Weather Radio (Rant)

[alleycat]

I wonder if a better antenna would help, Lee. By that I mean something like an old TV antenna that you don't use anymore. I think those antennas work for TV and FM radio.

If not, then it might be worth it to you to invest in some kind of improved antenna especially made for radio. The guys at Radio Shack could probably help in this case.

[LeeB]

Thanks for the Link Buzz I went to it and discovered that here in Portland I am right in the UGLY part of three "repeaters" Clarksville to the west, Nashville's to the South, and LaFayette to the East. If you click on each one you will see what I am talking about

Alleycat you have a good idea I may just go to Radio Shack and see what they have to say. I already have the external Antenna that I bought with the Reecom and have it hooked up the way they want it but it does not seem to make a difference.

[BuzzCam]

Originally Posted by LeeB

Thanks for the Link Buzz I went to it and discovered that here in Portland I am right in the UGLY part of three "repeaters" Clarksville to the west, Nashville's to the South, and LaFayette to the East. If you click on each one you will see what I am talking about

Alleycat you have a good idea I may just go to Radio Shack and see what they have to say. I already have the external Antenna that I bought with the Reecom and have it hooked up the way they want it but it does not seem to make a difference.

You are very welcome.

My wife and I are looking to move to Orlinda as it is such a beautiful area. I noticed, when we check out houses in Robertson County, there are dead areas of cell phone coverage. I am like you in that I want a reliable signal for my weather radio, as well as cell phone since I use a Verizon Card for my laptop to access the internet quite a bit.

Funny story (it wasn't at the time it happened), but a small tornado struck my house back in 1999. The electricity went off. I was in my computer room trying to pull in a window, that was literally being sucked off the house. About that time, the weather radio went off, (it had a battery backup) and the message was for a tornado warning in Davidson County. I yelled back at the radio, "I know, I am in the middle of it!" Anyway, I took off to the bathroom for cover. The tornado put a large tree through my roof in the living room, sucked a door frame and door off my garage and the low pressure damaged my hearing.

I cut my head on the tree through the roof in the living room, as I was trying to feel my way around after the tornado passed over and did not see it. I don't mind a tree in my living room if it is Christmas, but any other time...no, especially if it is sticking through my ceiling from the outside.

The Radio Shack is a good idea. You might ask if they have directional antennas for weather radios, so you can point it at the closest or strongest repeater. That kind of antenna will give you more signal strength to your radio.

I wish you luck! Let me know if it works because I will have to do the same thing when we move up that way.

Have a great weekend!
Buzz

[LeeB]

Buzz... Welcome to the North Side.... LoL... I have had your Web Site Bookmarked before we left California and use it all the time to nose around and to see weather. We have Verizon and have had no problems with cell service. There is one dead spot in Kentucky by the Kentucky Downs race track on 31w. I had to smile at your story about the tree in the living room glad you made it through and I assume that insurance took care of the repairs. We to have a plan to use the bathroom as a safe haven.

I am going out shopping today and if I run across a Radio Shack I will go in and ask...

[BuzzCam]

Originally Posted by LeeB

Buzz... Welcome to the North Side.... LoL... I have had your Web Site Bookmarked before we left California and use it all the time to nose around and to see weather. We have Verizon and have had no problems with cell service. There is one dead spot in Kentucky by the Kentucky Downs race track on 31w. I had to smile at your story about the tree in the living room glad you made it through and I assume that insurance took care of the repairs. We to have a plan to use the bathroom as a safe haven.

I am going out shopping today and if I run across a Radio Shack I will go in and ask...

Fortunately, I am a Military Brat and have USAA Insurance, which is for military personnel, wifes and their brats like me. They did a very good job of taking care of my home and me.

A week after this happened, I got married.

So, I had two traumatic events happen in a week. I somehow survived.

Good luck on your antenna hunt today.

Glad you use my website. When the weather is bad, it can get up to 2500 page views in a day.

Buzz

[LeeB]

Well I went to Radio Shack and they looked at me like I was crazy. (how did they know) ... Anyway they didn't even know what a Directional Antenna was. I will have to do a Google search and see if I can find something there...

The more I think about this the more it upsets me. It must be the area I am in because I get the same thing from either radio.

[alleycat]

Originally Posted by LeeB

Well I went to Radio Shack and they looked at me like I was crazy. (how did they know) ... Anyway they didn't even know what a Directional Antenna was. I will have to do a Google search and see if I can find something there...

The more I think about this the more it upsets me. It must be the area I am in because I get the same thing from either radio.

You might also want to do a little research on Amazon. Look for an FM antenna and see if there are a few listed with high ratings and reviews.

Re: the Radio Shack guys. I'm not really surprised. People who works at places like RS and Circuit City seem to come in two varieties: those who want to tell you all sorts of stuff you can't possibly understand ("This unit picks up the entire to the 600 to 23,000 megahertz range with a built-in 10,000 watt sub-boaster . . . "), or those who don't know a TV from a microwave oven.