Radio Shack Weatheradio User manual

Owner’s Manual Please read before using this equipment.
7-Channel
Portable SAME
Weatheradio®
with Alert

2
ˆ Contents
Features ................................................................. 5
How Your Radio Works ......................................... 6
Weather Alerts ................................................. 7
New Alert Types ........................................ 8
Understanding FIPS Codes ............................. 8
Obtaining Your Area’s FIPS Code(s) ........ 9
Preparation .......................................................... 11
Installing Batteries .......................................... 11
Using the Antenna ......................................... 12
Programming ....................................................... 13
Missed Alert Reminder Beep ......................... 17
Enabling/Disabling the Alert Tone .................. 18
Testing the Weatheradio ................................ 20
Manually Testing the Alert Tone .............. 21
Using the Weatheradio’s ‘All Signals’ Code ... 22
Operation ............................................................. 23
The Display Backlight ..................................... 23
Listening to Broadcasts .................................. 24
Using the Alert Function ................................. 24
When a Weather Alert Occurs ................ 25
©1999, 2000 RadioShack Corporation.
All Rights Reserved.
Weatheradio is a registered trademark used by RadioShack Corporation.

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Reviewing Overlapping Alerts ................ 26
When a Test or Demo Alert Occurs ........ 26
Alert Descriptions ............................................... 28
Troubleshooting ................................................. 32
Care ............................................................... 34
Specifications ..................................................... 35
ˆ FCC Information
This device complies with Part 15 of the
FCC Rules
.
Operation is subject to the following two conditions:
(1) this device may not cause harmful interference,
and (2) this device must accept any interference re-
ceived, including interference that may cause undes-
ired operation.
Product: 7 Channel SAME Weatheradio with Alert
Model: 12-254
Responsible
Party: RadioShack 100 Throckmorton
Fort Worth, TX 76102
Phone: [phone]

4
This equipment has been tested
and found to comply with the limits
for a Class B digital device, pursu-
ant to Part 15 of the
FCC Rules
.
These limits are designed to pro-
vide reasonable protection against harmful interfer-
ence in a residential installation. This equipment
generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency en-
ergy and, if not installed and used in accordance with
the instructions, may cause harmful interference to
radio communications.
THE FCC WANTS YOU TO KNOW
Your Weatheradio might cause TV or radio interfer-
ence even when it is operating properly. To determine
whether your Weatheradio is causing the interfer-
ence, turn off your Weatheradio. If the interference
goes away, your Weatheradio is causing it. Try to
eliminate the interference by moving your Weathera-
dio away from the TV or other radio.

5
Features
ˆ Features
Your RadioShack Weatheradio represents the latest
generation of weather alert technology. Your Weath-
eradio uses SAME (Specific Area Message Encod-
ing) circuitry to provide more complete information
about weather conditions in your immediate area, let-
ting you avoid hearing alerts for geographical areas
that do not affect you.
SAME Operation — lets you program up to 15 differ-
ent FIPS (Federal Information Processing System)
codes into the Weatheradio’s memory so your Weath-
eradio sounds an alert only when a weather emer-
gency is declared in those locations.
Display Backlight — makes the display easy to read
in low light situations.
Missed Alert Reminder Beep — assures you that
you do not miss an important weather alert by con-
tinuing to sound a chirp tone until the alert time ex-
pires.

6How Your Radio Works
ˆ How Your Radio Works
Traditional weather radios simply receive the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
weather broadcast (usually within a 50-mile radius)
then sound an alarm if an emergency code was trans-
mitted along with the broadcast. This means that peo-
ple 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, NOAA began broadcasting coded signals
called FIPS (Federal Information Processing System)
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 infor-
mation about the codes so you can determine if the
emergency might affect your area. Only SAME com-
patible weather radios (such as this Weatheradio)
are able to take advantage of this new technolo-
gy.
Each FIPS code identifies a specific geographic area
(defined by the National Weather Service), so your

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How Your Radio Works
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.
WEATHER ALERTS
When the Weatheradio receives a weather alert:
• it sounds an alert beep
• it displays a description of the alert and the alert
duration
Note: If the Weatheradio receives more than one
weather alert at the same time, it displays information
for each alert in sequence.
The alert descriptions your Weatheradio can display
are based on a list of specific weather alert types pub-
lished by the NWS. For a list of all the alert descrip-
tions that your Weatheradio can display, see “Alert
Descriptions” on Page 28.
Warning: The NWS uses sophisticated weather
models to determine an alert’s effective time. Howev-
er, the end of an alert does not necessarily mean that
the related weather emergency is over.

8How Your Radio Works
New Alert Types
Your Weatheradio is designed to recognize all com-
mon weather alert types currently used by the NWS.
However, the NWS occasionally creates and broad-
casts 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 81.12:1
81.12:181.12:1
81.12:1, the alert description,
((0(5*(1&
(0(5*(1&(0(5*(1&
(0(5*(1&, 67$7(017
67$7(01767$7(017
67$7(017, :$51,1*
:$51,1*:$51,1*
:$51,1*, or :$7&+
:$7&+:$7&+
:$7&+), and 781(
781(781(
781( 79
7979
79,
then sound a beeping alert.
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 sub-
division, 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, how-

9
How Your Radio Works
ever, plans to eventually subdivide some large coun-
ties. 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 in-
stalled 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/
indexnw.htm#sametable

10 How Your Radio Works
Note: If you are close to a county or parish line, you
might want to obtain the codes for the nearby coun-
ties 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 fre-
quently 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.