Motorola MWR839 User manual

Model: MWR839
Weather Alert Radio User Guide
Manufactured, distributed or sold by Giant International Ltd.,
ofcial licensee for this product. MOTOROLA and the Stylized
M Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Motorola
Trademark Holdings, LLC. And are used under license. All other
trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
©2013 Motorola Mobility LLC. All rights reserved.
Please contact customer service at 800-638-5119 or e-mail us
at [email protected] for questions, comments, warranty,
support or service related to this product.
www.motorola.com
3A81WV8K0000A
MWR839_US_UG_041813_v9

1Model: MWR839 2
Model: MWR839
Table of Contents Important Safety Instructions
1. Read and understand all safety and operating instructions before the
radio is operated.
2. Retain Instruction: The operating instructions should be retained for
future reference.
3. Heed Warnings: All warnings on the appliance and operating instructions
should be followed.
4. Follow all operations and use instructions.
5. Only use attachments / accessories specied by the manufacturer.
6. Use only a dry cloth for cleaning the exterior of the radio.
7. Ventilation: this radio should be situated so that its location or position
does not interfere with its proper ventilation. For example, the radio
should not be used on a bed, sofa, rug or other soft surfaces that may
block the ventilation openings. It should not be placed in a built-in
situation like a cabinet that may reduce airow through the ventilation
openings. Also keep 10cm space on the back of the radio.
8. Water and moisture: the appliance should not be used near water. Do
not use near a bathtub, washbowl, laundry tub, kitchen sink, wet
basement, swimming pool, etc.
9. Do not expose this product to splashing or dripping water. Objects
containing liquid, such as vases or drinking glasses, should not be
placed on top of this product.
10. Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat registers,
stoves, or other apparatus (including ampliers) that produce heat.
11. Do not place the radio on an unstable cart, stand, bracket or table.
The radio may fall, causing serious physical injury and damage to
the radio.
12. Do not attempt to service the receiver yourself. Removing the cover
may expose you to dangerous voltage, and will void the warranty.
13. Do not plug the AC lead into the AC outlet if the outlet is still wet.
Make sure that the outlet is dry before and after use.
14. Power sources: The radio should be operated only from the type of
power source indicated on the marking label. If you are not sure of
the type of power supply to your home, consult your radio dealer or
power company.
Important Safety Instruction ................................................ 2
Introduction & How It Works ............................................... 3
Accessories & Main Features ............................................. 3
Location of Controls ......................................................... 4-5
Description of Controls and Functions ............................. 4-5
Using the Motorola Weather Alert Radio .......................... 6-7
AM/FM radio & Aux In ...................................................... 8-9
Selecting the Weather Band Channel ................................. 9
Setting up RBDS CT .................................................... 10-11
Listening to Weather Broadcast ........................................ 12
SAME Location Programming ...................................... 13-14
Advanced Programming .................................................... 15
Adding New Weather Alert Event Codes ......................16-17
Setting the Siren Volume ............................................. 18-19
Setting the Siren Mode ...................................................... 20
Setting the Alarm Clock ................................................ 21-23
Setting Backlight and Contrast ..................................... 24-25
To Erase Memory .............................................................. 26
Setting Sleep Timer ........................................................... 27
System Version ................................................................. 27
Alert Description Table ................................................. 28-29
Warranty ....................................................................... 31-33
FCC Compliance Information ............................................ 33
Glossary ............................................................................ 34

3Model: MWR839 4
Model: MWR839
Accessories
1 AC Power Adaptor (Included) – 6V DC 400mA
Main Features

Your Motorola MWR839 Weather Alert Radio will automatically sound
an alert tone siren and ash the corresponding LED color indicator
when it receives a weather or civil emergency broadcast from NOAA
(Weather Band).

Allows you to store up to 25 different location codes into memory.
Each code identies a specic geographic area, typically a county as
dened by NOAA. Setting the SAME location helps reduce
unnecessary alerts outside of your geographic location.

Your Mot o rol a M W R839 Weath er Aler t Radi o h a s a g rap h ic
(128*64 Pixels) LCD module with excellent display quality and a
wide viewing angle. Weather and other alert information will scroll
across the LCD display. In addition, it has dimmer and contrast
control adjustment for viewing the display in the dark.
       

