Unique 200 Hours Back-up Battery Life Time (Standby), Reecom R-1630 S.A.M.E Weather Alert Radio (Lig

• 7 Channels with Digital PLL Tuning, S.A.M.E. (Specific Area Message Encoder) Technology, 90 dB siren, voice alert, and flashing LED
• Easy Programming, Effective Time Display and Accurate Auto-Count Down (from 15 mins to 6 hours expiration time issued by NOAA) for Up To 25 Active Alerts Simultaneously
• Defeat Siren Function, selectable up to 48 individual alert messages
• E.O.M (End Of Message) Detection - Automatically go back to the state immediately before alert receiving (radio previous state)
• 200 Hours Battery Back-up Time (with 4 'AA' fresh Alkaline batteries in standard size, Energizer brand recommended) During Power Outage in Emergency Period

The Reecom R-1630 is an excellent weather radio. I bought mine a few months ago after reading an exhaustive amount of reviews. As you might know by now, the Midland radios receive good reviews as well. I was about to buy one, but something kept urging me to purchase the Reecom. Now I am thrilled with my purchase. The R-1630 has all of the features you need in a weather radio, with a few exceptions. I really wish it had keyhole slots on the back so it would be possible to hang it on the wall and, even though I am not currently using it, I wish that the external "audio out" jack were not directly behind the telescoping antenna.

I love that this radio has an "end of message" feature that will return the radio to its previous status after the alarm. In other words, when the NWS issues a warning or watch, the radio will sound the alarm for eight seconds then turn on the radio (voice) so you can hear the message; at the end of the message the radio will turn off again. I never have to get up to find out what is going on. I also like that the radio will show the remaining time of the alert. For example, you can look at the screen for the latest alert, or look at the memory for previous alerts, and see the alert will expire in five hours and twenty-three minutes. This radio will be an excellent investment in your family's safety.

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This is a very nice radio and has the features I was looking for (specifically, the ability to enable and disable each individual alert and the ability to vary the volume of the alarm). So far the radio itself has worked well.

However, on my unit the AC transformer that plugs into the wall was defective; it makes a very loud buzzing noise that can easily be heard across the room. Since the unit is less than one month old, I called Reecom to request an exchange. I was told that they do not stock the AC transformer as a replacement part, therefore they could not (would not) honor their warranty for me. Nor was sending the entire unit back offered as an option.

Instead, I was told that I could easily go purchase a replacement transformer myself at Radio Shack which I can, and will but being treated so poorly by Reecom certainly left me with a negative impression of them. I doubt I'll ever return as a customer.

Bottom line: if your radio works, I believe you'll be happy with it. But if it ever breaks, it's probably best to view it as a throwaway device. My experience suggests that you should not expect any support from the manufacturer. Five stars for the product itself, zero stars for the company.

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I'm not sure why there are two different listings for the same radio, but I'll post my review in both.

I have owned three weather radios so far:

Midland WR-100 (which I do not recommend due to poor customer support; read my entire review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2XXJURWPECJK3/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm )

First Alert WX150 (which I do not recommend due to poor battery life; read my entire review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R219XW5RG47MHE/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm )

and this one, the Reecom R-1630.

All three radios perform as advertised, providing you set them up properly. Yes, the set-up process is a bit time-consuming and sometimes even downright aggravating, but if you can read and follow instructions, they DO WORK. In fact, all three are pretty similar as far as set-up goes. The differences are in the buttons, not in the operation.

To be fair to Midland, I have not had to contact Reecom's customer support (yet), so I don't know how they stack up against one another. And the Midland radio DID work very well for as long as it lasted ... which was only for about a year. But you can read all the gory details in my review of that unit.

To be fair to First Alert, that unit does perform perfectly ... as long as it has power. But the First Alert WX150 just isn't safe, in my opinion, because it simply does not hold battery life. Within a week of putting the first brand-new batteries in it, they were dead, despite the unit being plugged into the wall. Obviously there's a major design flaw if the unit draws battery life when household current is present. And that's a flaw that could kill. If your power goes out in threatening weather and your WX150's batteries are dead, you could be, too. I can't imagine what First Alert was thinking.

Given the choice between the three, and assuming it lasts beyond a year, I would buy the Reecom R-1630 again. It's reliable, and isn't that what matters when you're buying an alert radio?

UPDATE, June 18, 2012: This radio is still going strong and has proven itself especially useful during the very weird spring we've experienced this year. Unprecedented heat in March, April, May and now June has resulted in even more severe weather alerts than last year, and we thought THAT was a busy spring. I believe this radio is a life-saver and would not be without it.

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I've owned four different brands of weather radios, and I have to say that they have all done what they're supposed to do, very dependably.

This weather radio stands out for one great feature, and I've only seen it on more expensive models in the past. That feature is the auto standby mode. This lets the radio alarm as it should, and give the the verbal announcement, then go back into standby mode. It's a nice feature if the radio is in a place that's a pain to reach to cancel the alert and put it back into standby manually.

As received, the radio is fairly simple to set up. Sensitivity with the attached antenna is fair, although in my permanent location an outside antenna is required.

However, when ambient temperature goes much above 95 degrees (F.) the audio output vanishes, just going to noise. Not good when you are looking for summer storm warnings and don't have an air conditioned environment.

The radio was returned to Reecom for warranty service. After several months, and having to call them, it was shipped back with apparently no change. Handwritten note attached to my original letter says "The radio tested in good working condition," with no indication that they had read the explanation of what the issue was.

Bottom Line: If you get a working one, you are probably fine. But Reecom's warranty service is questionable.