What is “SAME?”

A new radio capable of receiving NWS broadcasts gives listeners the best possible means of receiving severe weather warnings. This new generation of programmable NWR receivers has a special feature that allows listeners to choose only the watches and warnings that affect their county area and screen out any warnings issued for other counties within broadcast range.

Using digital technology known as Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME), all watches and warnings issued by the NWS are preceded by unique audio codes that describe the type of warning and identify the county or counties being warned. People who own a SAME receiver can pre-select their FIPS codes to ensure they hear the specific warning information they need to make potentially life-saving decisions.

Older NWR receivers are not affected by the technology change, but the older receivers do not allow listeners to take advantage of the SAME capability to screen alerts for individual counties.

Some tips:

• To get alerts make sure the button on the side is turned on. (mash the Weather/Snooze to make the alert go silent). 
• Every Wednesday and Saturday between 11:00 AM and Noon, the National Weather Service will send out its Required Weekly Test.
• Also remember to change the batteries at least once a year, especially if you lost power within the year. When you change the keep your radio plugged in to keep the current time. 
• CLICK HERE to view a video that shows how to program a Midland 120 EZ radio including captions and signing.