Safety and Peace of Mind: Choosing a Portable Weather Band Radio
Do you live in an area that's at great risk for heavy storms or other natural disasters? Planning on camping or hiking in nature? Like a smoker alarm in your kitchen, a weather band AM/FM radio can be a vital piece of equipment to have in your home for everyday use or in your emergency kit and supplies.
What is an AM/FM Weather Radio?
Weather band radios are specifically for receiving transmissions from public broadcast services that provide routine and emergency information. This includes regular forecasts and reports and any other emergency public alerts necessary to warn people of potential threats to their safety.
- Across the US, a network of National Weather Service (NWS) offices send out constant information via the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio.
- NOAA Weather Radio and NWS networks of radio stations transmit from antennas throughout the country. They operate on VHF radio bands using FM transmitters.
- They can make interruptions to normal transmissions as and when necessary to issue weather warnings and other events affecting local or national safety and security.
This type of radio usually also includes an alert function. If the radio is on another station when a warning or alert issues, they may sound an audible alarm or switch to the channel with the update.
What Are the Features in These Radios?
The features in weather band radios depend on their age, size, and model. The basic features include:
- AM/FM Tuners: Adjustable controls to tune into either AM or FM radio frequencies and adjust channels.
- Power Sources: To be mobile, most portable weather band radios need battery power at the very minimum. Some include the ability to connect to mains electricity for regular use, with batteries as a backup. Other models have crank handles to recharge in the event of no mains electricity or replacement batteries being available.
- Antennas: Models usually have a built-in extendable antenna. Some also include external jacks to allow connection to larger indoor or outdoor antennas if necessary.
- Durability: Weather radios are usually robust. Because they are likely to see outdoor use or serve as a communication lifeline in various weather conditions, they often use sturdy and durable materials.
Who is Realistic?
This company's branded electronic equipment first released in the 1950s.
- The company subsequently re-branded as RadioShack.
- Weather radio models continued to release under the brands of Realistic or Optimus until the late 1990s.
- New models of Realistic weather radios were also released in 2016.
- Current models are now branded as RadioShack only.