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Please see "WR300 Controls" for important buttons and controls.
You are now able to receive weather alerts for your area and surrounding areas. To narrow the alerts to just your county, see "Programming County Codes" to program the S.A.M.E. code for your county into the radio.
Channels Preset on the Weather Radio | Broadcast Frequency (MHz) |
1 | 162.400 |
2 | 162.425 |
3 | 162.450 |
4 | 162.475 |
5 | 162.500 |
6 | 162.525 |
7 | 162.550 |
To get the S.A.M.E. code for your area, call 1-888-697-7263 or visit www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/indexnw.htm
Thank you for choosing Midland! Your new WR300 weather radio is the latest in weather and hazard alert monitoring technology, providing you with the information needed to keep you safe. Your WR300 weather radio has a special receiver that tunes to the 24/7 broadcast issued by the National Weather Service. The combined All Hazards/Weather Alert broadcast network is the single, most immediate source for comprehensive weather and emergency information available to the public.
This WR300 weather radio has an innovative automatic alert system. In the event of a special warning broadcast, the radio is automatically activated along with a loud tone, a flashing LED indicator and an "alert" message on the LCD. Emergency weather bulletins include alerts about: tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, ice/snow storms and other severe weather. Other emergencies might include: Amber alert, hazardous explosions, fires, chemical spills and other civil emergencies.
In addition, this WR300 weather radio has the "S.A.M.E. Digital Weather/Hazard Alert" feature, providing you with constant monitoring of your localized NWS broadcast. The S.A.M.E. decoding receiver allows you to hear only messages for the area(s) concerning you. You now have a choice as to what information will be brought to you.
We encourage you to read this owner's manual thoroughly before operating this radio. This manual is a valuable part of your new weather radio. See the "Quick Start Instructions" section of this manual for the initial weather radio setup and programming. After your new weather radio is programmed and operating properly, store the manual in a safe place for future reference.
Press and release any button to turn the backlight on for 5 seconds. For continuous backlight, press the "MENU" button, then the press the "DOWN" arrow until "LIGHT" displays on the screen. Then press the "SELECT" button. Then press the "UP" arrow to change the backlight setting from "NORMAL" to "CONTINUOUS." Press the "SELECT" button to save your settings.
First, determine the counties you are interested in. Then, do one of the following three steps to get the codes:
Helpful Tip: The S.A.M.E. code is created using the following method:
Your WR300 weather radio is 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 "ALL." This is the default setting.
To review your saved S.A.M.E. codes, do the following:
To turn the alert on and off, press and hold the "ALERT ON/OFF" button for 5 seconds until you see "ALERT ON" blinking. While still holding down the button, press the "UP" arrow to switch between "ALERT ON" and "ALERT OFF." Press the "SELECT" button to save your selection.
You can program the WR300 weather radio to only sound the voice or siren alert for certain weather emergency messages. Those messages unimportant to you can be programmed to only display a message, minimizing annoyance.
