2-519 User’s Guide All-Hazards Weather Alert Clock Radio with Skywarn Thank you for purchasing your All-Hazards Weather Alert Clock Radio with Skywarn from RadioShack. Please read this user’s guide before installing, setting up, and using your new weather radio.
Contents Contents Package Contents ......................................................................................................... 3 Features.......................................................................................................................... 3 Setup................................................................................................................... 4 Understanding Your Radio.......................................................................................
Package Contents • Radio • AC Adapter • BNC-to-Phono Adapter • User’s Guide • Quick Start Features • Multifunctional design: alarm clock, radio, and weather radio • Receive FM, AM, seven NOAA weather channels, and Skywarn reports. • Digital SAME technology. • Programmed with all U.S. states and counties. • Sixteen alert volume levels. • Separate daytime and night time alert volume settings. • Different color LEDs indicate if the alert is a warning (red), watch (orange), or advisory (yellow).
Setup Understanding Your Radio Setup Telescopic Antenna Adjust to receive best signal reception. SNOOZE Pause the alarm for 15 minutes. Alert Indicators ADVISORY/WATCH/WARNING • Flashes for 60 seconds when the alert begins, then lights for the duration of the alert. • Alternating flashes indicate loss of weather signal. Right Panel Back Panel ALERT ON/OFF DC 12V Turn audible alerts on or off. Connect the AC adapter. ALARM1 SET/ON/OFF, ALARM2 SET/ON/OFF Turn the alarm on /off or set alarm.
Number Buttons Enter FIPS code or Skywarn channel frequency. Manual/Scan/Program/Enter Refer to “Using Skywarn” on page 10. Setup CLOCK Press and hold to set the clock. FM/AM/ WX SKYWARN / Increase /decrease volume. Select a band. AUX M1 – M5 Listen to an external audio source. AUX appears. Radio station memory locations. Menu and , , , • Set time and choose radio stations. • Navigate and adjust menu items. SELECT Confirm settings.
Power your Radio Connect the supplied AC adapter to the DC 12 V jack and plug in to a standard household outlet. Install Backup Batteries Setup 1. Open the battery compartment cover. 2. Slide the RCH/ALK switch to RCH for rechargeable or ALK for alkaline backup batteries. 3. Install six AA alkaline or Ni-MH rechargeable batteries (neither supplied). Insert batteries as indicated by the polarity symbols (+ and –) marked inside.
Use the Antenna Telescopic Antenna For better reception, you can install an external antenna to your radio. 1. Pull out the installed telescopic antenna. 2. If needed, connect the supplied BNC-to-phono adapter to the phono/RCA plug from your antenna. 3. Connect the external antenna (Follow the installation instructions that came with your external antenna.
Basic Operation Set the Clock 1. If necessary, press CLOCK to switch to clock mode. 2. Briefly hold CLOCK until the hour digits flash. 3. Use ,,, to set the hour, minute and AM/PM. 4. After setting clock , press CLOCK or SELECT to confirm and exit. Set the Alarm Basic Operation 1. Slide ALARM 1 or ALARM 2 to SET. 2. Press ,,, to set the alarm hour, minute, and alarm source (buzzer loudness / / or FM / AM). 3. After setting the alarm, slide ALARM 1 or ALARM 2 to ON/OFF to confirm and exit. 4.
Set Radio Station Memory 1. Press AM or FM to toggle between AM1, AM2, FM1 or FM2. The selected band indicator appears on the left side of the display. 2. Press or to find a station. 3. Briefly hold a memory button (M1–M5) until the selected memory indicator (M1 –M5 ) appears on the right side of the display. You can store up to five channels each for AM1, AM2, FM1, and FM2. 4. To listen to a preset station, press AM or FM to toggle between AM1, AM2, FM1 or FM2, then press one of memory buttons M1–M5.
Set Weather Channel Memory While the radio is on the desired channel, press and hold M1 to M5 until the selected memory indicator (M1 –M5 ) is displayed. You can store up to five channels. To listen to a channel from memory, press M1–M5 while in weather radio mode. Viewing Weather Alerts You can view the last four different weather alerts received by the radio. When an alert is received, the alert description scrolls across the display. If multiple alerts are received, press or to view them in order.
