RadioShack 12-250 Owner Manual
Cat. No. 12-250
OWNER’S MANUAL
Please read before using this equipment.
7 Channel WRSAME
®
Weatheradio
with Alert
WARNING
!
hazard, do not expose this product to rain or
moisture.
:
To reduce the risk of fire or shock
CAUTION
RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK.
DO NOT OPEN.
CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF
ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT REMOVE
COVER OR BACK. NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVICING
TO QUALIFIED PERSONNEL.
This symbol is intended to alert
you to the presence of uninsulated dangerous voltage within
the product’s enclosure that might
be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric s hock. Do
not open the product’s case.
This symbol is intended to inform
you that important operating and
!
maintenance instructions are
included in the literature accompanying this product.
©
1999 Tandy Corporation.
RadioShack, Plug ’n Power, and Weatheradio are registered
X-10 is a registered trademark of X-10 (USA) Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
trademarks used by Tandy Corporation.
2
DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY
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 received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.
Product: 7 Channel WRSAME
Model: 12-250
Responsible Party: RadioShack
Phone: 817-415-3200
Weatheradio with Alert
100 Throckmorton
Fort Worth, TX 76102
This equipment has been tested and found to comply
with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to
Part 15 of the
FCC Rules
. These limits are designed
to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment
generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with
the instructions, may cause harmful interference to
radio communications.
.
3
However, there is no guarantee that interference will
not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment
does cause harmful interference to radio or television
reception, which can be determined by turning the
equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to
correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:
• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
• Increase the separation between the equipment
and receiver.
• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit
different from that to which the receiver is connected.
• Consult your local RadioShack store or an experienced radio/TV technici an for help.
Changes or modifications not expressly approved by
RadioShack may cause interference and void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.
4
Your RadioShack 7 Channel WRSAME Weatheradio
is the next generation of weather alert technology.
Your Weatheradio uses SAME (Specific Area Message Encoding) circuitry to provide more complete information about weath er c on dit ion s i n y ou r im m edi ate
area, letting you avoid hearing alerts for geographical
areas that do not interest you.
Your Weatheradio’s features include:
SAME Operation
ent geographical codes into the Weatheradio’s memory, so the Weatheradio sounds an alert only when a
weather em ergency is declared in any of thos e locations.
7 Weather Channels
for your local National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather broadcasts.
Selectable Alert Function
eradio so it sounds an alert when it receives a weather emergency broadcast from NOAA. You can also
set the Weatheradio so it does not alert you when it
receives some types of warnings.
8-Charac ter Liquid Crys tal Display
eradio’s large, easy-to-read display clearly shows a
description of the type of alert in progress (such as a
tornado warning, flood watch, and so on).
Alert Status Indicators
glance the type of alert the Weatheradio is receiving.
— lets you program up to 15 differ-
— let you select the frequency
— lets you set the We ath -
— the Weat h-
— help you determine at a
5
Adjustabl e Di sp l a y B ac k li gh t
— helps you read the
display in low light situations. You can set the light to
turn on for about 10 seconds when you press a key,
or remain on until you turn it off.
Alert Volume Control
— lets you adjust the volume
of an alert so you will be sure to hear it.
External Al ert Terminals
ternal controller system (such as a Plug ’n Power
system) to the Weatheradio, then set that sys-
X-10
— let you connect an ex-
or
tem to indicate an alert based on signals received by
the Weatheradio. Th is le ts yo u hear or see the alert in
a location (such as the garage) that might be some
distance from where you installed the Weatheradio.
External Antenna Connector
— lets you connect an
optional external antenna to the Weatheradio to improve reception in remote areas.
We recommend you record your Weatheradio’s serial
number here. The number is on the bottom of the radio.
