Oregon Scientific WR102 Portable All Hazard Radio with S.A.M.E. Technology

by Oregon Scientific

Product Details

Product Manual [309kb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 2.8 x 1.2 x 5.2 inches ; 6.4 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005N5XN
• Item model number: WR102
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #79,469 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 9, 2006

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Oregon Scientific's compact handheld WR-102 radio receives all seven NOAA weather radio channels and can be programmed to display only warnings and alerts that occur in your local area. The radio continuously receives broadcasts and sounds the radio speaker whenever an alert comes through so you can be sure to be on top of the latest weather news.

The WR-102 uses Specific Area Messaging Encoding (SAME) technology, giving you the option of screening out unwanted broadcasts and receiving alerts only for the geographical areas you program (up to six counties of your choice). It also receives National Weather Service broadcasts and alerts vital to survival in the aftermath of earthquakes, storms, floods, explosions, radiation emergencies, toxic chemical spills, and other life-threatening disasters.

The LCD's backlit display assures the best readability. This water-resistant radio also doubles as a digital alarm clock with snooze feature. It includes a belt clip and stand. The WR-102 runs on three AA batteries (not included) and also has a plug-in jack for AC power.

Product Description

Digital Display Reports Localized Watches & Warnings w/ SAME (Specific Area Message Encoding) Technology

Digitally Tunes All Seven NOAA Weather Radio Channels - Ideal For Hikers, Campers & Fishermen

Automatic Audio-Visual Alert Activation When The Radio Is In Silent Standby Mode

User Selectable 12 Or 24 Hour Clock w/ Alarm & Eight Minute Snooze

Backlit Display & Digital Clock w/ Day/Month/Year Display

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tornado Alley, July 5, 2004

By 

Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Oregon Scientific WR102 Portable All Hazard Radio with S.A.M.E. Technology (Electronics)

We live in an area that does get some severe weather--it's not Oklahoma, but one morning early, I was awoken by the distinctive sound of a tornado or strong down-wind rushing by the house, sounding like a train. And we get big thunderstorms. I got this radio because our local stations are weak and don't broadcast local weather reliably.

The radio comes in a holster that can clip on a belt, and it has a tether. It is sport-yellow, and obviously designed for boaters. The three batteries (not alkaline, but you can replace with these) are included so you can test that radio out right when you get it. By going onto the NOAA website, you can find your local NOAA station and tune the radio to the one of seven frequencies, indicated by letter, that is right for your area.

While tuning in the frequency was a bit tedious, once it's set up, turning the radio on is easy. You push the top right button and on comes your local NOAA station. In our area, the marine forecast comes on the quarter and three-quarters of the hour, and the local station broadcasts at the top of the hour. If there is severe weather in the broadcast area, a "statement" flashes on the very readable, backlit LCD screen. If there is a severe weather warning, a warning flashes, and the operating light goes from green flash to red flash.

If you don't want to listed to the continuous-loop broadcast, you can press the ON button once more, and a circle-with-a-dash comes on the LCD. This indicates the radio is on squawk-mode. If a warning or statement is issued, the radio will come on and inform you about the weather.

Press the ON button once more, and it's on MUTE--so you will only see statement or warning indicators if you look at the operating flashing light on the upper right corner or on the screen for any statements from NOAA. Press once more, and the radio is now OFF. If you want to sleep, but be alerted of weather hazard, the squawk setting is great. It will wake you right up. If you just want to wake up at a specific time, there is an alarm clock built in, and the LCD screen always shows the time and day, as well as the station you are tuned in to.

Summary: Boaters, this is CHEAP insurance, if your craft does not have an elaborate navigation and radio system. Homeowners in areas that get severe weather and golfers and sports enthusiasts can also benefit from this radio.

The volume is controlled by arrows up and down on the left side. The only defect to this unit is a lack of AC adapter, though you can purchase one if you intend to run this on your desk at home. The form factor is good--strong, non-slip plastic in a hand-friendly shape, sculpted to be held easily, again, probably with boaters in mind.The outlets for AC adapter are covered wtih plastic plugs, so you can tie the tether somewhere on the boat if you are worried about it going overboard, and the plug coverings make it water-resistant.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Reliable & portable weather alert radio, November 12, 2001

By 

Jim Diehl (Bloomington, IL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Oregon Scientific WR102 Portable All Hazard Radio with S.A.M.E. Technology (Electronics)

We have been using one of these for almost a year. Radio alerts have been on par with a base radio/external antenna we use. It has worked well on our canoe/camping trips. Enabling the S.A.M.E. idenifiers (available on the NOAA website) can limit alerts to your county of preference or all counties in the alert area. The radio stores 6 county codes. This is much more specific than other plain alert radios. This radio has been able to receive NOAA stations when some other radios have not, which is interesting, considering the size of the antenna. This includes some more expensive radios and "combo" receivers. Until recently, the closest NOAA tower was 35 miles distant and we where able to receive the signal reasonably well. With a new local NOAA tower in town, reception is 100 percent reliable and quiet. Case construction seems fairly robust and water resistant, but is rather oddly shaped. I have been told this was the same case used in a FRS radio. Clock has two programable alarms which have been handy as a travel alarm clock. Programming is no more difficult (or easier) than any other small electronic gadgets. Not perfect, but overall, this little radio has been great.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good radio but with some drawbacks, March 12, 2006

By 

novaluna (Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Oregon Scientific WR102 Portable All Hazard Radio with S.A.M.E. Technology (Electronics)

This little radio has been a great help, considering the sometimes strange and quickly changing weather we seem to have in eastern Tennessee. I bought this radio because of its portability and SAME feature. A year later, it is still a handy tool to have but it does have some fairly large drawbacks.

The SAME alert feature is reassuring in times of bad weather. We do have severe weather fairly frequently during warmer months, and I can say that I have felt more secure having a radio with the ability to warn me of severe weather in my own county. The codes for individual areas are available on the NOAA website: simply find the correct page for your state and a list of counties or regional/metro areas will be listed with their SAME codes. You have the ability to allow all warnings (within the broadcast area) to activate the radio on setting one. If you want more specific warnings for a certain county (or multiple county/regional area), simply put in the SAME code for the first area on setting two and go from there if you have more than one code to put in. This ability lets you get weather warnings from the direction in which the severe weather is traveling from. Another use for this feature is to use the additional SAME slots for traveling without erasing your original county codes.

The drawbacks of this radio include battery life problems and ease of use. The radio eats through AA batteries quite quickly, potentially leaving you without the use of the radio during inclement weather. We have a set of rechargeable batteries that we use with the radio. We also don't power up the radio unless there is an indiciation of bad weather to save power. It does function well as a regular weather radio, but with the poor battery life it makes it more difficult to justify popping back in the batteries just to listen to the outlook. Ease of use in programming the radio is also a big drawback. Trying to set up not only the correct band for your local weather radio (available on the SAME pages mentioned before) and also setting up SAME county/regional codes can be very trying, especially given the need to continually reset them up due to poor battery life.

I think the unit has an AC adapter port but the unit doesn't come with an adapter. If one could obtain an adapter then this would be a great home weather tool. Otherwise, this radio is still a good choice but make sure to invest in a set of rechargeable batteries and a permanent list of SAME codes to keep nearby.