Midland HH54 - Weather Radio Manual

Quick Start Instructions

1. Place 3 AA alkaline batteries or the optional battery pack into the battery compartment on the backside of the radio. The LCD will display 12:00 AM.
2. Press the ON/OFF button for 3 seconds to turn the unit on into standby mode and program the settings.
3. Program the weather channel for your area:
   1. Press the MENU button once.
   2. Press the DOWN arrow until CHANNEL is displayed on the LCD.
   3. Press the SELECT button.
   4. Press the DOWN arrow until you hear the broadcast of your station.
   5. Press the SELECT button to save your station and exit back to Menu mode.
   6. Press the MENU button to exit back to standby mode.
4. Press the WX/SNOOZE button to listen to the weather broadcast. Use the UP/DOWN arrows on the side of the radio to adjust the volume to a desired listening level. To exit the weather broadcast mode press the WX/SNOOZE button again.
   Note: When in weather mode and the volume is adjusted and volume is displayed you must press the WX/SNOOZE button twice to exit back to standby mode.

You are now able to receive weather alerts for your area and surrounding areas. To narrow the alerts to just your county, see "S.A.M.E County Codes" section to program the S.A.M.E code for your county and/ or surrounding counties.

Installing the Belt Clip

To install the belt clip, slide the clip down into the slot on the back of the radio until the belt clip latch clicks. To remove the belt clip, press the lock tab down, then gently pull the belt clip up toward the top of the radio.

Introduction

Congratulations on your purchase of the Midland HH54 Portable Emergency Weather Alert Radio. All hazards means the radio is the fastest, most reliable means of receiving information on life threatening weather such as tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, ice storms as well as civil emergencies such as Amber alerts, hazardous explosions, fires and chemical spills. This information is broadcast by the National Weather Service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so you can stay informed no matter what time of day it is. In addition to all hazards, the HH54 also has S.A.M.E technology (Specific Area Message Encoding). This gives you the option of screening out unwanted broadcasts and receiving alerts only targeted for the geographical area you live in. Midland is proud to say the HH54 is Public Alert Certified- meaning it has been tested and approved to meet the Consumer Electronics Association standards of reliability and quality as a product carrying public safety warnings. Midland has become synonymous in the weather industry for safety and reliability. We are the leading manufacturer of weather alert radios. The HH54 is no exception. It is a quality piece of electronic equipment skillfully constructed with the finest components. This radio is designed for reliable and trouble free performance for years to come. You can rely on your Midland weather radio during severe weather.

Please Note: We encourage you to read this owner's manual before operating the radio. This manual is a valuable part of your new Midland HH54 Portable Emergency Weather Alert Radio. After the radio is programmed and operating properly, store the manual in a safe place for future reference.

Product Features and Controls

Start Over Programming: If you want to start over while programming, press the MENU button continuously until it "backs out" of the programming mode. If no buttons are pressed for about one minute the radio will exit the menu mode
Invalid Button Press: When you press a button that is not correct for programming the button will beep twice. A single button beep indicates a valid button press.

Set the Clock

1. Press the MENU button to open menu options.
2. Press the UP arrow to scroll through the menu until TIME is displayed. Press the SELECT button.
3. Press the UP arrow until the current hour is displayed. ( Note AM/PM changes as you scroll through the hours.)
4. Press the RIGHT arrow to save current hour and advance to minutes.
5. Program the minutes the same way.
6. Press the SELECT button to store the current time. Press the MENU button to exit menu mode.

Set the Sleep Alarm

1. Press the MENU button to open menu options.
2. Press the UP arrow to scroll through the menu until ALARM is displayed. Press the SELECT button.
3. Press the UP arrow until the current hour is displayed. (Note AM/PM changes as you scroll through the hours.)
4. Press the RIGHT arrow to save current hour and advance to minutes.
5. Program the minutes the same way.
6. Press the SELECT button to store the current time.
7. Press the MENU button to exit menu mode.

To temporarily silence the sleep alarm, press the WX/SNOOZE button. This will advance the alarm time by 9 minutes. To silence the alarm for the remainder of the day, press the MENU button.

Set the Channel

1. Press the MENU button once.
2. Press the DOWN arrow until CHANNEL is displayed on the LCD. Press the SELECT button.
3. Press the DOWN arrow until you hear the broadcast of your station. Then Press the SELECT button to save your station and exit back to Menu mode.

