to us to have a reliable radio and this has definitely proven worthy!!!
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Posted: Apr 21 2009
This will be an ongoing review. Although I am a frequent Amazon.com customer I found this item, WR601, on the clearance shelf at Home Depot yesterday. I paid $37 plus tax. I was intrigued by its portability, read all the reviews, went onto Oregon Scientic web site and confirmed the WR601 WAS NOT included in the recalls. A neighboring area was hit by tornadoes last night which made this purchase more timely. I was surprised to find that it came with 3 alkaline batteries that only needed removal of a plastic contact blocker to activate. A quick word of caution when removing the battery door make sure the "oring" does not come out with it, but if it does it is easily replaced. As we will at times use it while boating I like the water resistance. Also plan to take it camping where we can be away from TV/radio for days at a time. I found the manual to be easy to follow. Once you go on the NWS web site you will easily find the state and county codes. There are 7 frequences which correlate with 7 channels on the radio. Ours was channel 7. This is easily set. The county code is found on the web site and again is easily set. The time/date ditto. The cradle is just that - there are not charging provisions. A power jack is located on the right side where the power cord attaches. Pressing the snooze button activates the back light. The NOAA switch scrolls between hearing the active NOAA broadcast, standby which is where it should stay 99+% of time, mute (no audible warning only flashing lights) and off. The mode button scrolls between time, date, and two alarm modes - might use alarm mode on vacation otherwise superfluous and could even be confusing. Weather alert or alarm clock? Radio has a solid feel to it for whatever that is worth. The battery door with the above mentioned o-ring looks substantial. The backlight has a nice blue color and is bright. The LCD display is large enough to read easily. If I could edit my review star rating I would give it a five at this point.
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Posted: Jan 23 2009
We have had this product for three years, and unfortunately, we are getting ready to purchase a different brand of weather radio. The radio worked perfectly for about 2 1/2 years, and about 6 months ago, it somehow "lost" the S.A.M.E. technology. We have reprogrammed it about 5 times, and still, it will not hold the particular county codes we set. So now it goes off even when the bad weather is not coming our way...and it is quite frustrating, especially if it happens while we are trying to sleep.
