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receiving nwr-same and weather alert signals
In 1994, the National Oceanic and Aerospace Administration (NOAA) began broadcasting
alerts that include digitally encoded data. Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME)
includes information which identifies the severity of the alert. While this scanner does not
encode specific geographical data, it does detect SAME signals and decode the alert level.
The scanner displays this data as codes corresponding to the levels of severity (Warning,
Watch, and Advisory).
turning on the digital weather alert feature
1. Press
WX/
and start weather search.
See “weather search.”
2. Press
PRI/ALERT
.
ALT
appears. This mutes the audio until the scanner receives a
SAME-coded signal. When the scanner receives a SAME-coded signal,
ALT
flashes and
SAME event code name (which indicates the severity of the alert) appears. The scanner
remains on the weather channel and the audio turns on so you can hear the weather
broadcast.
testing digital weather alert tone
To hear and test the tones for the three alert levels, press
WX/
to select the weather
service, then hold down
ALERT
for about 1 second. The tones sound in the order
Advisory
level
,
Watch level
, then
Warning level
, and
WX ALERT TEST
flashes. Each alert code
appears as its tone sounds. Press any key to end the test sequence.
programming a FIPS code
To specify a county, SAME uses a standard established by the US Census bureau, called
FIPS.
The format of a FIPS code is:
PSSCCC, where...
P = area subdivision (0=entire area)
SS = State code (00=all states)
CCC = County code (000=all counties)
For example, the FIPS code for Tarrant County, Texas is:
048439 (48=Texas; 439=Tarrant County).
Some counties are further subdivided, in which cases, the first digit will be 0 for all
subdivisions in the county and each subdivision will be labeled 1-9.
To program your scanner to alert you when the weather service issues an alert, you must
set the scanner to the alert mode, and then leave the scanner monitoring the weather
service. You cannot scan weather channels and monitor for weather alerts at the same
time.
To limit weather alerts to a specific area, you must also program in the FIPS code(s) for the
area(s) you want to receive alerts. The scanner can be set to either alert for all areas, or
only the areas you have programmed.
programming FIPS
1. Press
WX
to go to programming FIPS code menu in program mode. The scanner sends
