8
HOW YOUR RADIO WORKS
Traditional weather radios simply receive NOAA’s
weather broadcast (usually within a 50-mile radius)
then sound an alarm if any emergency code was
transmitted along with the broadcast. This means
that people who live outside an affected area are of-
ten alerted even when their area is not affected,
causing many of them to ignore potentially real
weather warnings that can save lives.
In 1994, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
ministration (NOAA) began broadcasting coded sig-
nals called FIPS (Federal Information Processing
System) codes along with their standard weather
broadcasts from stations in your area. These codes
identify the type of emergency and the specific geo-
graphic area (such as a county) affected by the
emergency. Your Weatheradio receives, interprets,
and displays information about the codes so you
can determine if the emergency might affect your ar-
ea. Only SAME-compatible weather radios (such
as this Weatheradio) are able to take advantage
of this new technology.
Each FIPS code identifies a specific geographic
area (defined by the National Weather Service), so
your Weatheradio sounds an alert only when a
weather emergency is declared in that area. This
helps you more efficiently track the weather condi-
tions in and around your area.
12-251.fm Page 8 Tuesday, March 14, 2000 12:40 PM