Your Motorola MWR839 Weather Alert Radio has a built-in external
alert output jack for other accessories (e.g. hearing / visually impaired,
ashing light, indoor / outdoor siren / alarm). You can also set the date,
weekday and time manually or automatically by RBDS CT set.
Description of Controls and Functions
1. LED Indicator Light – “Warning” (Red)
2. LED Indicator Light – “Watch” (Orange),
3. LED Indicator Light – “Advisory” (Yellow)
4. Snooze Button – Silences wake-up alarm for a period of 5 minutes.
5. Preset Stations – Saves 5 sets of your favorite radio stations.
6. Weather Band Button – Press to listen to NOAA weather broadcast.
7. CT Button – Press to synchronize a clock in the receiver.
8. Menu Button – Press and hold to enter programmable menus.
9. Band Button – Select “AM radio”, “FM radio” or “Aux In”.
10. Tune Down – Use to scroll down through menu options while programming.
11. ON/OFF Button
12. Select Button
13. Vol Up – Use to turn volume up and to scroll forward through menu
lists.
14. Vol Down – Use to turn volume down and to scroll back through
menu lists.
15. Tune Up – Use to scroll back through previous menu options while
programming.
16. Weather Alert ON/OFF – Switch to put the weather / hazard receiver
into alert mode.
17. LCD Display – Displays time and alert messages. Also used to
display different options when programming.
18. 21” Integrated Telescopic Antenna – Fully extend the antenna and
orient it for best reception.
19. Speaker
Introduction
Congratulations on your purchase of your Motorola MWR839
Weather Alert Radio. This product complies with the exacting
standards for CEA-2009A Public Alert devices, and will provide you with
the information you need for your greatest safety from the effects of
weather and other external hazards. It receives digitally encoded civil and
weather emergency alert messages and has a receiver that tunes to the
24/7 broadcasts issued by the National Weather Service. Your Motorola
MWR839 Weather Alert Radio receives all 7 NOAA Weather Channels
and uses Specic Area Message Encoding (SAME) to identify specic
areas, like a county or portion of a state.
How It Works
Your Motorola MWR839 Weather Alert Radio displays NOAA weather
alert text messages on the LCD screen. When an alert is received,
the alert sounds and the radio automatically switches to the voice
broadcast. Messages are identied by one of three color-coded LED
lights as follows: “Advisory” (yellow), “Watch” (orange) or “Warning”
(red). Emergency weather bulletins include alerts about: Tornados,
Hurricanes, Floods, Winter/Tropical/Dust Storm and other severe
weathers. Other emergencies include: Fire, Iceberg, Telephone
Outage, Dam Watch and other civil emergencies. You can store up to
25 locations for your radio to respond to. There are advanced optional
settings which you can use, such as “Defeat Siren” and “Add Alerts” to
customize the response of your radio.
Locations of Controls (TOP)

5Model: MWR839 6
Model: MWR839
Using the Motorola MWR839 Weather Alert Radio
Your radio can operate with batteries (not included) or electricity.

1. Plug the AC adapter cord into the 6V DC input jack on the back of the
unit.
2. Plug the adapter into the wall outlet. The Vdc and plug indicator
will appear on the upper left corner of the LCD display.

Your Motorola MWR839 Weather Alert Radio uses 4 AA batteries
fo r back-up power. It c an run on non-rechargeable alkaline, or
rechargeable Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cad) or Nickel Metal Hybrid (NiMH)
batteries. When the radio is operating on battery power, the battery
indicator will appear on the upper left corner of the LCD display.

1. Turn the unit upside down. Locate the battery compartment door tab,
press down on the door tab and lift the cover up to open.
2. Insert 4 x “AA” size/UM-3/LR14 batteries. Be sure to follow the polarity
markings. Replace the battery compartment cover.
3. Reduced power, distortion, a “stuttering” sound are all signs that the
batteries may need replacing. The batteries should be replaced when
the battery indicator ashes in the display.
4. If the radio is to be stored for an extended period of time, it is
recommended that the batteries are removed from the radio.
Note:
When removing the batteries, locate the innermost battery and look for
the minus (-) sign located on the battery. Press down on the minus (-)
sign and the battery will be tilted out of the compartment. The rest of the
batteries can be removed easily.

