Oregon Scientific WR602

The Oregon Scientific WR602 receives the best reviews among portable handheld weather radios. This unit is a reissue of the previously recalled WR108; the company changed the model number to avoid confusion and fixed the alert issue that prompted the recall in the first place. The WR602 offers Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) capability, so users can program up to nine locations for which they prefer to receive alerts. The radio is preprogrammed with updated alert codes from the National Weather Service -- users can simply look up their state and county in the unit itself, without searching the Internet for the appropriate codes.

Other WR602 features include a mute mode to disable audible alerts, meaning no sound is heard but a red light flashes and the warning appears on the screen. This weather radio is also compatible with the Oregon Scientific weather docking station (*Est. $100). The most common complaint from owners is that the rechargeable batteries don't last long when the radio's not plugged in (the unit can also use three AA batteries). The Eton FR300 (*Est. $50) may be a better choice for those who want true portability but don't mind a larger unit; the FR300 offers four power choices, including a crank-driven generator, which eliminates the possibility of running out of power in an emergency.

The best review of the Oregon Scientific WR602 is found at Home-Weather-Stations-Guide.com, a website run by geologist and amateur weather enthusiast Graham McClung. McClung specifically discusses the WR108, the recalled version of the updated WR602. The units are identical, other than that the alert issue is fixed in the WR602. McClung updates his site periodically, so it's likely that the unit will soon be addressed under the correct model number. Other reviews for the WR602 can be found at Amazon.com, where several users have posted detailed and well-written reviews.