S.A.M.E County Codes

S.A.M.E (Specific Area Message Encoding) County Codes
You can program the HH54 Portable Emergency Weather Alert Radio with up to 9 S.A.M.E. county codes. The National Weather service divides the United States by state and county (or parish) and assigns a six digit code number called a FIPS (Federal Information Processing System) code, also known as a S.A.M.E. county code. This will eliminate any alerts that are not within these 9 areas of interest. Warnings, watches, advisories and statements, about 80 different types, will activate the weather radio for only your programmed specific area. The S.A.M.E. message the NWS sends contains information pertaining to the period for which the alert is valid. NWS can set the active time of the alert from 15 minutes up to 6 hours. When the designated time has passed, the weather radio display message and light will automatically reset to their normal appearance.

Getting the S.A.M.E County Code

You can program S.A.M.E. codes to the HH54 Portable Emergency Weather Alert Radio in three different ways but first, determine the counties you are interested in and be prepared to write them down:

1. Call the National Weather Service Toll Free Number at 1-888-NWS-S.A.M.E or (1-888-697-7263)
   When you call the NWS toll-free number, automated instructions will guide you to obtaining the six-digit S.A.M.E. County Code(s) you need by entering your state and county name through a "touch-tone" telephone keypad. Be sure to write it down for future reference. The automated telephone system will also give you the option to enter "another combination" which will enable you to obtain additional S.A.M.E.
   Codes for surrounding counties.
2. Visit the National Weather Service website at www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/indexnw.htm.
   The above internet link will take you to the NWS website. From there you will need to click on your state, find your county, and record the "S.A.M.E. code" which will be listed to the right of your county. Do the same for any other counties in which you are interested.
3. Visit the Midland Radio Corporation website at www.midlandradio.com/Products/Be-Weather-Aware
   The above internet link will take you to the Midland Radio Corporation Be Weather Aware landing page. From there, click on SAME codes for states, counties and territories under the Emergency Preparedness section. This will take you to the NWS website. From there you will need to click on your state, find your county, and record the "S.A.M.E. code" which will be listed to the right of your county. Do the same for any other counties in which you are interested.

Please Note: In Canada you can visit the Environment Canada website at: http://www.msc-smc.ec.gc.ca/msb/weatheradio/transmitter/index_e.cfm to obtain the CLC code for your region.

Programming S.A.M.E Codes into the Device

"ANY" S.A.M.E. County Codes is the Default Factory Setting:
Your HH54 Portable Emergency Weather Alert Radio comes preprogrammed to receive NWS weather and hazard alert transmissions for all S.A.M.E. county codes within range. If this is what you want, leave the radio set to "ANY."

A Single S.A.M.E. County Code:

1. Press the MENU button to open menu options.
2. Press the UP arrow to scroll through menu options until "S.A.M.E. SET" is displayed, then press SELECT button.
3. Press the UP arrow to scroll through: "SINGLE", "MULTIPLE", or "ANY."
4. Display "SINGLE", then press the SELECT button. "S.A.M.E.01"will be displayed. (Note if you are programming a single S.A.M.E. County Code, only the "01" setting will be used.) Press SELECT.
5. Using the UP arrow, find the first digit of your S.A.M.E. County Code. Press the RIGHT arrow to save the digit and automatically advance to the next digit.
6. Program all digits of your S.A.M.E. County Code in the same way.
7. Press the SELECT button to store your S.A.M.E. County Code. Press the MENU button to close the programming menu.

Multiple S.A.M.E. County Codes:

1. Press the MENU button to open menu options.
2. Press the UP arrow to scroll through menu options until "S.A.M.E. SET" is displayed, then press the SELECT button.
3. Press the UP arrow to scroll through: "SINGLE", "MULTIPLE", or "ANY."
4. Display "MULTIPLE" as explained, then press SELECT. "S.A.M.E.01" will be displayed, indicating you will be programming your first S.A.M.E. County Code at weather radio menu location "01."
5. After programming your first S.A.M.E. County Code, press the SELECT button then the "UP" arrow to advance to "S.A.M.E. 02." Program all of your S.A.M.E. County Codes in the same way as above.
6. When finished entering all your codes, press the MENU button to close the programming menu.

Helpful Tip: The S.A.M.E. code is created using the following method:

• The first digit is the sub county code-currently 0 in most areas.
• The second two digits represent the state code.
• The last three digits represent the county code.

Travel/Home Modes

The HH54 gives you the option of home or travel mode, making it easy to take the radio from home onto a road trip or vacation without having to reprogram your settings Here are the basic differences between travel and home mode:
Home Mode: In this mode the radio uses your default settings for response location. So, if you have chosen multiple S.A.M.E counties and programmed in three, these will be the counties the radio will alert for. In addition your channel selected during the quick start set-up will be saved as a home default as well, unless you manually change it through the menu while in home mode. When you switch to travel mode, these settings will be saved for when you return back to home mode.
Travel Mode: In this mode the radio automatically scans to the first available weather channel with a broadcast signal strong enough to use. If later the signal becomes too weak to use the radio will automatically resume scanning to find a usable signal.
This ensures no matter where you go you will always be locked onto the weather channel for that area. As for the S.A.M.E settings, the radio automatically disables Single and Multiple options so the radio will only alert for Any counties within range of where you are. To activate travel mode, press and hold the TR/HM button for 3 seconds. To return to home hold TR/HM again 3 seconds.

