Safeguard your home and family with smoke detectors, carbon dioxide detectors and deadbolt locks; while weather radios provide timely updates in case of hazardous weather or civil emergencies.
Specific Area Message Encoding, or SAME codes, allow the National Weather Service to broadcast only messages relevant to your area – this way you won’t hear warnings for other parts of the country that don’t affect you directly.
Getting Started
Apart from smoke alarms, carbon dioxide detectors, and deadbolt locks, there are other ways you can protect your family from fast-moving hazardous weather and civil emergencies — such as with a NOAA weather radio receiver. This device can serve as an invaluable asset in homes, schools, hospitals, places of worship, offices stores recreational facilities restaurants transportation hubs etc.
NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards stations broadcast National Weather Service warnings, watches and forecasts 24 hours a day as well as emergency alerts such as AMBER Alerts, public safety statements and homeland security announcements.
Some weather radios feature SAME (Specific Area Message Encoding), enabling the user to pre-select their desired geographic area for receiving NWS alerts. To create a SAME code, open up the access door on the front of your radio and press PROGRAM button; once blinking appears use arrow buttons to select desired area from which alerts should come.
Antenna
An antenna is one of the key components when it comes to receiving NOAA weather radio transmissions, and should be located away from metal objects and electrical devices that interfere with reception.
Quality antennas can enhance NOAA weather radio reception dramatically, and many manufacturers offer weather radios equipped with external antenna connectors that make installation quick and simple compared to standard internal receiver antennas.
Some receivers contain an optional feature to automatically turn on and play a 1050Hz attention tone (called Warning Alarm Tone or WAT ) before any watch, warning, or other hazard message is broadcasted – this feature is especially beneficial in rural locations with hilly terrain where NOAA weather radio transmitters may have difficulty reaching receivers.
Located in Tornado Alley, these receivers could save your life by alerting you from deep sleep to give time for you to reach safety. Some models also include jacks for additional notification devices like strobe lights and bed shakers.
SAME Codes
SAME (Specific Area Message Encoding) code systems allow you to tailor your radio receiver only to receive warnings that pertain directly to your area. Each region served by the National Weather Service has a six digit SAME code assigned specifically for them.
In an emergency, NWS broadcasts a digital header using SAME code which denotes what type of alert it is sending and which county(ies) are affected. A weather radio equipped with SAME receives this signal and decodes it before sounding an alarm with 1050Hz tone to notify people about the danger.
SAME codes allow you to stay prepared and take appropriate actions if they arise, by eliminating alerts that don’t pertain to your location. To find one for your area, visit the NWS’s website and search by state and county; then write down any codes so they can be programmed into your radio; many models support more than one SAME code – even multiple codes in one area!
Power
Your home might already have smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors, deadbolt locks and security systems; but is it prepared for severe weather events or other disasters? Investing in a NOAA Weather Radio receiver provides round-the-clock access to vital information that could save your family’s lives.
NOAA Weather Radio-All Hazards service goes beyond typical AM/FM broadcasts to deliver special weather alerts, watches, warnings and hazard information around the clock from National Weather Service alerts, watches and warnings that can only be picked up with dedicated NOAA Weather Radio receivers available at electronics, department and sporting goods stores as well as online.
Search for radios equipped with NWR SAME (Specific Area Message Encoding) features that allow you to pre-select geographical areas that you would like to receive alerts from. When an alert with that code is broadcasted, your radio will activate from silent mode automatically letting you know of a potentially life-threatening situation that is unfolding.
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