Skywarn About Skywarn Many areas of the country have amateur radio repeaters that have been designated as “Skywarn” repeaters. During times of severe weather, these repeaters are used to relay reports of severe weather directly to meteorologists at a local National Weather Service forecast office. Using the Skywarn feature in your radio, you can easily jump to your local Skywarn frequency and monitor these reports, in many cases hearing about severe weather in your area instantly as it occurs.
Advanced Operation Changing Radio Settings 1. Press MENU then press or to scroll through the features menu. A feature Feature and one of its options appears. 2. Press or to view the feature’s options. 3. Press SELECT at the feature you want. An asterisk (*) appears next to the selected feature. Feature option 4. Press MENU to exit or return to a previous level.
Feature Signal Reminder Options When a weather channel is not detected and there is no key pressed, the radio will sound a reminder message. • On – turns on the signal reminder. • Off – turns off the signal reminder. When the signal reminder sounds, you can press any button to mute it. n Notes: • If the signal is lost, WARNING and ADVISORY alert indicators flash alternately, and WATCH indicator lights. • Press any button to mute signal loss reminder alert.
Feature Set Alert Options You can turn off audio alert for specific alert events. Press or to scroll through the events and press SELECT to turn the alert tone on or off. See “NWS Alert Descriptions” on page 16 for a list of alert events. n Note: Some events cannot be turned off. Set Language Select either English or Spanish. Alert Vol-Day • Press or to adjust volume level for the hours between 6 AM to 10 PM.
Turning Audible Alerts On or Off • To enable audible alerts, slide ALERT ON/OFF to ON. • To disable audible alerts, slide ALERT ON/OFF to OFF. n Notes: • You must slide ALERT ON/OFF to OFF while your radio is powered on, or the change will not take effect. This prevents accidentally switching off alerts. • Even if you’ve turned off audible alerts, the backlight will still light up and the event message will scroll on the display until the effective time expires.
Additional Information NWS Alert Descriptions Event Code Level Default Advisory Off 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* Watch On Coastal Flood Warning Warning On Chemical Hazard Warning Warning On* Contaminated Water Warning Warning On* Administrative message Avalanch
Event Code Level Default Warning On Warning On Flash Freeze Warning Warning On Freeze Warning Warning On Hurricane Statement Advisory On Hazardous Materials Warning Warning On* 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
Event Code Level 911 Telephone Outage Emergency Advisory On Tornado Warning Warning On* Watch On Warning On* 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 Warning On* Watch On Warning On Watch On Unrecognized Emergency Advisory On Unrecognized Statement Advisory On Unrecogn
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) What are FIPS codes and SAME signals? The National Weather Service (NWS) precedes each weather alert with a digitally encoded SAME (Specific Area Message Encoding) signal, then a 1050 Hz tone. The SAME signal includes a FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standard) code and an event code that corresponds with the type of alert being sent.
How do I test my radio? The NWS broadcast test alerts every week on Wednesday between 11 AM and 1 PM. To find out the specific test schedule in your area, contact your local NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) or the NWS (National Weather Service). These offices are listed in most telephone books or online at www.nws.noaa.gov. These test alerts are off by default. To change your alert settings see “Set Alerts” on page 14.
Why can’t I receive the test signal from NOAA? By default your weather alert radio does not receive test alerts. For information about turning on test alerts, see “Set Alerts” on page 14. When programming alerts, keep in mind that although NOAA is a national organization, test alerts are sent locally. Some local services send test signals out once a month instead of once a week. Other local services do not send out any test alerts other than seasonal alerts (hurricane, tornado, etc.).
Specifications Weather Radio Bands Channel 1.................................................................................................................................162.400 MHz Channel 2.................................................................................................................................162.425 MHz Channel 3.................................................................................................................................162.450 MHz Channel 4..................
components can cause a malfunction and might invalidate its warranty and void your FCC authorization to operate it. FCC Information Product All-Hazards Weather Alert Clock Radio with Skywarn Model 12-519 Responsible Party RadioShack 300 RadioShack Cir. Fort Worth, TX 76102 Phone 817-415-3200 23 Advanced Additional Operation Info This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules.
Limited Warranty RadioShack warrants this product against defects in materials and workmanship under normal use by the original purchaser for one (1) year after the date of purchase from a RadioShack-owned store or an authorized RadioShack franchisee or dealer. RADIOSHACK MAKES NO OTHER EXPRESS WARRANTIES.