I've been a professional meteorologist over 40 years ... tornado chaser ... Air Force hurricane hunter ... extreme weather guy ... Here in the heart of Tornado Alley nothing is more important to us than a reliable weather radio. We have trusted Midland for a long time and I think we've owned many of their consumer models. Here's a quick review of my new WR400 that arrived the day after Christmas: THE GOOD. This Midland WR400 has great, sleek external design and should be a super alarm clock radio for most people. Some reviews said it was too bright for bedside. That is NOT true. The menu function allows about 10 levels of backlight brightness and the low settings are great at night. The menu and operation are much easier and much improved over previous models ... the weather service’s SAME codes for your location are built in! You can now exclude specific extraneous alerts that you do not want to hear. The speaker is good and the volume control is smooth. Reception for FM is good. NOAA weather radio reception is as good as the WR100 was. THE BAD. Not much. AM reception beside the bed is always a problem and not that good due to electrical interference. The telescoping antenna is more problematic beside the bed, since it starts poking into lamps and such and hard to make look good. I got an external antenna, which are available on Amazon.THE UGLY. I did have a major issue when this radio arrived and my initial rating was only going to be two stars ... In the first hour of using the radio I was apparently the first to discover a flaw that impacts a few of us. The most popular sports radio station in our area (Norman, OK) is KRXO 107.7, "The Franchise" -- it carries all of University of Oklahoma games. This radio, as it was shipped, would not tune up to 107.7! It stops at 107.3 and then goes to the bottom of the FM scale. I could find no workaround to tune to 107.7. I sent multiple complaints. THE RESPONSE AND FINAL RATING. Midland called me back about the FM tuner complaint and assured me they had validated my concern and will be working a fix for the radio tuning problem for all of us. Apparently there are over 200 FM stations above 107.3 in the USA so it is a problem that needs fixing. Who would expect this problem? Based on Midland's earnest reply, I believe the WR400 will be an excellent workhorse radio when they iron out the tuner bug. I can easily give it four stars now and up the rating or lower it based on the company communication and fix. I do need to listen to my favorite FM station beside the bed. If you are needing higher than 107.3 on the FM radio scale, then you will need to stay tuned for a fix!
We've had this for a few years but I've never felt the need to write a review. We had a tornado go by our house a couple nights ago in TX. Friends were all upset that their phones didn't alert them to the Tornado Watch or Warning. Our phones didn't go off either, but luckily we have this radio which woke us up AND we could hear the sirens outside. If you can't hear the sirens inside your house, you NEED one of these weather radios. The sirens are for people who are OUTSIDE. They aren't meant to be the warning device indoors. This is the one we have and it's plenty loud and easy for someone tech-dumb to program. I leave all tech stuff to my husband but one time he was out of town and I had to reprogram it. The instructions come with it and are online so you can do it even if you lose the original.
I am really interested in weather radios, and have a collection of them. I have several Midland radios, including the WR120, Wr300, HH50, And HH54VP. We do not get a lot of severe weather here in the Boston area, but I think it is still a good idea to have a weather radio, especially during all of the snowstorms.
When I found out about the WR400, I decided to order one since I loved my wr300. I got the WR400 on March 26, and it's a pretty nice radio. The speaker quality is much improved over the WR300, and is very clear. Also, being someone with very low vision, I can see the screen a bit better. However, I am also a bit disappointed with this radio.
Probably my biggest gripe with this radio is that the siren is not adjustable. It is way too loud, almost as loud as my WR120. I liked being able to turn it down on the WR300, and I am quite irritated that this feature is not included with this newer radio. I do not need to be startled out of bed because of a blizzard warning, but I would like to know this is happening. I realize that these radios are meant to be loud, especially for tornados, but some may not need or want it to be this loud. I really hope this can be changed in an update to the software.
I have not received any alerts yet on this radio, but I'm sure it will work perfectly, as my other Midlands have been super reliable. Over all, this appears to be a very good weather radio, but it could be better. Since I cannot give half star ratings, I am giving this radio 4 stars, but I would give it 3.5 if I could. Please Midland, improve this radio and I would definitely give it 5 stars.
This device has good sound quality and was easy to program. It does support NOAA S.A.M.E. Codes and has a built in database. Has a Volume control (A feature NOT included on the MIDLAND WR-120). Also has a built-in alarm clock and AM/FM radio making this unit seem perfect for the bedroom/bedside, however the light level of the display is WAY TO BRIGHT for any bedroom. The unit does feature display dimming feature with a single button controlling two levels: Bright and Dim. Even dimmed this unit produces too much light for a bedroom. (We solved the light problem with a small swatch of Dark Blue RoscoLux theater gel but not many people would have that around the house).
This weather radio is great! It took a little time to fully customize the county codes and to select which alerts I wanted to activate the alarm. It wasn't complicated, but there were a few times you were referred to the NOAA website for codes.
I was able to silence codes like flash flood warning, etc. that don't apply since I live on top of a hill. Also, you have the option to silence "watches" so you don't get unnecessary alarms in the middle of the night. Plus the alarm volume is adjustable.
The weather radio always gives us an alert well in advance of the local news station. This is worth the investment!
Feature Product
- NOAA WEATHER SCAN + ALERT - NOAA Weather Scan will automatically scan through 7 available weather (WX) band channels with flood, tornado, thunderstorm, civil danger warnings, and more. It also locks onto the strongest weather channel to alert you of severe weather updates. NOAA Weather Alert will sound an alarm indicating that there is a risk of severe weather hazards and emergencies in your area.
