Uniden WX500 User Guide

REFERENCE GUIDE

Precautions

Before you read anything else,

please observe the following:

Uniden DOES NOT represent this unit to be waterproof.
To reduce the risk of fire or electrical shock, DO NOT
expose this unit to rain or moisture.

Changes or modifications to this product not expressly
approved by Uniden, or operation of this product in any
way other than as detailed by this Reference Guide, could
void your authority to operate this product.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

About Your Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

About Emergency/Weather Alerts. . . . . . . . . . . 2

About FIPS Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Obtaining Your Areas FIPS Code(s) . . . . . . . . . 4

Taking Proper Care of Your Radio . . . . . . . . . . 5

Unpacking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Setting Up the WX500 All Hazards/

Weather Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Battery Backup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Controls & Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Initial Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Clock Setting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Alarm Clock Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

NWS Broadcast Channel Setting . . . . . . . . . . . 14

FIPS Code Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Alert Type Setting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Backlight Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Using the All Hazards/Weather Radio. . . . . . . 20

Testing the Weather Alert Radio. . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Technical Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

One-Year Extended Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Introduction

Getting
Started

Initial Settings

Operation

Troubleshooting

Specifications

INTRODUCTION

About Your Radio

Traditional weather radios receive NOAA's weather broadcast (usually
within a 50-mile radius) then sound an alarm of any emergency code
which was transmitted along with the broadcast. This means that 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
emergency/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 an emergency and the
specific geographic area (such as a county) affected by the emergency.

The WX500 was developed with the S.A.M.E. (Specific Area Message
Encoding) technology. This allows your radio to receive, interpret,
and display the information about the codes so you can determine
if the emergency might affect your area. Only S.A.M.E. compatible
emergency/weather radios 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 radio sounds an alert only when
an emergency/weather emergency is declared in those locations.
This helps you more efficiently track the emergency/weather conditions
in and around your area.

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Your new radio is equipped with the following features:

■

7 Preprogrammed National Weather Service Broadcast Channels

■

Programmable Emergency/Weather Alert with S.A.M.E. Technology

■

Liquid Crystal Display for Alert Description

■

Backlit Display

■

20 Programmable Area Codes

■

3 Alert Modes (Display, Tone, Voice)

■

Multiple Alert Display Capability

■

Alarm Clock with Snooze

■

Battery Backup Power Source

About Emergency/Weather Alerts

When the WX500 receives an emergency/weather alert:

 It sounds an alert tone.
 A description of the alert appears.
 An indicator on the front of the radio illuminates.

If the radio receives more than one emergency/weather
alert at the same time, it displays information about
each alert.

The alert descriptions your radio can display are based on a list of
specific emergency/weather alert types published by the NWS.
For a list of all the alert descriptions that your radio can display, see
NWS Emergency/Weather Alert Event Code descriptions on pages 22 - 23.

Caution: The NWS uses sophisticated models to determine an

alerts effective time. However, the end of an alert does
not necessarily mean that the related emergency is over.

2

About FIPS Codes

For the purpose of broadcasting emergency/weather information, the
NWS has divided the United States into regions by state and county (or
parish, where applicable) then assigned a 6-digit FIPS code to identify
each county or parish. For example, the code for Tarrant County, Texas,
is 048439.

The first digit in a FIPS code
identifies the county subdivision,
the next two digits identify the state,
and the last three digits identify the
county or parish.

Most FIPS codes begin with 0, which means that FIPS code
represents an entire county. The NWS, however, eventually
plans to subdivide some large counties. When that
happens, each subdivision will be assigned a digit from 1­9, resulting in codes such as 148439, 248439, and so on.

Your radio can receive all S.A.M.E. alert signals broadcasted within about
a 50-mile radius of where you installed it. To receive S.A.M.E. alerts and
broadcasts about emergencies/weather occurring only in particular
counties within that area, you can program up to 20 FIPS codes into the
radios memory. For example, this lets you avoid hearing an alert that
applies to an area within a 50-mile radius but not necessarily to your
county or parish.

3

Obtaining Your Areas FIPS Code(s)

To obtain the FIPS code for the location where you installed your radio,
contact the NWS toll free at 1-888-NWR-SAME (1-888-697-7263).

Visit their website: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/indexnw.htm

If you call the NWS, follow the instructions you hear.

If you are close to a county or parish line, you might want
to obtain the codes for the nearby counties or parishes.

Hint:

Since you can program up to 20 FIPS codes into the radios
memory, you might want to obtain the codes for other local areas
(as long as those areas are within a 50 mile radius of your local
NWS broadcast station). That way, you can program those codes
into the radio and receive broadcasts covering those locations, too.

4

Taking Proper Care of Your Radio

■

Do not use the radio in high-moisture environments such as the
kitchen or bathroom.

■

Avoid placing the unit in direct sunlight, near heating elements,
or vents.

■

Do not plug the radio into an outlet controlled by a wall switch as
prolonged periods without power causes the clock to reset.

Unpacking

Carefully check the contents against this list:

■

WX500 Radio with built-in telescopic antenna

■

AC Adaptor (Model AC500)
Cigarette Lighter Adaptor (Model DC500)

■

■

This Reference Guide and other printed materials

☞

If any items are missing or damaged, contact the
Uniden Parts Department at [phone]. Hours
are from 7:00a.m. to 5:00p.m. Monday through Friday,
Central Time. We may also be reached at:
www.uniden.com.

☞

Complete and mail your Registration Form immediately.

☞

Read this Reference Guide thoroughly before operating
the radio.

5

GETTING STARTED

Setting Up the WX500 All Hazards/Weather Radio

1. Plug the AC adaptor into an outlet and into the WX500. Make sure
that the outlet is not controlled by a switch that is turned OFF.

2. Install the 9V Backup Battery by removing the battery compartment
cover and snapping the battery onto the terminals.

3. If you would like to program your radio to receive Alerts only for
certain areas, determine the SAME codes you need. SAME codes for
your area can be found using the National Weather Service toll-free
phone number or the NOAA website. Phone: 1-888-NWR-SAME
(1-888-697-7263) Web: http://205.156.54.206/nwr/indexnw.htm
(a branch from http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr)

NOTE: If the radio will be located close to a county or parish

boundary lines, you may want to program SAME codes for
the nearby areas.

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4. Determine the best Emergency/Weather Channel to use in your area.
The best channel for your area is listed on the NOAA website at:
http://205.156.54.206/nwr/indexnw.htm along with the SAME codes,
or at http://205.156.54.206/nwr/nwrbro.htm. Or, you can turn the
Emergency/Weather Radio and NWR broadcast ON, enter the Menu,
and change the CHANNEL until you find the broadcast with the best
reception.

Channel Number NOAA Frequency (MHz)

1 162.550
2 162.400
3 162.475
4 162.425
5 162.450
6 162.500
7 162.525

5. Enter the Menu (menu key) and use the 3,4,5 ,6 and select
key if you would like to change the user-programmed settings.

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