Self-Tuning Weather Radio

[Jim202259KL]

Looking for ideas. I would like to find a weather radio that is "smart" enough to tune itself to the closest of the 7 frequencies as I drive across several states during the course of a day. I don't have satellite radio and don't want a CB radio.

The weather radios I find work well when in a specific area. It's even possible to use SAME to set the radio to "pay attention" to the local transmitters that cover the county in question. But when driving across Nebraska, for example, the SAME codes will change every 20 or 30 minutes as I drive through county after county. It's inconvenient to re-tune the radio, and dangerous to the extent it would require looking up the frequency for the county's transmitters.

Thus my idea of a weather radio that continually scans the 7 frequencies, and also listens to all 7 for alerts.

I'm sure I'm not the only person who wants to stay on top of weather, particularly during storm season. I searched the forums, but the few references I found that mentioned doing this didn't get into specifics about the brand/model, etc weather radio they own.

I'm all ears now. Thanks in advance.

 

[Viejo]

FWIW - This is overkill if you only want a single function weather radio, but we just got a pair of Motorola GMRS handsets from REI that also have a weather radio scan function. Haven't had a chance to use them in the field yet, but they work great here at the house.

 

[BIGVANS]

Just some info ……

http://www.weather.com/aboutus/radio/partners/



:a4:

 

[daveb-SMB]

What about a programmable scanner? Have you looked for something like that? If the squelch is set high it won't stop on a weak station. But I don't know if a station signal that is strong will be the correct one you want to hear.

 

[oldbernie-SMB]

We have a weather radio that supposedly picks up the closest transmission. It's a Midland HH54. Seems to work for the most part. However, we have found that it is obviously very sensitive to terrain. We were in the the Grants, Silver City, Gila National Forest area last Dec and couldn't consistently pick up a transmission. I did a little research which led me to believe that there aren't many transmission towers out in the boondocks which is where we need the radio the most. Does that sound right or am I just not using the radio correctly?

 

[JayBea-SMB]

Oldbernie, you are correct. I live in Silver City, we just got a Weather Radio station within the last 2 years. I just purchased a radio for my new SMB Sprinter and while coverage is good in Silver itself, you get no, or little, coverage anywhere north into the Gila. Oh well, our weather is generally not a concern. I think that you will find greater coverage in areas where knowing the weather is more of a necessity. Good travels...
JIM

 

[oldbernie-SMB]

Thanks Jim, I feel better now. Hate to feel like I can't operate a simple electronic device. We're heading up to the 4 corners area on Wednesday. Farmington, Bryce Canyon, Arches, Canyonland and Mesa Verde. I'll let you know if the radio works any better.

 

[Advanturetrek]

I have an ICOM amateur radio. The scan and memory functions make it pretty easy to find weather broadcasts. Some amateur radios, like the VX-8GR, have special functions for listening to weather broadcasts.

 

[Jim202259KL]

Thanks to all who have shared thoughts to date. I was distracted by other tasks. I did check out some of the suggestions. Still haven't found something that automatically jumps to the frequency covering the portion of interstate or highway being traveled at the moment. If it doesn't exist, maybe I will invent it. Anyone know a good electrical engineer? :a1:

 

[daveb-SMB]

Maybe this will work for ya??? Too bad some places have poor coverage. Sweet if it was a satelite transmission.

Weather app for your smart phone

 

[Jim202259KL]

daveb, good find! Now, of course, I need to get an iphone or something a little less outdated than the thing I carry now that is called a phone.