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write your own review of the Midland WR-300 S.A.M.E. Weather/All Hazard Radio.
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KB8WSG
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Rating: 2/5
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Jun 28, 2008 08:02
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Good WX - VERY BAD AM
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Good thing I bought this for the WX. This weather radio has great weather radio features and the FM is good. However the AM reception is deaf as a doorknob unless you are right in the city. I am only 30 miles from Columbus Ohio and can barely get their strongest station and it is the ONLY station that comes in. I think it is a problem with Midland AM circuits in general as the AM on my XT-511 GMRS Base camp radio is also deaf. Yet I get great AM reception with several pocket transistor radios of other brands Do not consider this as a bedside radio - it is good for WX only.
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WN9E
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Rating: 5/5
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May 29, 2008 14:34
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Does What I Bought it For
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've had this radio for well over a year now. It goes off when it's supposed to and I'm thankful for that. I liked it so much I bought three more to give to family members for Christmas last year.
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W6LBV
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 15, 2007 13:15
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SAME Old Stuff!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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In southern California true weather emergencies are thankfully rare, but they do occasionally happen. Considering the small cost involved, an operational NOAA Radio SAME Alert receiver in the house is well justified.
I've owned and operated a Midland WR-300 for three months. I demand only one thing of it: whenever NOAA releases a SAME alert, I want to know about it immediately! The 300 does this flawlessly. All other capabilities that it has are "candy sprinkles on the ice cream cone." There is no other function that it can perform, including basic reception of NOAA Radio channels, that I can't do at least two or three other ways independently of the WR-300. The SAME alerts are everything.
I've tried its other functions, however. The reception of AM and FM broadcast stations is about average for a table top consumer receiver. It's best at coverage of metropolitan stations. The key-press beep tones, while noticeable, are not unnerving. The digital clock keeps accurate time.
I had no expectation that I was buying an NIST-certified instrument, and the WR-300 fulfilled my modest expectations for it. For the price paid, I've received good value.
And, by the way, if you aren't permanently powering your SAME Alert receiver (as well as other critical station receivers and low-powered transmitters) directly from a rechargable 12 volt storage battery plant...then you aren't yet serious about emergency preparations!
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N2DY
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 15, 2007 08:57
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Excellent WX Radio
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I have a owned a number of other WX radios and this is the best I have tried so far. It is quite sensitive on the WX channels. I am simply able to use the built in whip and pick up a number of WX transmitters. My previous units, including the high-end First Alert model, required an outdoor antenna to get a decent signal. Where I am located the AM/FM works fine, but I rarely use it for that purpose. The Alert feature works perfectly and was very easy to program. I have it set to capture alerts for a two county area and it has been quite reliable. So far, I am very pleased.
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N8WDL
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 14, 2007 20:06
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Excellent
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Time owned: months
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I have owned this radio now for approximately 4 months. In that time it has consistently alerted me to dangerous weather conditions that were entering my county. I am dismayed at the fact that some do not see the forrest for the trees. This radio is excellent in what it is DESIGNED to do. Alert to threatening weather. This is not a stereo; it is not for the most part a "bose" clock radio, this is a weather alert radio. And it does it's job nicely.The am/fm feature is an added feature. A bonus if you will. In today's modern technology era, people expect our modern "gadgets" to be jacks of all trades. To DO IT ALL. It is like having a swiss army knife with a can opener, chain saw, television and toilet roll. The primary purpose is one and one only. A WEATHER ALERT RADIO. I give it a 10/10.
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KD5OM
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 8, 2007 08:33
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FB WX ALERT RADIO!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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First let me Ditto everything KA2EEV said and he said it well.
I bought this for my dad who lives in Florida 15 miles from where the Lady Lake tornado hit February 2007 at 3am in the morning killing over 20 people. To think that my Pop dodged such a bullet terrified me. I bought it, brought it home, looked up all the freqs and SAME codes on the Web and programmed it for him. Programming was very easy to do as compared to the other "Brand X" weather radio I have. The receiver seemed fairly sensitive meaning it was able to hear NOAA stations several counties away including our local station some 30 miles away. And Hey! I like the loud annoying beeps on the buttons because when hard of hearing old farts like my Dad are using the radio, loud annoying beeps is a good thing. Now if another tornado comes at 3 in the morning, he'll have enough time to kiss his sorry rear-end goodbye. Oh I do love my Dad! :)
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KA2EEV
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 9, 2006 18:53
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EXCELLENT WX RADIO!
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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After reading some of the critical comments on this unit in the above reviews, I began shaking my head and just had to put my 2˘ in.
I sometimes think that todays highly sophisticated technology often results in too many of us being spoiled and we sometimes have unrealistic expectations. We are conditioned by todays fast paced advancements that can tend to make us overly pampered to the point that a minor inconvenience will often strike some people as being a major flaw.
The reviews here so far on the Midland WR-300 seem to lose sight of the main intended purpose of this unit, that being, it is a weather alert radio that is specifically designed to make you aware of potentially dangerous weather conditions for your area. It does a superb job of doing exactly that!