If you have weak reception on your radio in remote areas, you may
improve your reception by using external antennas. Connect the external
FM/ weather antenna in the terminal shown in gure 24 in the pull chart.
Connect the external AM antenna as shown in gure 25, 26.
Note:
Both the FM/weather and the AM antenna are not included. For the
external FM/weather antenna, a third party antenna (ANT 100 or other
external FM/Weather antenna) can be connected for superior range
and reception. As for the AM loop antenna, you need to buy an AM loop
antenna from an electronic store. The recommended AM loop antennas
include C. Crane F5 External AM Antenna.
Description of Controls and Functions (con.)
20. DC Power Jack – Connect AC Adapter or 6V DC from car cigarette
adapter (not included).
21. Stereo Headphone Socket – Allows private listening.
22. Aux In Socket
23. External Alert Jack – Provides contact closure to activate external
devices.
24. WX/FM Antenna Jack – Permits use of an optional extended range
base antenna or a mobile antenna.
25. AM Antenna Terminal
26. Ground Terminal
27. Alarm Switch 1 – Enables and disables alarm 1 clock function.
28. Alarm Switch 2 – Enables and disables alarm 2 clock function.
29. Battery Compartment
Locations of Controls-cont. (Rear, Side & Bottom)

7Model: MWR839 8
Model: MWR839

Your Motorola MWR839 Weather Alert Radio is equipped with a date
and time clock as a clock radio.
To set the time and date:
1. Press the MENU button and press the TUNE DOWN button to
scroll down the menu list to the Clock menu. Press the SELECT
button to enter the Clock menu.
2. Select Manual, then Time and Date will be displayed. To set the time
of day, select Time and the hour / minute setting will appear.
Press the VOL UP/DOWN button to move between hour / minute
settings. Use the TUNE UP/DOWN button to select the desired time.
Press the SELECT button when you have set the time as desired.
The radio will save your settings and return to the main menu
at the Clock and after a few seconds, will return to the default radio
screen.
3. To set the date, select Date and the day / month / year setting will
appear. Press the VOL UP/DOWN button to move between the
month/day/year. Use the TUNE UP/DOWN to select the day, month
and year as desired. Press the SELECT button when you have set
the date as desired. The radio will save your settings and return to
the main menu at the Clock and after a few seconds, will return to the
default radio screen.
AM/FM Radio and Aux In

1. Press the ON/OFF button to turn the radio on. Press the BAND
button to select between AM radio, FM radio or Aux In settings as
you desire.
2. Press the TUNE UP/DOWN buttons to tune the radio frequency
until you nd the desired radio station. To search a AM/FM radio
stations, press and hold the TUNE UP/DOWN, and the radio will
scan until a radio station is found.
3. When listening to a radio broadcast in stereo, a headphone symbol
“ ” will appear on the LCD display above the frequency. Press the
SELECT button to switch to Mono (auto) mode.

4. To play external device such as your MP3/CD player using the radio,
connect your audio device into the Auxiliary input socket to allow an
audio signal to be fed into the unit. Press the BAND button to choose
the Aux In mode. The radio will play the audio input from your external
device.
Note:
To adjust volume when listening to AM/FM radio or Aux In, press
the VOL UP/DOWN to increase/reduce the sound level.

9Model: MWR839 10
Model: MWR839

You may store up to 5 station presets for each FM/AM band. Using the
preset buttons saves your time when searching your favorite stations.
1. Press the ON/OFF button to turn the radio function on, then tune to
your desired station.
2. Press and hold the required PRESET button (1 to 5) for 2 seconds
until there is a beep sound, and the display shows “PRESET 1”. The
station will be stored using the chosen preset number. Repeat this
procedure for the remaining presets as you wish
3. Preset memories which have already been stored may be overwritten
by following the above procedure if required.

1. Press the ON/OFF button to turn the radio function on.
2. Select the desired waveband by pressing the BAND button.
3. Momentarily press the required PRESET button (1 to 5) to tune your
radio to the station stored in preset memory.
Setting up RBDS CT
Radio Broadcast Data System, or RBDS: Your Motorola MWR839
Weather Alert Radio, through the RBDS technology, is able to digitally
display text information on the LCD screen. This digital information
includes name of the station, alternative station frequencies, song title,
track/artist info, and program genre that is received with your FM radio
broadcast (such as Rock, Pop, Country, News, etc.).
CT (Clock Time) is normally contained in the RBDS data, and you can
set the date, weekday and time manually by the RBDS data that is
transmitted to your Motorola MWR839 Weather Alert Radio by following
the instructions below:

