Very useful and inexpensive

I do love my Dish Network setup, but there is a major problem with having a satellite system -- the thing is just plain unreliable when it comes to severe whether. Here in scenic central Arkansas, tornadoes and severe thunderstorms are fairly common and my poor satellite tends to cut out when the weather gets too nasty. That's where this very reasonably priced Midland radio comes in -- I paid $30 for this thing at the local Kroger and can tune in to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) radio and receive alerts when there's severe weather threatening my county.

The primary concern when it comes to a weather radio involves the accuracy of the product. Fortunately, this little jewel is made to pick up NOAA radio broadcasts. Of course, that's one of those government agencies that is worth a damn as the only purpose of that bunch is to track dangerous atmospheric and oceanic conditions and warn people of them. Here in central Arkansas, NOAA is only concerned with atmospheric conditions and the agency does a great job of keeping up with them and issuing alerts that are relevant to the area. Even when severe weather isn't a concern, tuning in to NOAA for current conditions in the area is always handy.

The Midland boasts a stout antenna that pulls in NOAA broadcasts very well and covers the frequencies on which whether alerts are broadcast so the user can pick the strongest frequency and set the radio to that. If for some reason you want to pick up stations that are farther away, this dandy unit can pull those in, too. However, the local NOAA frequency is the one you probably want, and this radio pulls it in nice and strong. The unit runs on AC power, but has a battery backup system that is essential to the system -- if the power goes out, that weather radio won't do you much good without batteries, will it?

The best feature here has to be the ability to set up Area Message Encoding (SAME) alerts. To activate that necessary feature, simply program the unit with your county and the unit will broadcast a very loud alarm, voice warning or flashing light when a severe weather advisory is issued. The local Kroger, a very helpful bunch, provided a list of SAME codes with the Midland radio so I could easily find my county and program the unit with the code. The helpful instructions included with the radio, however, provides Internet sites where one can easily locate a required SAME code. Up to 25 SAME codes can be entered, by the way, so you're not just stuck with weather alerts in once county -- very handy, indeed, if you happen to live on a border and need to keep up with alerts in multiple counties. When the alert sounds, a message will display on the unit's LED panel telling you what's going on outside -- a tornado, or whatever else.

The simplicity of this unit is also great. It is very easy to set it up (takes less than 10 minutes) and you simply bump the "weather" button when you want to hear a report. Programming in the SAME codes is a breeze, as it setting the time. For some reason, you can use this as an alarm clock if you want (I haven't done that yet and probably won't). The reception if very strong and the unit feels pretty durable. There's a jack for an external antenna if, for some reason, you feel the unit's very good built in won't do the job in your area.

Are there any drawbacks? Well, that depends on your definition of a drawback. Here in central Arkansas, thunderstorms are as common as sin, yet this thing treats virtually every thunderstorm as a severe weather incident, thus setting off the very loud alert. You can't adjust the volume on that, either, meaning you're trapped with either using the audio alert or choosing the quieter voice alert or the almost worthless flashing LED. This unit, in other words, can ruin a good night's sleep if it's raining outside.

Still, I'd rather put up with a bit of inconvenience here and there because I really do want this to wake me if a tornado happens to be heading my way. And, again, that alarm is loud -- it's a whopping 90 decibels worth of loud, in fact. If that doesn't wake you up, you'd likely sleep through a storm in which your roof is dropped on your head.

All in all, this is a very good unit that works as well as advertised, features battery backup and very strong reception. The price is hard to beat and I'd count this radio as one of those essential purchases that can make the difference between being taken by surprise by a storm and getting your family to safety in time. It's well worth $30.