To quote from the above reviews, however...the unit emits a loud annoying beep whenever any button is pushed, the alarm clock does not function anything like any other alarm clock, the AM / FM portion lacks selectivity...and, I am really scratching my head trying to figure the point of the reviewer just before me that mostly whines about so many negative aspects which have very little or nothing to do with the main purpose of this unit. C'mon guys! THIS IS A WEATHER RADIO!
The Midland WR-300 is really great, in that, you can selectively program the alert mode to activate just for your county alone...or, you can program it to include other neighboring counties along with yours if you so desire. In order to program any particular county, you simply go into the menu and then follow the sequence of entering the code number for that county. The code numbers for every county in each state are easily available on the internet at www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/indexnw.htm. Easy as 1 - 2 - 3 if you can follow simple instructions.
The unit features a set of 3 individually colored LED's each of which will light up accordingly whenever an alert is issued by NOAA for Advisory, Watch, or Warning. Along with the LED's, the unit will also alert you with an audible siren or voice, both of which can be programmed to remain silent at all times and allow for LCD messages only. A scrolling 3 line LCD message is displayed simultanteously with each alert that provides a very wide variety of impending weather conditions, and it even goes beyond to include amber alerts, terrorist threats, and countless other environmental hazards. There are connectors on the back of the unit that will permit hooking up optional devices, such as external antenna and remote alert indicators. Midland also included the bonus feature of a built in AM / FM radio with memory presets as well as a clock with programmable timer. Again, however, these are just extra little perks that were integrated as being "basic frills".
Now, here are a just few things that you should NOT expect from this unit which the previous reviews never mention. It will not alert you when your blood alcohol level has surpassed the legal limit because you've consumed an excessive amount of beer and shots and you've become completely inebriated and incoherent...it does not have built in sensors that warn you of obnoxious odors being emitted from your cats litter box...and, it does not have an overhead night projection which features a display of scantily clad dancing girls on your ceiling.
Now, here is exactly what you CAN expect from this unit. As a weather alert radio, you can count on the Midland WR-300 to keep you and your family informed, continuously 24 / 7, of any threat for impending severe weather, and it will also keep you aware of numerous other environmental threats. Plain and simple. For all of this...it is an excellent performer at a very fair market price. You can't ask for more than that!
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K5OQ
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Rating: 5/5
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May 5, 2006 12:25
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Works Great in Rural Area
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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The WR-300 was easy to program, picks up two NOAA stations here in N. TX. rural area. One station is about 60 miles away and comes in fine with just the telescoping whip antenna. The other is 25 miles away, and is also solid into the receiver. I have several AM/FM radios, including one with a crank-charger, so I have not fiddled with the WR-300 AM/FM radio.
I also bought the Radio Shack 12-262 SAME radio and commented on both the Midland and the RS on my Web page, in a long article mostly aimed at non-hams. (www.home.earthlink.net/~rickhgtx/hamradio.html)
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CLEBOT
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Rating: 4/5
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Mar 22, 2006 11:33
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Jack of all trades, master of none
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Picked this up after some severe weather moved through southeast Texas this week.
It looks better than my existing clock radio, and does so much more!
I sleep very well knowing that I have some advance warning if severe weather starts heading my way while asleep.
There are a couple of things that are not so great, though.
First is the annoying (loud) beep whenever any button is pushed.
Second is that there is no “sleep” function where you can listen to music as you fall asleep.
Third is that the entire display is backlit or off. An LED time display that is visible from across the room might have been better here.
Those are minor gripes, though. This is an all hazards radio that has the potential to save my life by giving me advance notice of a storm/other disaster while I am asleep. It is like a Swiss Army knife…does many things, but doesn’t do all of them as well as something designed for one specific purpose. I wanted an ‘all-in-one’ unit, eliminating the need of a clock AND weather radio. I am not sorry I bought this, though. It does what it is supposed to, and is priced fair. The manual is available for download on the internet. I would recommend that you read the manual first and then decide if it has the features you need and want.
For what it’s worth, sensitivity is great on AM/FM and WX band. I don’t even have the telescopic antenna erected and I get great reception. I live about 45-50 miles from the AM/FM/WX transmitter stations and have had great results.
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K6MTT
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Rating: 4/5
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Dec 14, 2005 17:16
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Great alert radio - forget the AM/FM
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I finally picked up one of these receivers for the sole purpose of weather alerting. If you read the manual before you buy it, you'll get the idea why the clock radio is not a feature you care about. To me, few things that promise to do a lot of functions do them all well. Fortunately, this one does the weather alerting features well. The ability to block non-interesting alerts is great - I live in the mountains, but the NOAA/NWS stations around me also cover the nearby valley and the ability to block the fog advisories is great.
The addition of the alert customization is a big reason that many many more people should have these in their homes, as the nuisance factor is greatly reduced and people will be more likely to leave them on - alerting them to a real emergency condition someday. I would think they are invaluable in tornado and hurricane country.
The weather broadcast audio is decent quality, which is lacking in some weather radios.
A small PRO is the ability to turn the display backlight on all the time - and it's a cool blue.
A small CON is the annoyingly loud beep for every keypress - putting your hand over the speaker when programming is a way to save your sanity.
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