CL-100 NOAA, S.A.M.E and Public Alert Certified Weather Alert Table-Top Radio with AM/FM-RBDS, and EEPROM Back Up for Preset Stations

I just received my Sangean CL-100 in the mail. I'll update this review in the future with comments about it's durability and battery life. Keep in mind that I bought this primarily as 1) a kitchen radio, 2) an emergency radio when the power goes out, and 3) a weather alert when I know big storms with potential hazards (like tornadoes) are coming through the area. On these fronts, it's about perfect. Although it has alarm clock functions, I did not purchase it for these purposes. Before purchasing the Sangean, I had a similar weather alert radio made by Radio Shack [Catalog #12-519], but I returned it a few weeks ago. It worked fine, but the Sangean cost less and potentially had better sound and reception (which it turns out it did). Throughout the review, I'll compare the Sangean to it's Radio Shack competitor even though it appears that Radio Shack has discontinued the radio I bought from them, replacing it with a new one that has a completely different design [Catalog #12-996]. PROS: --Well Made: It feels and looks like a high quality product, much more so than the radio I had purchased from Radio Shack, which felt fine for something that cost $20 to $30, but I had purchased it on sale for $60. --Great Sound: The speaker produces great sound for it's small size. It works well in our kitchen. The default mix is just right for classical music, NPR, and talk radio, and you can adjust the bass and treble if needed. The sound is better than the competition from Radio Shack. I don't think the comparable Midland or Reecom products have an equalizer either. --Great Reception: It picks up stations very clearly, including the closest weather station. Again, it does this better than the radio from Radio Shack, which only picked up one weather station while the Sangean picks up 2. The Radio Shack radio struggled to pick up the local NPR station while the Sangean does not (although I have to extend the antenna for it to come in at full volume). --Weather Alerts: It has the same weather alert capabilities as its competitors. However, you do have to know your county FIPS code, which isn't hard to look up online, while some of the competitors have all of the counties listed in the radio by state. --Stereo Headphone Out: You can use this as your radio receiver and plug in bigger speakers if you need more volume (assuming the external speakers have their own amp). This is a nice plus over some of the competition, including the Radio Shack unit I previously owned. --Small Size: I was surprised how small it is and how much sound it's able to produce for being so small. This is a plus if you don't want your whole night stand or kitchen counter taken up by a radio. --Ease of Use: It was pretty easy to figure out how to set everything up. I only had to look up a couple of things in the manual. There are some quirks, which I discuss below. MIXED BAG (could be Pro or Con depending on your views): --Siren Volume: Even the quietest volume setting for the weather alert siren is quite loud. Of course, the purpose of a weather alert is to alert you of an emergency. CONS (though these are quibbles): --Screen: The screen is fine if you're just using it as a radio. I like all of the information it shows, but as an alarm clock, it wouldn't work well. The angle is bad. It should be on the front of the unit like the screens of most alarms instead of on the top at an angle. The text is small for an alarm clock and would be hard to read even if the angle weren't bad. As far as screen location and size, the Radio Shack competitor was much better, but it had a bright blue background that lit up the whole room and made it difficult to read the time from an angle. The Reecom and Midland competitors also have screens on the top. So in the end, this con does not put it at a disadvantage to the competition. Plus, I don't use it as an alarm, so it doesn't matter to me. --Location of LED Warning Lights: The Sangean has LED warning lights for the different weather alerts: red for warning, orange for watch, etc. However, they're on the top of the unit, so if you have it on your night stand, it would be hard to see the lights without sitting up a bit. This is one area where the Radio Shack competitor wins out. --Automatic Menu Exit: If you're in the menu and don't push a button after 5 seconds, it will automatically exit you out of the menu. That's annoying, but once you have the alert codes set up, this isn't an issue. --Lack of Handle, Non-Upright Position: It would be more portable if the unit had a handle and was made to sit up-right. You can sit it up right to save space, but it can be hard to read the screen when it's in this position.