1. Tune to a FM station transmitting RBDS data (The LCD display will
show R.B.D.S.) then press the CT button. The symbol will start
ashing on the LCD. This indicates that the clock time is being pulled
from the selected radio station’s RBDS data. The clock time of the
radio will set up automatically according to the RBDS data received.
2. When the action is completed, will appear on the LCD display
indicating the radio time is RBDS clock time. The radio clock time will
be valid for seventy two hours each time the radio time is synchronized
with RBDS CT.
Note: Please be aware that some RBDS radio stations may not have
current information (date/time) so be sure to use an independent source
(watch/clock...) to verify that the date and time pulled by the radio’s CT
feature is in fact current.
Selecting the Weather Band Channel
To receive alerts, you must rst select the correct weather channel.
NOAA broadcasts on the weather band on seven channels in
25kHz increments, between the frequencies of 162.400MHz and
162.550MHz.
To identify the appropriate channel for your area, visit the NOAA
website at: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/indexnw.htm or select by
listening to the channels and select the appropriate one with good
reception in your area.
The table on the NOAA website includes the correct weather band
frequency for your area, the SAME code and the location of the
broadcast tower. Look for the state in which you live and then search
the list for your county. Use the frequency listed for your county
when programming the weather band channel.
Channel
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Frequency (MHz)
162.400
162.425
162.450
162.475
162.500
162.525
162.550


11 Model: MWR839 12
Model: MWR839

To automatically maintain the correct time on your Motorola MWR839
Weather Alert Radio without manual operation:
1. Press the MENU button.
2. Press TUNE DOWN to scroll down to the Clock menu.
3. Press TUNE DOWN to scroll down to Automatic.
4. Press the VOL UP button to turn the Automatic function ON.
5. Press SELECT.
6. Press TUNE DOWN to scroll and SELECT to choose Station 1,
Station 2 or Station 3.
7. Press any PRESET station or use TUNE UP/DOWN to set the radio
to a FM station as the source of the radio CT data.
8. Press ON/OFF to put the radio in standby mode.
The radio will synchronize the clock time according to your settings of
these three stations every two hours. The icon will appear on the LCD
display when the radio clock is synchronized with CT.
Note:
The CT function can only be operated manually, when the
Automatic feature is turned off.

1. Press the MENU button and press the TUNE DOWN to scroll down
to Weather Channel, and press the SELECT button to enter the menu.
The LCD display will show the channel number. Press TUNE UP/DOWN
to select the channel that corresponds with the NOAA
website listing. Press the SELECT button to save the
Channel Setting and return to the main menu list.
2. Switch the Weather Alert ON/OFF to put the weather receiver into
alert mode. Press the WEATHER BAND button to hear the voice
broadcast.
Place the radio where it gets the best reception. Adjust the
orientation and length of the antenna for the best reception. The
LCD display willshow the specied weather channel number in the
upper right handcorner when the weather / hazard receiver is in
alert mode.
To turn off the weather channel press the WEATHER BAND button
again.Your radio can be further programmed to respond to alerts in
specic areas. To custom program your radio for alerts in your area
only, see the SAME programming instructions on page 11-12.

