Radio Shack 7-Channel Weatheradio Owner's Manual download pdf (Page 6)

How Your Radio Works

Traditional weather radios simply receive the

National

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

weather broadcast (usually within a 50-mile radius)

then sound an alarm if an emergency code was trans-

mitted along with the broadcast. This means that peo-

ple who live outside an affected area are often alerted

even when their area is not affected, causing many of

them to ignore potentially real weather warnings that

can save lives.

In 1994,

NOAA

began broadcasting coded signals

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 geographic area

(such as a county) affected by the emergency. Your

Weatheradio receives, interprets, and displays infor-

mation about the codes so you can determine if the

emergency might affect your area.

Only SAME com-

patible weather radios (such as this Weatheradio)

are able to take advantage of this new technolo-

gy.

Each FIPS code identifies a specific geographic area

(defined by the National Weather Service), so your

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Radio Shack 7-Channel Weatheradio Owner's Manual Page 6