To program the emergency messages you want to silence, do the following:
Event Code | Level | Default |
Administrative message | Advisory | Off |
Avalanche Watch | Watch | On |
Avalanche Warning | Warning | On |
Biological Hazard Warning | Warning | On* |
Boil Water Warning | Warning | On |
Blizzard Warning | Warning | On |
Child Abduction Emergency | Advisory | On |
Civil Danger Warning | Warning | On* |
Civil Emergency Message | Warning | On* |
Coastal Flood Watch | Watch | On |
Coastal Flood Warning | Warning | On |
Chemical Hazard Warning | Warning | On* |
Contaminated Water Warning | Warning | On* |
Dam Watch | Watch | On |
Dam Break Warning | Warning | On |
Contagious Disease Warning | Warning | On |
Practice/Demo | Advisory | Off |
Dust Storm Warning | Warning | On |
Emergency Action Notification | Warning | On* |
Emergency Action Termination | Advisory | On* |
Earthquake Warning | Warning | On* |
Immediate Evacuation | Warning | On* |
Evacuation Watch | Watch | On |
Food Contamination Warning | Warning | On* |
Flash Flood Watch | Watch | On |
Flash Flood Statement | Advisory | On |
Flash Flood Warning | Warning | On |
Flood Watch | Watch | On |
Flood Statement | Advisory | On |
Flood Warning | Warning | On |
Fire Warning | Warning | On |
Flash Freeze Warning | Warning | On |
Freeze Warning | Warning | On |
Hurricane Statement | Advisory | On |
Hazardous Materials Warning | Warning | On* |
Hurricane Watch | Watch | On |
Hurricane Warning | Warning | On* |
High Wind Watch | Watch | On |
High Wind Warning | Warning | On |
Iceberg Warning | Warning | On |
Industrial Fire Warning | Warning | On* |
Local Area Emergency | Advisory | On* |
Law Enforcement Warning | Warning | On* |
Land Slide Warning | Warning | On* |
National Audible Test | Advisory | Off |
National Information Center | Advisory | Off |
Network Notification Message | Advisory | Off |
National Periodic Test | Advisory | Off |
National Silent Test | Advisory | Off |
Nuclear Power Plant Warning | Warning | On* |
Power Outage Advisory | Advisory | On |
Radiological Hazard Warning | Warning | On* |
Required Monthly Test | Advisory | Off |
Required Weekly Test | Advisory | Off |
Special Marine Warning | Warning | On |
Special Weather Statement | Advisory | On |
Shelter In-Place Warning | Warning | On* |
Severe Thunderstorm Watch | Watch | On |
Severe Thunderstorm Warning | Warning | On |
Severe Weather Statement | Advisory | On |
Tornado Watch | Watch | On |
911 Telephone Outage Emergency | Advisory | On |
Tornado Warning | Warning | On* |
Tropical Storm Watch | Watch | On |
Tropical Storm Warning | Warning | On* |
Tsunami Watch | Watch | On* |
Tsunami Warning | Warning | On* |
Transmitter Backup On | Advisory | Off |
Transmitter Carrier Off | Advisory | Off |
Transmitter Carrier On | Advisory | Off |
Transmitter Primary On | Advisory | Off |
Volcano Warning | Warning | On* |
Wild Fire Watch | Watch | On |
Wild Fire Warning | Warning | On* |
Winter Storm Watch | Watch | On |
Winter Storm Warning | Warning | On |
Unrecognized Watch | Watch | On |
Unrecognized Emergency | Advisory | On |
Unrecognized Statement | Advisory | On |
Unrecognized Warning | Warning | On |
Unrecognized Message | Warning | On* |
*The above event codes notated with an asterisk have a default setting to ON that cannot be disabled. This is the intended functionality and is not an indication that the radio is not working properly
To test the alert function to ensure it is working, press the "MENU" button, then press the "UP" arrow until "SIREN TEST" is displayed. Press the "SELECT" button to sound the alert siren. Press the "SELECT" button again to silence the alarm.
The WR300 weather radio can store 10 different alerts (with overlapping effective times) in its memory. If the radio receives a new alert while a previous alert is still in effect, it automatically displays the new alert description. To review past alerts that are still in effect, press the "DOWN" arrow to scroll through the last 10 alerts. If an alert is expired, it will be marked "EXP."
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.
If no alerts are received for 10 days, the display will flash "CHECK RECEPTION" every 30 seconds. If this happens, check your channel settings and county codes for setting errors. If you receive a clear signal from the NWS, try using the "ALL" county code setting to receive all alerts for all counties.
Note: If you have trouble finding reception, please move your radio closer to a window and away from fluorescent lighting.
There is an AM/FM radio built into the WR300 weather radio that you can listen to without interrupting the weather radio functions. If an alert is received, the radio automatically switches from the AM/FM radio to the weather radio alert.
Press the "RADIO" button to turn the AM/FM radio on and off.
Press the "RIGHT" arrow or "LEFT" arrow to scan through the radio stations. When you find a station you like, stop pressing the arrow and the radio will stay on that station.
