Midland WR-300 WR300 Weather Alert Radio: Preliminary Review WITH PHOTOS

[JohnnyGalaga]

The Midland WR-300 has arrived here at the Personal EOC and is ready to be placed into official operation.

I've only had it for a couple of days, so this is only a preliminary review if anybody cares about reading a weather radio review. I haven't messed around with the AM/FM alarm clock stuff though, just the weather stuff.

The online user manual is here: http://www.midlandradio.com/comersus...alog/WR300.pdf

When I first powered on the radio, the display showed "VERSION 5" which makes me wonder how many versions there are and what the differences are. I find that a little annoying as it gives me the same paranoia as owning a Radio Shack scanner.

The 3 LEDs blink briefly when you first power on the unit. They are nice and bright, but the tops of the LEDs don't sit just above the display surface like the manufacturer's photos show. Instead the LED's are each underneath a clear lens, which makes me wonder if that causes them not to appear as bright from across the room.

For some reason it looks better in the photos, but the backlight is dimmer than a BC396T.

PROS:

You can make the backlight stay on.

The receive sensitivity is about the same as many scanners. Last night I had it on top of the microwave and there must have been a heck of a band opening because I could hear stations doubling and tripling up on all 7 channels.

You can choose which alerts you want to receive. For example, you can make it only alert you for tornado warnings but not tornado watches, or vice-versa, or you can have both off or on.

Backup AA batteries work seamlessly like a UPS.

The radio has no automatic built-in squelch, so it will let you receive the weakest signals right down to the noise floor. Then again, you will GET that nasty noise floor if you tune to a channel not active in your area.

CONS:

For some reason, if you set the backlight to be continuously on and then you disconnect all power (both AC & batteries), the radio loses your backlight menu setting and reverts back to the default 5-second timeout. Other than that, the memory appears to non-volatile so you won't lose your settings or FIPS/SAME codes when the radio has no power.

The radio doesn't scan the weather channels. To choose which frequency you wanna listen to, you have to program it via a menu setting. You can't just simply hit the up & down arrows.

The weather channels are numbered differently than my BC396. I'm not sure which radio is wrong.

The display contrast is not as clear as a PRO-97 or a BC396, in fact it is rather dull in my opinion. Notice in the photo below how the manufacturer's photo on the box makes the display look at lot crisper than what it is in real life. Why do manufacturers always do that?

The AM/PM identifier on the clock is so small you almost a magnifying glass to see it.

The manual included with my unit says you can program 30 FIPS codes, but the radio only lets you program 23. If you choose the "ALL" alert mode to hear all alerts, the manual doesn't say if it will also alert you to the older generic 1050 kHz alerts as well as all the specific alerts.

The AC adapter cord is only 6 feet long. Why do all gadgets today always give such short power cords? It'd be nice to have a longer cord so you can move the radio around more for better reception.

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So there you have it. I may add more info to this thread later.













For searches: wr300 wx NOAA NWS NWR alert severe weather wr100 wr-100

[Q101ATFD]

I don't mean to be critical of your review, which is very detailed, but you can't really compare a weather alert radio to a radio scanner - especially a specific model or two... A alert radio and a scanner have completely different design attributes. As for the channel numbering, there is no correct order - NWS has them listed in ascending order and each manufacturer can list them in whatever order they want. Neither of the radios are "wrong," and it doesn't really matter anyways if they were in some 'official' order, as long as the end user puts the right one in. In addition, since this is clearly a base station radio, what use would the missing "scan" feature have anyways. The transmitter sites do not overlap WWA's so if the main site went down you would not get the alerts even if it did scan to another transmitter. You shouldn't be moving a base radio enough to have to scan through the channels - just change it manually when you move to another geogrpahic location.

I guess I'm more curious as to why you compared it to a scanner, but did not address the PC and External Alert ports on the rear. I can see an external alert to be useful, but I am confused as to what could be so complicated on that device that you would need a computer interface.

[JohnnyGalaga]

I have no Idea what the PC thing is for. I compared it to a scanner since many people on here have scanners. The intent was to give people an idea as to what the receive is like. I thought that mighta been a little bit better than just saying it receives pretty well.

[safetyobc]

I think it was an excellent review. Thanks for your time and effort!

The buttons look "rubbery" which catches lint and dirt. Are they? That would be my only complaint. I hate it when a radio or electronics has those rubbery type buttons that catch all types of debris.

Also on the 1050 Hz deal, I may be way off base here but I would think that if you had SAME Codes programmed in, then that would turn off the 1050 Hz tone. I thought that the SAME codes are how you could choose Tornado Warning or Tornado Watch, etc. versus the 1050 Hz tone that just alerts you to ALL watches and warnings? But I could be wrong.

Nice radio!

[DaveNF2G]

Radio Shack put out a weather alert radio with a USB port on it a couple of years ago. I have one. The computer connection enables the radio to send alert data to the computer, where it can in turn be emailed anywhere, including SMS-enabled cellphones.

Maybe that's why there's a port on the Midland unit.

As a side question, how can one do a review without consulting the manual? Surely the function of the computer port is mentioned in there somewhere.

[JohnnyGalaga]

Indeed the buttons are rubbery. And I agree that if you're using SAME codes, the radio prolly won't do anything if a 1050 kHz tone is sent. What I'm unsure about is if you set the radio to receive 'ALL' alerts, will the siren go off only for all SAME codes & watches and warnings, or will it also sound for the 1050 kHz tone as well.

The manual included with my unit has no information about the PC jack. It just simply makes no mention of it whasoever. I honestly didn't even realize there was any PC plug until I snapped the photo.

