Weather Mode - West Marine VHF580 Owner's Manual

In cooperation with the FCC, NOAA also uses the weather channels to alert you of other

Weather mode

hazards besides weather (child abduction alerts, nuclear, biological, etc.). In weather mode,
the radio monitors one of the ten NOAA weather channels. If any type of alert is received for
your area, the radio sounds an alert tone and displays the type of alert. In weather mode, the
display shows the following:
Weather
mode is on
Flashing: An alert
has been issued
Steady: Weather
Alert Watch is on
You cannot transmit while in weather mode.
Using the radio in weather mode
To enter weather mode, press
x
Weather mode can filter out alerts that do not affect your location if the location code
x
(FIPS code) of the alert is entered in your radio (see page 19). If you have no FIPS codes
x
programmed into your radio, the radio will notify you of all alerts in any area.
To turn off the radio's alert tone, press any button.
To cancel weather mode and return to the previous marine channel, press the WX-MEM
x
button again.
x
Because weather mode already monitors the weather channels, you don't need Weather
Weather mode with Weather Alert Watch
Alert Watch to check the weather channel every seven seconds. If you activate Weather Alert
Watch while operating in weather mode, it operates as a type of "sleep mode": the radio stays
on the weather channel and mutes the speaker. If an alert is detected for your area, the radio
sounds an alert tone and turns the speaker back on. This mode is very useful when you are
anchoring for the night but want to stay informed of any hazards in your area.
To turn Weather Alert Watch on or off, press and hold
Select Setup and then WX-Alert Mode. Use
Mode setting ON or Off.
If you activate Triple Watch while operating
Weather mode with Triple and Dual Watch
in weather mode, the radio checks channels 16
and 9 every two seconds; with Dual Watch
turned on, the radio only checks channel 16.
Press and hold
microphone) for two seconds to turn Triple/
16/9-TRI
Dual Watch on or off. (To change between
Triple or Dual Watch, see page 18.)
Weather Band
Hurricane Warning
.
WX-MEM
(on the radio or the
09
Alert
and
CALL-MENU
CHANNEL UP CHANNEL DOWN
Monitoring Weather Channel WX08
09 16
Triple Watch:
radio checks channel 9, then channel 16.
Current
channel
number
Type of alert
(If the text is too
long, it scrolls.)
while the radio is idle.
to choose WX Alert
09 16 09 16
Every 2 seconds, the
15