Serial Number:
6
How Your Radio Works .................................................... 8
When a Weather Alert Occurs ...................................... 9
New Alert Types ..................................................... 10
NWS Weather Alert Descriptions ................................ 10
Understanding FIPS Codes ........................................ 17
Obtaining Your Area’s FIPS Code(s) ...................... 18
Preparation ..................................................................... 19
Powering the Weatheradio .......................................... 19
Connecting the Weatheradio to AC Power ............. 20
Installing the Backup Battery ................................. 21
Using the Built-In Antenna .......................................... 22
Choosing a Location and Mounting the Weatheradio . 23
Connecting the Weatheradio to an External System .. 25
Programming the Weatheradio ................................... 26
Testing the Weatheradio ............................................. 31
Manually Testing the Alert Tone ............................. 32
Testing the Alert Siren/Display ............................... 33
Operation ................... ..................................................... 35
Listening to a Weather Broadcast ............................... 35
Using the Alert Function ............................................. 36
Setting the Alert Volume ........................................ 37
Changing/Checking the Alert Pattern .................... 37
Enabling/Disabling Alert Tones .............................. 39
Using the Weatheradio’s ‘All Signals’ Code ........... 41
Reviewing Overlapping Alerts ................................ 42
When a Test or Demo Alert Occurs ....................... 43
Using the Backlight ..................................................... 44
Troubleshooting ............ ................................................ 45
Care and Maintenance ................................................... 48
The FCC Wants You to Know ...................................... 49
Specifications ......... ................................................... .... 50
7
Traditional weather radios simply receive NOAA’s
weather broadcast (usually within a 50-mile radius)
then sound an alarm if any emergency code was
transmitted alo ng wi th the broadcast. This m ean s th at
people 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, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (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 a s a county) affected by the em ergency. Your Weatheradio receives, interprets, and
displays information about the codes so you can determine if the emergenc y mi ght a ffec t y our area.
SAME-compatible weather radios (such as this
Weatheradio) are able to take advantage of this
new technology.
Each FIPS code identifies a specific geographic area
(defined by the National Weather Service), so your
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.
Only
8
WHEN A WEATHER ALERT
OCCURS
When the W eatheradio receives a weather alert:
• it sounds an alert (siren or beep)
• a description of the alert appears
• an indicator on the f ront of the W eat heradio lights
If the Weatheradio receives more than one
Note:
weather alert at the same time, it displays information
about each alert.
The alert descriptions your Weatheradio can display
are based on a list of sp ecifi c we ather al ert type s pub lished by the NWS. For a list of all the alert descriptions that your Weatheradio can display, see “NWS
Weather Alert Descriptions” on Page 10.
Caution:
els to determine an alert’s effective time. However,
the end of an alert does not nec essa rily me an that the
related weather emergency is over.
The NWS uses so ph is tic a te d wea t he r mo d-
9
New Alert Types
Your Weatheradio is designed to recognize all common weather alert types currently used by the NWS.
However, the NWS occasionally creates and broadcasts
memory does not contain a specific, corresponding
descripti on). If your Weatheradio receives a signal for
a new alert type, it is preset (if the alert function is
turned on) to display
(
EMERGENC, STATEMNT, WARNING
and
alert types (for which the Weatheradio’s
new
, the alert description
TUNE TV
UNKNOWN
, then sound a siren alert.
, or
WATCH
NWS WEATHER ALERT
DESCRIPTIONS
Your Weatheradio can display these NWS weather
alert descriptions. For easy reference, this list also
shows the type of alert (siren or beep) that sounds
during each alert.
),
Weather/Alert
Description
Avalanche warning AVALANCH
You See
WARNING
Avalanche watch
AVALANCH
WATCH
10
You
Hear
Siren
Siren
Weather/Alert
Description
You See
You
Hear
Blizzard warning BLIZZARD
Siren
WARNING
Civil danger warning
CIVIL
Siren
DANGER
WARNING
Civil danger watch
CIVIL
Siren
DANGER
WATCH
Civil emergency — turn
on the TV for information
or, if no information is
available on TV, call your
local NWS office
TUNE TV might also indicate the Weatheradio
Note:
has received a signal for a condition not defined in the
Weatheradio’s memory (see “Testing the Alert Siren/
Display” on Page33).