There seems to be a couple of different versions of the manual. My manual is 38 pages, but I found 2 others online that are either 42 pages or 19 pages, respectively:

http://www.weathershack.com/products...300_manual.pdf

http://www.midlandradio.com/comersus...alog/WR300.pdf



I searched for the text 'PC' and 'computer' in Adobe and did not find either word in either of these 2 online manuals. Me thinks the 1050 kHz tone and PC questions among others might culminate in a contact to Midland here shortly.

On a sidenote if you want a good chuckle, take a loot at Midland's customer service page: http://www.midlandradio.com/customer_service.asp

[JohnnyGalaga]

I sent Midland an e-mail with some questions. Here is the reply they sent:

"...Thanks for contacting us. The ALL county code will go off for any alert
the NWS sends out in a 50 mile radius of your home. The same code for
just your county is only going to give you alerts for your county only
when it hits that county. The PC jack is for when they programmed the
radio in the factory. There is no power going to this jack and No you
can not hook it up to a PC.The 5 version is the newest version of this
radio. If you have any further questions please let us know. Thanks
again..."

[Scannerboy1968]

Thanks for the review and all the info. I just ordered one yesterday for $46.99. It seems like a decent product for the price. My previous weather radio was also a Midland and it was a good unit. Looking forward to setting it up. How does the local antenna perform?
Thanks, Andy

[JohnnyGalaga]

Originally Posted by Scannerboy1968

Thanks for the review and all the info. I just ordered one yesterday for $46.99. It seems like a decent product for the price. My previous weather radio was also a Midland and it was a good unit. Looking forward to setting it up. How does the local antenna perform?
Thanks, Andy

The antenna performs reasonably well given that it is, well, a telescopic antenna.

I like it so far and I think it's a good unit. The audio isn't too shabby. Every gadget these days has its pros and cons, but so far I'm not dissapointed at all. Unfortunately, this is a dry time here in Florida, so it could be months before I'll get a SAME activation. Hopefully the weekly test next week will blow me outta my rocker.

$46.99 sounds like a decent price, depending on what you paid for shipping.

[Thunderbolt]

Originally Posted by JohnnyGalaga

I have no Idea what the PC thing is for. I compared it to a scanner since many people on here have scanners. The intent was to give people an idea as to what the receive is like. I thought that mighta been a little bit better than just saying it receives pretty well.

You should be able to upgrade the radio's firmware by downloading any upgrades to your PC, then loading them into the radio. This way the receiver won't become obsolete overnight, if version 6 comes out. Not a bad idea really.

[JohnnyGalaga]

But the Midland rep (per my earlier post) said you can't hook it up to your PC. And what kind of cable or conector would it be? I didn't see any firmware downloads on the Midland site, but then again, I never really looked for it.

[crayon]

Thanks for the review JG.

[cm]

I guess I got lucky and found one of these radios at a Bass Pro Shop in Clarksville, IN for 42.99 + tax. I took it home and set it up and luckily we haven't had any severe weather yet, so I can't say how it performs. I thought it was real easy to set up with fips code and that siren on there would wake a dead person I believe. I had a Radio shack weather radio before i got the midland yesterday and i already like the midland better.

[Thunderbolt]

Originally Posted by cm

I had a Radio shack weather radio before i got the midland yesterday and i already like the midland better.

My first weather alert radio was from Radio Shack, which I received as a birthday gift in 1979. This model used the power cord as the antenna, which made it hard to tune at times, so you have to place the power cord in the just the right position to receive the local station. However, it lasted for three years, when a large glass of chocolate milk got spilled directly on it by my five year-old cousin. That said, he was nice enough to buy me a replacement, albeit through some financial assistance from his mother.

My third radio came from Midland and it lasted me a good 11 years, and still works just fine at the age of 18 years old. I replaced it with a Uniden WX-100 in 2000, since it has SAME technology. However, I am going to have to replace the Uniden with a new radio, and it will be either a Midland or a Reecom.

One thing I like about the Reecom models, is that like the WR-300 from Midland, you can delete certain SAME events that you don't want to be alerted to. This is great if you don't want to be awakened at 3:00 a.m. for an Amber Alert, or some other event you rather sleep through. Likewise, I believe you can add certain future events with the WR-300 and the Reecom units if you want to.

73's

Ron

[JohnnyGalaga]

Yes, the WR-300 lets you program in up to 5 new types of alerts from scratch. It also does some other alerts used in Canada that are in addition to the U. S. alerts.

That Uniden WX-100 looks neat. I didn't know it existed when I got the Midland, otherwise I might have considered it. I see it only uses one of those puny 9-volt batteries for backup though. My 4 AA's in my Midland would likely provide far greater run time.

Now the Reecom does 4 AA's It looks like a nice unit

[DaveNF2G]

I just received my WR-300. I won't post a redundant review, but I do disagree with comments about the display not being clear. Looking at it straight on, it is quite sharp.

The funny thing is, in my apartment the "local" transmitter is the weakest signal that the unit picks up. It hears three other transmitters loud and clear.

[JohnnyGalaga]

But look at the display compared to the manufacturer's photo.

[JohnnyGalaga]

Well here I am a month or so later, and the radio is working great. All the weekly tests have worked, and I got numerous severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings tonight.

[KC9LDB]

Yeah we have a Uniden at my work, I didn't know that those made all those tones till a month ago, WOW imagine it's all quiet and night and you are in a small gatehouse just staring out the window at the clouds and all of a sudden that thing goes off AT FULL VOLUME! Sacared the crap outta me, but I laughed at myself for it. But, the thing works great!

[JohnnyGalaga]

The WR-300 is not that loud when it activates. Apparently, it just works at wherever you have the volume set at. The alert lights are hard to see from across the room.