13 Model: MWR839 14
Model: MWR839
SAME Location Programming
NOAA transmits coded weather and civil emergency alerts using Specic
Area Message Encoding (SAME technology).
SAME enables you to customize your Motor ola MWR839 Weather
Ale r t Radio to receive messages relevant to your area, therefore
reducing unwanted alerts. SAME is activated by programming a 6 digit
code – called a FIPS code – into your radio.
The MWR839 is capable of being programmed with up to 25 different
FIPS location codes. To program the radio with the FIPS code for your
area, follow the steps below.
To identify the appropriate FIPS codes or NOAA channels for your area,
visit the NOAA website at: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/indexnw.htm
Be sure to have your FIPS codes on hand to avoid being timed out of
your MENU selection.
1. Press the MENU button and press the TUNE DOWN to scroll down
to the County Code, and press the SELECT button to enter the
menu. Be sure to have your codes on hand and ready to input. Then
ALL, Multiple and Single will be displayed. Choose Single if you
want to receive only alerts sent to one county (or FIPS code). Choose
Multiple if you want to receive alerts from more than one county that
you have programmed. Choose ALL to receive all alerts your
station sends regardless of the FIPS codes.
2. Select Single to enter the Single County menu. Select New Code and
enter a six digit sequence to set up the FIPS code. Use the TUNE
UP/DOWN to select the desired number. Then use the VOL UP button
to select the second digit. Repeat this sequence until you have set all
six digits as desired, and press the SELECT button to save the code
and exit to Single County menu. More than one set of FIPS codes
can be stored under Single County mode, but only one set of code
can work at a time. The codes that are stored will show in the Single
County menu list. Press the TUNE UP/DOWN to highlight the stored
code, and press SELECT button to overwrite an existing code. When
a code is highlighted, press VOL UP/DOWN button to enable/disable
the code.
3. Under Multiple County mode, repeat the same instruction as above to
set up, edit or enable / disable your FIPS codes. To leave the current
operation, press the MENU button once.
Note:
If no code is enabled before leaving, the default County Code
mode is ALL.
Your are now ready to use your Motorola MWR839 Weather Alert
Radio. To listen to the weather channel, press the WEATHER BAND
button while the Weather Alert ON/OFF is switched on.

15 Model: MWR839 16
Model: MWR839
Advanced Programming

Your Motorola MWR839 Weather Alert Radio has 2 programmable Alert
Modes and responds to an alert broadcast in one of two ways.
1. Voice Mode – An alert tone sounds for 10 seconds, and the weather
(voice) broadcast automatically turns on for 10 minutes. The alert
description and duration appear.
2. Siren Mode – An alert tone sounds for 4 minutes, and the alert description
and duration appear. To silence the alert sooner, press the SNOOZE,
WEATHER, or ON/OFF button.

1. Press the MENU button and press TUNE DOWN to scroll down to
Alert Mode, and press the SELECT button to enter the menu. The
LCD display will show Voice Alert Mode or Siren Alert Mode.
2. Press the TUNE UP/DOWN to choose between Voice and Siren
Alert Mode. Then press the SELECT button to save the alert mode
setting and exit to the main menu.
Note:
When an alert is received, the colored LED warning light indicators
will light up in both of the Alert Modes.

Motorola MWR839 Weather Alert Radio provides the ability to add
up to 5 additional event codes. This feature allows you to update
your radio in the event that NOAA changes or adds events codes in the
future. The alerts you add must have the same exact 3 letter code used
by NOAA for your radio to respond properly.

1. Press the MENU button, and press the TUNE DOWN to scroll down
through the main menu list to the ADD Alerts menu.
2. Press the SELECT button to enter the ADD Alerts menu then New
Alert menu will appear on the display. Press the SELECT button.
Us e the TUN E UP/DOWN to assign the 3 letter code. For
example: The 3 letter for Tornado Warning is “TOR”. Once you
have selected the first letter, use the vol+ key to scroll over to the
next letter. Press the TUNE DOWN button to assign the second
letter and follow the same sequence above to set the third letter.
3. Upon completion of the 3 letter code, you must assign a warning
level to the new alert. Press the TUNE UP/DOWN to select one of
the following 3 levels: WARNING, WATCH or ADVISORY.
4. Upon completion of the warning level, press the SELECT button to
create the message that will accompany the warning. You can insert
a 20 character letter/number text string. Use the TUNE UP/DOWN to
assign a letter or number to each of the 20 spaces. Press the VOL
UP/DOWN to advance or retreat within the text string.

17 Model: MWR839 18
Model: MWR839
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Your Motorola MWR839 Weather Alert Radio will store up to 20 alert
messages in its memory. Alerts are removed automatically when the
time for the event expired. If all stored alerts are active, it will replace
the oldest active alert upon exceeding the memory limit. Press the
TUNE UP/DOWN to view stored alerts when the LCD display is not
under the main menu operation.
Setting the siren volume
Your Motorola MWR839 Weather Alert Radio has 4 adjustable levels
for the siren volume when an alert is received.
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1. Press the MENU button and press the TUNE DOWN to scroll down
through the main menu list to the Siren Level menu.
2. Press the SELECT button to enter the Siren Level menu, then press
the VOL DOWN/UP to select the desired volume setting between
Low, Middle and High. With each setting the radio will sound a sample
of the appropriate siren volume.
3. Press the SELECT button to save the Siren Level setting and exit to
the main menu list.