Midland WR-120

Reviews say the Midland WR-120 desktop weather radio is well stocked with features for the price. The unit is Public Alert certified and receives all seven NOAA weather band channels. SAME technology allows users to program the radio to receive only the warnings for their particular area, which helps cut down on false alarms. The WR-120 can hold up to 25 unique county codes and broadcast warnings in any of three languages. There's also a built-in alarm clock and a battery backup. The unit is sold in three different versions -- the WR-120, WR-120B and WR-120C -- but the manufacturer says the only difference is in packaging; the radios themselves are identical.

Reviews say that while the WR-120 makes a great bare-bones weather radio, its appeal lies primarily in its overall value. The Midland WR-300 (*Est. $65) offers everything the WR-120 has, plus an AM/FM receiver and a way to disable unwanted alerts, but costs nearly twice as much. Battery backup means the WR-120 can operate as long as spare batteries are on hand if the power goes out, but it lacks the crank feature that makes radios like the Eton Microlink FR160 (*Est. $30) even more useful in an emergency. Still, most owners say they're very pleased with the WR-120's functionality and reliability. One potential annoyance is that it beeps every 10 minutes if it doesn't receive regularly scheduled National Weather Service test signals, but a manual reset fixes this.

An update of the popular WR-100 that suffered some firmware issues, the newer Midland WR-120 hasn't yet received much attention from professional reviewers. The most useful feedback comes from owner comments at large retail sites such as Amazon.com and Walmart.com, where the unit ranks highly among available weather radios. Enthusiast site Wave 3 Weather also provides practical information. The WR-120 is named one of three editors' favorites at Weather Radio Reviews, but the write-up doesn't explain why it qualifies for that honor.