Coastal flood
warning
TUNE TV Siren
COASTAL
Siren
FLOOD
WARNING
Coastal flood
watch
COASTAL
FLOOD
Siren
WATCH
11
Weather/Alert
Description
You See
You
Hear
Emergency action
warning
Emergency action
termination
Evacuate
immediately
Fire warning
Flash flood statement
Flash flood warning
Flash flood watch
Flood statement
Flood warning
Flood watch
EMERGENC
ACTION
WARNING
EMERGENC
ACTION
TERMINAT
EVACUATE
IMMEDIAT
FIRE
WARNING
FLASH
FLOOD
FLASH
FLOOD
WARNING
FLASH
FLOOD
WATCH
FLOOD
FLOOD
WARNING
FLOOD
WATCH
Siren
Beeps
Siren
Siren
Beeps
Siren
Siren
Beeps
Siren
Siren
12
Weather/Alert
Description
You See
You
Hear
Hazardous material
warning
Hazardous material
watch
High wind warning
High wind watch
Hurricane statement
Hurricane warning
Hurricane watch
Immediate evacuation
warning
Law enforcement
warning
HAZARD
MATERIAL
WARNING
HAZARD
MATERIAL
WATCH
HIGH
WIND
WARNING
HIGH
WIND
WATCH
HURRICAN
HURRICAN
WARNING
HURRICAN
WATCH
IMMEDIAT
EVACUATE
WARNING
LAW
ENFORCE
WARNING
Siren
Siren
Siren
Siren
Beeps
Siren
Siren
Siren
Siren
13
Weather/Alert
Description
You See
You
Hear
Local area emergency LOCAL
AREA
EMERGENC
National information
center
NATIONAL
INFO
CENTER
Periodic national test
NATIONAL
PERIODIC
TEST
Practice/Demo
DEMO
MESSAGE
Radiological hazard
warning
RADIOLOG
HAZARD
WARNING
Radiological hazard
watch
RADIOLOG
HAZARD
WATCH
Required monthly test
MONTHLY
TEST
Required weekly test
WEEKLY
TEST
Severe thunderstorm
warning
SEVERE
THUNDER
WARNING
Siren
Siren
Beeps
Nothing
Siren
Siren
Beeps
Beeps
Siren
14
Weather/Alert
Description
You See
You
Hear
Severe thunderstorm
watch
Severe weather
statement
Shelter in-place warning
Special marine
warning
Special weather
statement
Test message
Tornado warning
Tornado watch
Tsunami warning
Tsunami watch
SEVERE
THUNDER
WATCH
SEVERE
WEATHER
SHELTER
IN-PLACE
WARNING
SPECIAL
MARINE
WARNING
SPECIAL
WEATHER
TEST
MESSAGE
TORNADO
WARNING
TORNADO
WATCH
TSUNAMI
WARNING
TSUNAMI
WATCH
Siren
Beeps
Siren
Siren
Beeps
Nothing
Siren
Siren
Siren
Siren
15
Weather/Alert
Description
You See
You
Hear
Unrecognized code
ending in S
Unrecognized code
ending in W
Unrecognized code
ending in A
Unrecognized code
ending in E
Volcano warning
Volcano watch
Winter storm warning
Winter storm watch
UNKNOWN
STATEMNT
TUNE TV
UNKNOWN
WARNING
TUNE TV
UNKNOWN
WATCH
TUNE TV
UNKNOWN
ENERGENC
TUNE TV
VOLCANO
WARNING
VOLCANO
WATCH
WINTER
STORM
WARNING
WINTER
STORM
WATCH
Siren
Siren
Siren
Siren
Siren
Siren
Siren
Siren
16
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