- PROGRAMMING - S.A.M.E. - The Specific Area Message Encoding automatically locks on to your county's NOAA weather radio signal requiring minimal programming from the user. CUSTOM - Program your radio to receive weather alerts/warnings from up to 25 different counties and be alerted only when those specific counties are threatened.
- WARNING SYSTEM OPTIONS - Customize the way that you would like to be alerted: 85 dB siren alarm, voice alert, or visual LED flasher.
- EMERGENCY POWER BACK UP - The 4 "AA" Alkaline batteries (Not Included) keeps your radio operating during power outages or outside use.
- ALARM CLOCK - The built-in clock features an alarm with a snooze button and a AM/FM Radio. Wake up to local weather, AM/FM, or buzz. It automatically switches from AM/FM to pertinent all-hazard alerts..
Description
The WR400 is Midland’s most advanced emergency weather alert radio. This NOAA Weather Alert Radio can help you be prepared for all types of emergency threats including tornadoes, floods, severe thunderstorms, civil danger warnings and more. When a severe weather watch or warning is issued by the National Weather Service, the WR400 automatically alerts you, giving you the seconds you need to seek shelter. The WR400 is capable of receiving 7 National Oceanic & Atmospheric Association (NOAA) channels. It is also programmed with over 80 alerts like hurricanes and flash flooding. The SAME localized reception allows users to program the radio to sound an alert only when weather and other emergencies threaten a selected county or counties. The technology eliminates all alerts from other areas, so users won't have to perk up their ears each time the alert sounds only to find the emergency is actually 100 miles up the highway. It stores up to 10 different previously received all hazards and weather alerts. The WR400 also features: color-coded alert level indicators, 85 dB siren, USB output to charge devices, AM/FM radio, 4 preset radio buttons, and a continuous backlighting option that keeps the LCD on. The WR400 is public alert certified and is backed by a one-year warranty. This product is recommended by the Department of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness.
This is a great, reliable weather radio. I'd have given it 5 stars if I could choose to only have alerts for actual tornado warnings. I don't want to be woken up for tornado watches, but I do want to be woken up when it's the more serious warning which means take cover. For those who aren't in tornado territory, watches can be frequent (several times a day for weeks) but don't usually become tornadoes. A warning means there is actual rotation and a tornado is pretty likely or an actual tornado has been sited in the area.
Purchased this to replace the other (second) weather radio we have that cannot be programmed for specific area warnings. Our first radio is the previous version of this one. This new one, as stated in the description, is far easier to program the counties that you wish to know about as you no longer have to enter the county codes. You simply pick your state, then, one by one, pick the counties you want to receive alerts for. Be advised, however, that unlike the older model, the display on this is an led display, as opposed to the lcd display of the previous version. What that means is that it is illuminated all the time, and if you would be placing this radio in a bedroom and you are sensitive to having any sort of light in the room while you sleep, you might not appreciate how bright the display on this unit is, even on the low setting (there's only low & high), and there's no way to totally shut off the display.
UPDATE 8/23/2018: This radio already paid for itself in just a few weeks of owning it. It alerted us to an unexpected severe thunderstorm while we were in our RV, minutes before 60mph gusts and quarter-sized hail hit. We were able to roll in our awning just before the storm hit, while a few of our neighbors had their awnings damaged (which, if you're unfamiliar with RVs, is a few-hundred-dollar repair). I've upped my rating to 5 stars because of this, despite my criticisms below.
I'm impressed with the build quality of this radio. It feels solidly constructed, and the buttons seem durable for years of use. The audio quality is also excellent, as local FM stations come in very clear and the weather station is as clear as its low-quality broadcast can be. I have yet to try this on battery power, but I assume that's a well-solved problem by now. I like that the display includes a gauge of the battery state of charge, so that I know just from looking at the screen if I need to replace them ahead of a storm. Also it's great that the power adapter is micro-USB. That means if I ever misplace the power adapter, it's easy to just grab any micro-USB cable and be ready to go. This also makes it easy to plug into a car, laptop, or other USB source if needed during an outage. That's something I wasn't looking for in a weather radio initially, but now that I know of that, I wouldn't buy one that's not powered by USB.
My only complaint is that the user interface for configuring the radio and its alerts leaves a lot to be desired. First off, the beeps when you press buttons is very annoying. One of the first things I did was go into the settings and turn the beeps off. But going through the menus and configuring the alerts (i.e. turning off iceburg alerts in Florida...) is time consuming and annoying. Also as far as I can tell you can't change the severity of an alert, which would be a good feature to have. If they would improve the user interface in a future model and add additional radio presets, I'd upgrade for sure.
This is the more expensive type unit but has the features you want and great reception. I live in a rural area so reception is important. it also does a great job of picking up normal radio stations so it's a good distance receiver for that sort of thing. It has the ability to turn off specific types of alerts so you can turn off everything but tornado's. We have had two alerts on it and it's loud enough to wake you up without waking the dead and making your ears bleed. Programming takes about 20 minutes give or take. For an item that could be the difference between life and death I don't see going the cheap option.
Great weather radio.
The Good:
* Can set the back-light to auto turn off. Great for having in your bedroom. Screen is readable when the backlight is off.
* Good weather band reception
* Has a nice alarm clock. Can either ring or play a radio station. Switch on the side lets you easily turn it on/off.
* Can give it your county NOAA code so it only alerts you to local weather.
* Can disable certain alerts. (I personally disable Thunderstorm Watch)
The meh:
* Can only have 3 preset stations each for FM and AM.
The bad:
* AM reception
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