Customer Reviews

R-1650 All Hazard - Weather Alert Radio with AM/FM

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I returned a Midland WR300 weather radio because I was unhappy with it and purchased a Reecom 1650. (See my previous review on that radio).

I am very happy with my Reecom 1650 radio. It is easier to program than the Midland, has all of the updated 2004 operational codes that my Midland did not have and has a better users manual. It also has additional features that the Midland did not have such as an alarm out socket that is compatible with X-10 devices and an additional audio out socket that can be used to interface with a PA system or bigger speaker. The AM/FM radio/alarm portion is easy to program and set to use as a personal alarm clock. The radio reception is very strong, I would imagine that if you are in a remote area, it will be able to pick up the NOAA transmitter signals very well. I am able to leave the antenna in the retracted position and hear all of the radio stations clearly (I am in the located in the city). The manual states that on battery power, it will power the radio up to 40 hours in standby mode. That is significantly longer than reported by other users of the Midland radio.

I see only a couple of downsides to this radio in comparison with others.
1) The display is good, but there are better displays out there that are clearer and easier to see at night. It has a backlight, but it is the light green color that illuminates from the bottom of the display. It does not help during the day. (This is not really an issue)
2) There are no predrilled holes for mounting this unit on the wall. (Not a big deal for me, since it will sit on my desk as a clock/radio combo and I could always rig something up, or use adhesive tape if necessary)

After shopping for other weather radios and my experience with the Midland, in my opinion, this is the best weather alert radio out there right now.

I live in an area prone to tornadoes, and regretfully am too far away from the warning sirens to hear them. So for me, a reliable weather radio that alarms loudly is a must.

Over the years I've gone through several different models, and the Reecom R-1650 is the best one that I've ever owned.

It has very good reception, which is often a problem where I live, since I am near several radio station towers that cause many radios to malfunction. Not only is the weather broadcast picked up clearly, but even the AM and FM stations come in without being drowned out by the nearby towers.

This unit has SAME decoding, which allows you to limit alarms to only those for your location - a big plus compared to some of the older units that would go off in the middle of the night for events 50 miles away from where I was.

You are able to extensively customize which alerts it responds to and which ones it ignores.

The alarm and radio volumes are independently settable, with a wide range from very quiet to quite loud.

One big plus of this unit is that it recognizes the End of Message (EOM) tone, so that it turns itself back to standby mode at the end of the warning message instead of making you have to turn it off manually or wait for a fixed timer to run out.

Another plus for this unit is that it recognizes the expanded set of warning message codes often termed "All Hazards", so not only can you be alerted to weather emergencies, but other types of emergencies too.

Radio Shack used to make some good weather radios. Regretfully, the last few that I owned would have the volume fade away over time, so that after a year or two they were too quiet to use even on their loudest setting.

I would definitely recommend this radio for anyone who needs warnings of emergency situations.

I was searching for a radio that was above all reliable. This is that radio. It has all the features of the other weather radios but also comes with a nice add on that allows turn lights on based on the type of alert (Red=Warning, Yellow=Watch, Green=Test).

It is pretty easy to setup and allows you to select just one county and supress certain alerts.

This was tested a couple nights ago as 2 different storms came through with tornados. The alarm sounded both times and did so at least 2 mins before the sirens went off outside.

This radio and it's minor twin R-1630 are available through WPSD NewsChannel 6 and Reecom Electronics, Inc. promotion to offer weather radios for sale at a reduced price.
[...]
Promotion Code: WPSD
Service was very prompt and radio is good quality. I suggest adding couple of the felt pads that are used for furniture feet to raise the rear of the unit for improved visual of the LCD display. Programming was simple, if you read the instructions. The order form has the wrong shipping info, but that's a minor problem. Call Reecom. Very simple to operate once you program it. I will buy more for gifts.

When I decided that I needed a weather radio I did what I always do and started researching them on the web. I must have read 200 reviews and comments from places like Amazon on about a dozen radios. That narrowed my potential purchase down to 2, this radio and the Midland WR-300.

I decided on this one because it seemed to have some extra features that I liked but mainly because it has the ability to stop playing the weather announcement when it gets the end of transmission signal. My old radio did not have that feature and it would just continue to replay the announcement for 60 seconds. I sleep with these radios next to the bed and turn them up loud so I will be sure to wake up if it alerts. Having to listen to the same announcement over and over for 60 seconds at 2 a.m. was a little harsh. Now, I can hear the announcement and just as it begins to repeat, the radio goes silent - I love that!

