Alert Works EAR-10 Weather Alert All Hazard Radio (Black)

Alert Works (EAR-10WH) v. Midland WR120B/WR120EZAfter we lost our old Midland in a move, i purchased 2 new emergency alert radios: the Alert Works (EAR-10WH) and Midland WR120B/WR120EZ. They were similar in price and arrived within a day of eachother. We've had plenty of opportunity to test them out in the past 2 weeks with all the bad weather we've had. Here's what we've found:ALERTS: Both radios alarm consistently. There's not been a time where only one emitted an alarm. That being said, the Alert Works does go off just slightly before the Midland. Not enough to truly make a difference, in my opinion, but there is a consistent 2-3 second delay between the Alert Works and the Midland.SOUND: The Midland has a more piercing alarm tone, while the Alert Works is almost more mechanical sounding, if that makes sense. It's like the difference between a smoke alarm and a recording of a smoke alarm played through a speaker. Alert works is still loud, just not as piercing/alarming.AESTHETICS: The Midland is slimmer and has a basic- looking, no fuss appearance. Its size allows us to slip it on the ledge behind our TV so that it's out of sight. I imagine some 3M mounting strips would support its weight easily if that were desired. The Alert Works is much bulkier, but also nicer-looking if your intent was to place it on a shelf in view. I have it next to my vanity so i can see the time while I'm doing my makeup, and i don't feel like it looks cheap at all.All in all, both serve their purpose well.

After an extended power outage that left me with no internet, cable, telephone, limited cell phone service and no data connection, I made it a priority to get a weather alert radio. Despite having generator power, the storm appeared to have compromised the nearby cell tower, so we were virtually blind should additional hazzardous weather approach. Given all of the other outages, I wasn't even sure the tornado sirens would work. Even if they did work, I was concerned that the noise from all of the generators in use might prevent more distant sirens from being heard.I like to exhaust every possiblitly before returning a product and usually dismiss most one star ratings for not being objective. However, I am compelled to offer only one star and after a week of usage, decided to return the poroduct. I also considered the MIDLAND WR300 Weather Radio but thought this unit had a better display.I planned to keep this radio by my bedside to provide warnings should a storm approach in the middle of the night but also had aspirations to use this as a clock radio. None of this worked out:The alarm for this radio is the same used for weather alerts, which I believe could wake the dead. Such an alarm is not appropriate for every day use as my goal is to wake myself up, but not everyone else in the house, who get up two hours later than I. In addition, the alarm setting function is buried within the menu used to program the radio, making the alarm impractical to use on on a daily basis (minus one star).An annoying tone/beep ensues whenever ANY button is pressed on this radio. Those tones are loud enough to wake up someone in the next room and cannot be turned off. Not sure why every button press warrants such a loud audible tone that cannot be shut off, but this is how this radio works (minus one star).This radio is relatively bulky for its light weight, which raises questions about its build quality. I would not automatically be concerned about build quality if ever other aspect of the raido was well-designed, but it is not the case here (minus one star).I had decided to live with these shortcomings, but unfortunately, the most important feature, ALERT did not work when a severe thunderstorm warning was issued for my area. I set the alert feature to work in the event of a severe thunderstorm as these are often precursors to tornados. The particular warning only applied to a quaudrant of my county (the quadrant where I happen to live) and no alarm was sounded. The following day, I reached out to the National Weather Service and they confirmed that they DID issue an alert that should have been picked up on a S.A.M.E. radio. I double checked all of my settings and the radio WAS properly set (minus one star)I'll give the radio one star for its display. It is clear and legible and the warning lights to indicate the nature of the warning had potential (plus one star).I returned this raido and decided to kick in an extra $20 for the Sangean CL-100, which has good reviews and should suit my needs better. If you are buying a radio that has to work to protect life and property, this is NOT the answer.

Received this today just in time for spring storms in the Midwest. I’m hoping there’s some error in the manual as it’s not clear how to set for tornado warnings. Also, reception is a bit poor and so far only tuned into a station 45 minutes away. Need to play more. I will try to update this once we actually get some type of weather warning to see if it actually works.Update:The manufacturer responded with this information:The weather radio (automatically) has the tornado warning event code. The Tornado Warningis permanently preprogrammed into the weather radio's software. It is one of the warnings directed by NOAA & Public Alert that can not be altered ordeleted by the end user. A Tornado Watch is an optional alert that can be turned off by the end user which is listed in the Alert Works user manual.