You can program 3 AM and 3 FM radio stations into the radio's memory. To program a memory channel, do the following:
Problem | Suggestion |
No power | Make sure the AC Power Adapter is securely plugged into both DC jack on back of weather radio and into the wall outlet. Make sure batteries are installed in case AC power fails. |
No sound | Check VOLUME control to ensure volume is turned up to an audible level. |
No weather broadcast when you press WEATHER/ SNOOZE button | Ensure that telescoping antenna is up and fully extended. If you are using an external antenna, ensure that it is connected properly. Ensure that the radio is set to the NWS weather channel in use in your area. Contact NWS to ensure they are presently broadcasting. If in a metal structure, make sure you are close to a window. If in a weak signal area, you will need an external antenna. |
The radio is not responding properly to NWS weather alert broadcasts | Check to see that you have programmed in the correct S.A.M.E. County Code(s). Check with the NWS that the tower is broadcasting. |
The National Weather Service operates a system of weather and hazard alert broadcasts covering a large area of the United States. Currently, only a few areas are not covered. Typical broadcasts are within reception distance of 25-50 miles of the weather station. Your WR300 weather radio can receive broadcasts from up to 50 miles from the weather station, depending on your location and conditions of weather, terrain, etc. If you find reception is not good in your area, try different locations in your home or office to find a spot of improved reception. Placement near a window usually improves reception.
If a weather broadcast cannot be heard on any of the 7 channels, contact your local NWS office and verify the closest station is on air. Also verify the channel frequencies the station is broadcasting. If your NWS is transmitting and you are not receiving the broadcasts, you may need an external antenna. Please visit our website at www.midlandusa.com to view our suggested antenna, the 18-259W VHF Through-Glass Antenna. This antenna improves reception when applied to a window.
Please note: Metal structures are more difficult to receive reception in, because metal interferes with the signal. If you live in a metal structure, you may need an external antenna.
In 1994, NOAA began broadcasting coded emergency signals that identify the specific geographic area (such as the county within a state) that is affected by an emergency. Until that time, such specific emergency weather information was not available directly to the public. NOAA transmits the coded emergency signals using a technique called Specific Area Message Encoding (S.A.M.E.) The WR300 weather radio is designed to receive these S.A.M.E. county code transmissions.
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.
You can program the weather radio with up to 23 S.A.M.E. county codes. The weather radio allows you to receive broadcast alerts for all counties within your area, or for up to 23 individual selectable counties. This will eliminate any alerts that are not within your area of interest.
When you program your S.A.M.E. county code(s) into the WR300 weather radio, you eliminate any alerts that are not within those counties. Warnings, watches and advisories of weather and other area emergencies, about 50 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.
Specifications are nominal and subject to change.
General | |
Frequency Range | (162.400, 162.425, 162.450, 162.475, 162.500, 162.525, 162.55 MHz) |
Number of WX Channels | 7 |
Input Voltage | 9 – 14 Volts DC |
Dimensions | 7.0 × 5.5 × 2.25 |
20 dB Quieting Sensitivity | 0.5 µV |
FIPS County code Sensitivity at 5kHz Dev | 0.5 µV |
Channel Selectivity | ±25 kHz, 60 dB |
Speaker Impedance | 8 Ω |
Speaker Output at 10% THD | 200 mW max. |
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:
Accessories can be purchased at www.midlandusa.com or fill in the form on the following page and mail to our address.
18-STR
External Alert Strobe Light
18-259W
Window Mount All Hazard/ Weather Alert Radio Antenna
Check out these and other great products at www.midlandusa.com
We'd love to hear from you! Let us know what you think of your new Midland product at
or by visiting us at www.midlandusa.com
Midland Radio Corporation
5900 Parretta Drive
Kansas City, MO 64120
816.241.8500
Note: Features and Specifications are subject to change without notice. MIDLAND is not responsible for unintentional errors or omissions on its packaging.
Here you can download full pdf version of manual, it may contain additional safety instructions, warranty information, FCC rules, etc.
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