The WR602 Oregon Scientific Portable Public Alert Radio receives text and audio NOAA and EAS civil, environmental, and weather emergency radio broadcasts. The WR602 Oregon Scientific also has an integral digital quartz calendar clock with dual daily snooze alarms. 

The NOAA text messages on the WR602 can be displayed in English, French, or Spanish. This small, portable, splash-resistant weather and emergency alert radio can be programmed by county to give you only the alerts that pertain to you. Now, more than ever, every family should have an emergency alert radio to provide the earliest possible warning of dangerous conditions in your area.

NOAA Information. NOAA stands for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and EAS is the Emergency Alerting System. The WR602 receives audio and digitally encoded (text) civil and weather emergency alert messages transmitted from the more than 900 NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) broadcast towers in the 50 states, adjacent coastal waters, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the U.S. Pacific Territories. The WR602 receives all seven NOAA weather channels, and it uses Specific Area Message Encoding (S.A.M.E.) technology to identify specific areas such as a county or a portion of a state.

Displays and Audio. The WR602 has two main display modes, Clock and Radio Status, plus a Setting mode with sub-modes for alarms, clock and language, radio channel, and radio geographic location. During normal operation, the unit remains in Clock mode until you turn the radio on. In Clock mode, you can press MENU to alternate between current time with weekday, calendar display, alarm 1 time, and alarm 2 time.

To enter the Radio Status mode, you turn the power on. A single button selects not only radio On and Off but also Standby and Mute. With the radio On, you hear regularly repeated NOAA weather condition reports and forecasts except when these are interrupted by NOAA alert messages (advisories, watches, warnings, and the weekly test message). These NOAA alerts are preceded by a 100 dB audio alarm and a visible alert signal. With the radio in Standby, it switches to On only when alert messages are broadcast. With the radio in Mute, it is in Standby with the sound turned off. Thus, you can view but cannot hear alert messages. When the radio is Off, it does not respond to NOAA alert messages. Selecting Standby, Mute, or Off saves power. 

Additional Information. The WR602 can store up to eight NOAA alert messages for later display. This radio receives all NOAA events, and the user manual contains a complete National Events and Messages table. In it are listed the nature of activation and the message type for all NOAA alerts. Examples of nature of activation include Tornado Watch, Immediate Evacuation, and Child Abduction Emergency (known commonly as "Amber Alert"). Message type can be Advisory, Watch, or Warning (plus Statement when the nature of activation is Emergency Action Termination).

The WR602's two daily alarms have different sounds so that you can tell one from another. Each alarm sounds for 1 minute (if not silenced earlier) and has an available 8-minute snooze function.

The LCD panel on the WR602 has a backlight with 5-second auto-off for night viewing. On the left side of the radio is a jack for connection to an external speaker system (e.g., a public address system). On the back of the radio is a handy belt clip, and you can also attach a neck strap (not included) to the radio if desired.

The ac adapter included with the WR602 Public Alert Radio connects to the recharging cradle. The radio's Ni-MH battery pack recharges when the radio is in the cradle and the adapter is plugged in. You can use three AA alkaline batteries instead of the rechargeable battery pack, but if you do this, don't put the radio in the recharging cradle unless power to the cradle is disconnected.

Features:

• Monitors U.S. Emergency All Hazards and Emergency Alert System (EAS) weather bulletins, warnings, and forecasts.
• Receives all National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) reports, which provide emergency alerts on tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, floods, evacuations, civil dangers, and more.
• Digital quartz clock calendar automatically synchronizes with NOAA time broadcast.
• Flexible programming--select Specific Area Message Encoding (S.A.M.E.) broadcasts in up to 9 different areas or ALL counties.
• Available keypad lock function to prevent accidental changing of programmed settings.
• Manual or automatic channel selection.
• Three levels of alerts: Advisory, Watch, and Warning.
• Broadcasts audible messages at any of 7 volume levels.
• Audible messages are preceded by 100 dB alarm.
• Displays text messages in dot matrix format in English, French, or Spanish.
• Can store up to 8 messages for later display.
• Signal strength icon with signal loss reminder.
• Clock has two daily alarms, each with available 8-minute snooze.
• Message reception modes for both home and travel use.
• Includes rechargeable Ni-MH (nickel metal hydride) battery pack, belt clip, ac adapter, and charging cradle.
• Can use three AA (1.5V) alkaline batteries in place of Ni-MH battery pack.

Specifications: