SAME Alert Weatheradio w/AM/FM Atomic Clock Radio
(120-0253) Introduction Faxback Doc. # 63413
A Quick Look at Your Weatheradio
Your SAME Alert Weatheradio has the following controls that are located as
indicated. The use of these controls/switches will be explained in Faxback
Doc. # 63414 (Preparation) and in Faxback Doc. # 63415 (Operation).
Controls on Top of Radio:
AM/FM/OFF Button SEEK Button
CLOCK Button WEATHER/SNOOZE Button
ALARM Button 1 OK/HR Button
ALARM Button 2 CLEAR Button
SLEEP Button SCROLL/MIN Button
Controls On Right Side of Radio:
ALERT VOLUME Control VOLUME Control
Controls on Back of Radio:
AUTO ALARM Switch ALERT/ON/OFF/PROGRAM Switch
KEY LOCK switch Telescoping Antenna
How Your Weatheradio Works
Traditional weather radios simply receive NOAA's weather broadcast
(usually within a 50-mile radius) then sound an alarm if any emergency
code was transmitted along with the broadcast. This means that people who
live outside an affected area are often alerted even when their area is
not affected, causing many of them to ignore potentially real weather
warnings that can save lives.
In 1994, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) began
broadcasting coded signals called SAME (Specific Area Message Encoding)
codes along with their standard weather broadcasts from stations in your
area. These codes identify the type of emergency and the specific
geographic area (such as a county) affected by the emergency. Your
Weatheradio receives, interprets, and displays information about the codes
so you can determine if the emergency might affect your area. Only SAME
compatible weather radios (such as this radio) are able to take advantage
of this new technology.
Each SAME alert includes a FIPS (Federal Information Processing System)
code that identifies a specific geographic area (defined by the National
Weather Service), so your Weatheradio sounds an alert only when a weather
emergency is declared in that area. This helps you more efficiently track
the weather conditions in and around your area.
When a Weather Alert Occurs
When the Weatheradio receives a weather alert:
It sounds an alert (siren or beep)
A description of the alert appears.
An indicator on the front of the Weatheradio lights.
Note: If the Weatheradio receives more than one weather alert at the same
time, it displays information about each alert.
The alert descriptions your Weatheradio can display are based on a list of
specific weather alert types published by the NWS (National Weather
Service). For a list of all the alert descriptions that your Weatheradio
can display, see "NWS Weather Alert Descriptions" below.
CAUTION: The NWS uses sophisticated weather models to determine an alert's
effective time. However, the end of an alert does not necessarily
mean that the related weather emergency is over.
New Alert Types
Your Weatheradio is designed to recognize all common weather alert types
currently used by the NWS. However, the NWS occasionally creates and
broadcasts new alert types (for which the Weatheradio's memory does not
contain a specific, corresponding description). If your Weatheradio
receives a signal for a new alert type, it is preset (if the alert
function is turned on) to display UNKNOWN, the alert description
(EMERGENC, STATEMNT, WARNING, or WATCH), and TUNE TV, then sound a siren
alert.
NWS Weather Alert Descriptions
Your Weatheradio can display these NWS weather alert descriptions:
Weather/Alert
Description: You See:
Avalanche warning ............... AVALANCH WARNING
Avalanche watch ................. AVALANCH WATCH
Blizzard warning ................ BLIZZARD WARNING
Civil danger warning ............ CIVIL DANGER WARNING
Civil danger watch .............. CIVIL DANGER WATCH
Civil emergency ................. TUNE TV
Turn on the TV for information NOTE: TUNE TV might also indicate
or no information is available Weatheradio has received a signal
on the TV, call your local NWS for a condition not defined in the
office. Weatheradio's memory.