Choosing an Alert Type

1. Press the MENU button to open menu options.
2. Press the UP arrow to scroll through menu options until "ALT TYPE" (Alert Type) is displayed, then press the SELECT button.
3. Press the UP arrow to scroll through the following (3) alert types: "DISPLAY", "VOICE", or "TONE".
4. Press the SELECT button to choose the Alert Type you want.
5. Press the SELECT button to store your S.A.M.E. County Code. Press the MENU button to close the programming menu.

Reviewing Alerts

The HH54 Portable Emergency Weather Alert Radio can store up to 10 different Weather/Hazard alerts (with overlapping effective times) in its memory. If the weather radio receives a new alert while any previous alert is still in effect, it automatically displays the new alert. You can review all alerts still in effect by pressing the UP arrow to scroll through the weather radio's active alert memory. A double beep indicates the end of the list. "NO MESSAGE" will be displayed if no alerts are active. Also, when the radio receives an alert the corresponding LED will be lit- RED= Warning, Orange= Watch and Yellow= Advisory.

Display Backlighting

The HH54 has 2 settings for controlling the backlighting on the display. Choose between BLT NORM or BLT ON. With BLT NORM the backlight turns on whenever any button is pushed and will turn off after 5 seconds. With BLT ON, the backlight comes on and will stay on continuously until you turn it off manually through the menu.

Reception

1. The typical weather reception distance will range from 25-50 miles depending on the location and conditions of weather, terrain, etc... Also, some weather stations operate at much higher power levels than others and have their transmitting towers on the top of high buildings or hills. If reception in your area is not good, try different locations to find a place of good reception.
2. If weather stations cannot be heard on any channel, contact your local National Weather Service office to verfiy the station is on air and also verify the CHANNEL and location of the weather station.
3. All National Weather Service stations periodically transmit test signals. You can find out when your local NWS station broadcasts test signals by calling the NOAA National Weather Service Forecast Office (listed under "Weather" in the Federal Government section of the telephone book). During the weekly test signal, the local NWS station will give a list of counties covered by their transmitter. The NWS test signal allows everyone with weather radio receivers to verify the operation of their equipment. The following test signals may be sent by the NWS during testing: required weekly test, required monthly test, system demo, and national periodic test. During a test, the yellow advisory LED will light up and the "Weekly Test" or "Monthly Test" message will be visible on the display. The radio will not sound an audible alert tone to avoid giving the impression of an actual alarm. The visual response to the test is confirmation that your radio is working properly.
4. Mobile home reception is difficult due to the metallic structure preventing reception. Put your HH54 near a window.

Troubleshooting

One Year Limited Warranty

For Product Purchased in the USA:
Performance of any obligation under this warranty may be obtained by returning the warranted product, prepaid freight, along with proof of purchase to:
Midland Radio Corporation
Warranty Service Department
5900 Parretta Drive
Kansas City, MO 64120

Service

If your Midland Weather Radio fails to operate properly, check the "Troubleshooting" section in this manual before returning it for service. If necessary, return as follows:

1. Pack the unit in its original box and packing. Then pack the original box in a suitable shipping carton. Caution: Improper packing may result in damage during shipment.
2. Include the following:
   1. full description of any problems
   2. daytime telephone number, name & address
3. For warranty service include a photocopy of the bill of sale from an authorized dealer or other proof of purchase showing the date of sale.
4. You do not need to return accessory items (AC/DC Adapter, Batteries, Owners Guide) unless they might be directly related to the problem.
5. A flat rate of $25.00 will apply to repairs not covered by warranty or units that are over one year old. Send only cashier's check, money order or Master Card or Visa card number.

Midland Radio Corporation
5900 Parretta Drive
Kansas City, MO 64120
816-241-8500

CHECK OUT THE OTHER GREAT MIDLAND PRODUCTS AT
www.midlandradio.com

MIDLAND RADIO CORPORATION
5900 Parretta Drive
Kansas City, MO 64120
Call 816.241.8500
visit us at http://www.midlandradio.com

Documents / Resources

References

• NOAA Weather Radio
• Midland Radio | Two Way Radios and Weather Radios

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Here you can download full pdf version of manual, it may contain additional safety instructions, warranty information, FCC rules, etc.

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