It seems to have great reception and it is fully programmable. It is not hard to program if you just follow the instructions in the manual. I've owned the radio now for about 6 months and it has alerted me on about half a dozen occasions for severe thunderstorms.

The lights on top of the radio quickly tell you what type of alert you are under (warning, watch, etc.). The memory feature is helpful to see what other alerts are active if you come home after the announcement(s) have been made. Of course, the radio displays the most severe alert in effect on the screen.

Another VERY handy feature is the countdown timer on the display for the active alert. I have come home to see the little red light blinking and it's nice to be able to look at the screen and see what the alert is for and how long it remains in effect.

I highly recommend this radio to my family and loved ones. If you live in an area prone to severe thunderstorms or tornadoes, you MUST own a weather radio. You don't have to buy this model, but get something.

For me, this was a great purchase and I am extremely happy with it. If it ever stops working I will buy another one without hesitation.

Two features that make this the best on the market: Easy to program so you only hear alerts of the type and location you desire, and no annoying EOM (end of message) tones like other products on the market.

I got my Reecom 1650 last Friday. It is working fine on the NOAA reception. I got it through the WPSD promotion. Google it you will find it. $55 shipping included. The shipping price raised a dollar.


They must have a high failure rate. There all kinds of ways to void warranty. Especially taking a peek inside. I wonder what kind of Chinese nightmare is in there... :)

Make your own antenna. Link:

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/mqt/nwr/nwrwebpg/antenna.php

I made mine with a long piece of RCA jacked cable, the kind that comes with a lot of stero systems. I had all the stuff in the garage. The impedance is not the same as 75 ohm cable I've heard, but it is close enough. I'm getting great reception of NOAA in my computer room. The transmitter is 36 miles away. I'm in a valley surounded by trees and it is snowing out. It's very RF noisy in here as well. The folded dipole antenna is just stuck on the wall with a thumb tack. Mine works best tilted at a slight angle from verticle. The signal is very good. The built in antenna works but it is very saticy. I don't believe the external antenna Reecom sells would work as good as a folded dipole.

FM is just OK but the AM reception is dismal.

If you are out in the sticks get a Grundig or GE super radio for AM reception.

If you take out the batteries while unpluged some settings go back to default. Not sure yet how many. I had to reset the time once but my stations were still there. To bad it will not charge rechargable batteries while plugged in.

This is my first NOAA radio that worked here. One other could not get a signal. Don't remember what fly by night brand that was.

Pros: Easy to set up after you read the manual. Intuitive enough you don't need the manual all the time. Really not at all when you understand the menus.

Good reception on the NOAA 162MHz frequencies especially in fringe areas.

Picks up my XM Airware all over the house (FM).

NOAA works.

Cons: AM reception sucks.

Loses some memory if the power is off and you change batteries. I need to look more into this.

I can't give this radio 5 stars because of the AM reception, but I can't give it three stars because of the menu programming and NOAA reception after I built an antenna. I can't wait to tear it apart and mod it. I will give it a month or so to make sure it does not have problems. The warranty is strict. It's not worth more than $55 IMHO.

You have to fax in an order, you can not order by phone or on the net. The warranty says you need a reciept but I never got one.

All in all I would say get one at this price.

If the unit receives only one alert at a time, it works great. However, when the unit receives 2 alerts back to back, it will not reset. One must press the "Stop" button to mute the audio or it will keep blaring until they do. Reecom will insist that there nothing wrong with any of their radios and will not let you send it back to them. Unit also does not mute when it receives the first EOM packet like most other weather radios do. It waits until it receives all 3 EOM packets and then there is still a second or two delay before it mutes (on a single alert). If it wasn't for the aforementioned firmware bug, this would probably be one of the best consumer level weather radios ever made.

I had 2 of these radios in 3 months. Both quit working for no reason. One quit before I got it set up. Sitting on table plugged in and went dead. Reecom will send you a new one every time one quits for $14.I threw my second one in the trash and went back to Midland.Cheaper for me than sending the Reecom back every month.
WILL NOT BUY FROM REECOM AGAIN !

I especially like this weather radio because I can program more than one county for alert. I have had great luck with it and it has come in handy many times. Having the grandkids here we are aware of watching for severe weather and living in the plains where tornados are somewhat common. This product and seller makes online shopping a very enjoyable experience. Another feature that is really nice is more than just weather alerts, we have a nuclear plant within 50 miles so it gives us more alerts than some.