North Carolina doesn't have tornado sirens on public buildings, and I always worry about being asleep in bed when a tornado strikes. I decided to look into buying a weather alert radio. I did a lot of price research and read a lot of reviews before I settled on this model. I didn't mind paying for quality, since a cheapie weather radio would let our family down when we need it most. I just got our Sangean CL-100 Table Top Public Alert Weather Radio yesterday and spend an hour or two reading the manual and setting it up. The features I like most on this unit are the ability to put in the county codes (available online from NOAA) for the areas that affect our home, and the ability to turn off alerts that don't apply to us. I turned off the iceburg and avalanche warnings and I wondered what the boiling water warning is. I was pleased to see an Amber Alert warning for missing children, and even a frost warning for those of us who garden. It takes a little time to punch in all the numbers, codes and notes, but it's not hard. I left the "thunderstorm watch" alert enabled so I could make sure the unit works. It worked last night - loud and clear! There's no way anyone could sleep through that siren, although there is a volume control if you don't want to be shocked awake. The unit itself is very sturdy and well made, with buttons that feel solid. It comes with an antenna booster, which is useful out in the boonies where we live. It also funtions as an alarm clock and FM radio, but I won't be using it for that. I have it set up in an inconspicuous place, just waiting to alert us if there is a fire, tornado or hail alert issued. One thing I noticed is that the price has nearly doubled since I bought mine on backorder six weeks ago. I probably wouldn't have purchased it at $140 - I paid $73. Overall, this is a really nice unit. Every home should have a weather alert radio, and I recommend this one.

This radio is quite versatile by offering NOAA Weather alerts in addition to being an AM/FM alarm clock in a small footprint. You will need to search for the NOAA weather codes for the particular counties you want included in the alarms, but other than that, it is relatively easy to program. The radio program station presets and other controls are easy to access, even in the dark. The radio reception with the attached antenna is adequate in our area and the sound is quality is acceptable for such a small speaker. I rated this four rather than five stars due to the physical design of the display. The display is not directly readable when used on a bed night stand due to the fixed angle of the screen. Although the display illumination levels can be adjusted, the lowest setting (other than "Off") is quite bright for use during sleeping. I resolved this problem by simply covering the display with a small pad of paper overnight and removing it in the morning.

After spending apx 8000 on radio and 1500 on Antenna I am not getting proper indoor signal coverage . Nothing special in sound quality....its ok ok. Battery consumption is also high. No special sound effects. Valume is also low. Better go for Some 3 in 1 option of good brands like Sony or Philips which is cost effective also. Overall I m not satisfied with quality compare to cost

J'aime bien cette radio. Elle est capable de capter des stations éloignées, tant du coté météo que du côté AM et FM. Le son est surprenamment très bon pour une radio de si petite taille. Et probablement pour cette raison qu'il y a une prise externe permettant à cette radio de fonctionner comme un haut-parleur externe. Côté météo, rien à redire. Entièrement compatible avec la technologie "SAME" utilisée par Environnement Canada pour son service météo sur VHF, je reçois très bien leurs alertes avec cette radio. Fait surprenant, cette radio affiche sur son écran les messages textes diffusés par la plupart des stations FM. On ne s'attend pas à cela d'une radio météo! Seul point négatif: L'écran. Il est tellement petit, pas facile à lire (à moins d'être directement en face de la radio) et surtout, il y a tellement d'information affichée sur un si petit écran que la lecture n'est pas aisée. Cette radio gagnerait beaucoup à avoir un écran de meilleur qualité et au moins au double de sa dimension actuelle. Somme toute, une très bonne radio météo multi-fonction !

Gostei de todos os recursos desse radio.

Este Radio Sangean tiene excelentes prestaciones, tiene AM, FM incluye RBDS ( datos que te indican el nombre de la canción y/o artista, entre otras cosas, ojo, siempre y cuando la radiodifusora lo tenga instalado) además incluye recepción de la señal de clima, a través de la cual en la Ciudad de México nos envían la Alerta Sísmica. Tiene Reloj despertador, con dos alarmas, las alarmas pueden ser un sonido de alarma o despertarte con el radio, tiene 10 memorias para que guardes tus estaciones preferidas y mantiene tu configuración y/o preferencias usando 4 pilas "AA". La calidad de audio y recepción es muy buena, incluso para el clima, además tiene la opción de controlar tonos bajos y agudos para un mejor sonido. En fin es un excelente radio, muy estético y de calidad, 100% recomendable.

Para México, Solo Alarma Sísmica (cdmx). Al Menos Que No Lo Haya Programado Correctamente . Esto Por Comprobar Hasta Qué Haya Un Temblor Qué Active La Alerta Sísmica. Por Referencia Que Tengo Con Otros Equipos No Dudo Que Funcione Tal Como Se Esperá.