Coastal flood warning ........... COASTAL FLOOD WARNING
Coastal flood watch ............. COASTAL FLOOD WATCH
Emergency action warning ........ EMERGENC ACTION WARNING
Emergency action termination .... EMERGENC ACTION TERMINAT
Evacuate immediately ............ EVACUATE IMMEDIAT
Fire warning .................... FIRE WARNING
Flash flood statement ........... FLASH FLOOD
Flash flood warning ............. FLASH FLOOD WARNING
Flash flood watch ............... FLASH FLOOD WATCH
Flood statement ................. FLOOD
Flood warning ................... FLOOD WARNING
Flood watch ..................... FLOOD WATCH
Hazardous material warning ...... HAZARD MATERIAL WARNING
Hazardous material watch ........ HAZARD MATERIAL WATCH
High wind warning ............... HIGH WIND WARNING
High wind watch ................. HIGH WIND WATCH
Hurricane statement ............. HURRICAN
Hurricane warning ............... HURRICAN WARNING
Hurricane watch ................. HURRICAN WATCH
Immediate evacuation warning .... IMMEDIAT EVACUATE WARNING
Law enforcement warning ......... LAW ENFORCE WARNING
Local area emergency ............ LOCAL AREA EMERGENC
National hazard warning ......... NATIONAL HAZARD WARNING
National information center ..... NATIONAL INFO CENTER
(information from an official
government source)
Periodic national test .......... NATIONAL PERIODIC TEST
Practice/Demo ................... DEMO MESSAGE
Radiological hazard warning ..... RADIOLOG HAZARD WARNING
Radiological hazard watch ....... RADIOLOG HAZARD WATCH
Required monthly test ........... MONTHLY TEST
Required weekly test ........... WEEKLY TEST
Severe thunderstorm warning ..... SEVERE THUNDER WARNING
Severe thunderstorm watch ....... SEVERE THUNDER WATCH
Severe weather statement ........ SEVERE WEATHER
Shelter in-place warning ........ SHELTER IN-PLACE WARNING
Special marine warning .......... SPECIAL MARINE WARNING
Special weather statement ....... SPECIAL WEATHER
Test message .................... TEST MESSAGE
Tornado warning ................. TORNADO WARNING
Tornado watch ................... TORNADO WATCH
Tsunami warning ................. TSUNAMI WARNING
Tsunami watch ................... TSUNAMI WATCH
Volcano warning ................. VOLCANO WARNING
Volcano watch ................... VOLCANO WATCH
Winter storm warning ............ WINTER STORM WARNING
Winter storm watch .............. WINTER STORM WATCH
Unrecognized code ending in A ... UNKNOWN WATCH TUNE TV
Unrecognized code ending in W ... UNKNOWN WARNING TUNE TV
Unrecognized code ending in E ... UNKNOWN ENERGENC TUNE TV
Unrecognized code ending in S ... UNKNOWN STATEMENT TUNE TV
Understanding FIPS Codes
For the purpose of broadcasting weather information, the NWS has divided
the United States into regions by state and county (or parish, where
applicable) then assigned a 6-digit FIPS code to identify each county or
parish. For example, the code for Tarrant County, Texas, is 048439.
The first digit in a FIPS code identifies the county subdivision, the next
two digits identify the state, and the last three digits identify the
county or parish.
Note: Most FIPS codes begin with 0, which means the code represents an
entire county. The NWS, however, plans to eventually subdivide some
large or geographically diverse counties. When that happens, each
subdivision will be assigned a digit from 1-9, resulting in codes
such as 148439, 248439, and so on.
Your Weatheradio can receive all SAME alert signals broadcast within about
a 50-mile radius of where you installed it. To receive SAME alerts and
broadcasts about weather occurring only in particular counties within that
area, you can program up to 15 FIPS codes into the Weatheradio's memory.
For example, this lets you avoid hearing an alert that applies to an area
within a 50-mile radius but not necessarily to your county or parish.
Obtaining Your Area's FIPS Code(s)
To obtain the FIPS code for the location where you installed your
Weatheradio, contact your local RadioShack store or call the NWS toll free
at 1-888-NWR-SAME (1-888-697-7263). If you call the NWS, follow the
instructions you hear.
You can also obtain a state/county list of all FIPS codes by visiting the
NWS website: www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr.index-
Nw.htm#sametable
Note: If you are close to a county or parish line, you might want to
obtain the codes for the nearby counties or parishes.
HINT: Since you can program up to 15 FIPS codes into the Weatheradio's
memory, you might want to obtain the codes for other local areas
that you frequently travel through (as long as those areas are
within a 50 mile radius of your location and within an area covered
by your local NWS broadcast station). That way, you can program
those codes into the Weatheradio and receive broadcasts covering
those locations, too.
(EB 11/14/00)
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