SangeanCL-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.

This is the best NOAA weather radio I've ever seen! I bought it to replace another weather radio that scared us to death whenever a weather alert was broadcast. What's nice about this Sangean weather radio is that when a weather alert is broadcast, it gradually increases the sound of the alarm so that it doesn't scare you. It is also easy to operate, has lots of features, and has no issues picking up stations. It works well and is a great value for the money!

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.

I live in Florida and bought a weather radio in 2004 after Hurricane Charley, and while that radio did it's job, it ONLY had the NOAA stations and I wanted to upgrade to a radio that has the NOAA channels, as well as AM/FM, and could still be powered if the juice went out. I initially was looking for a hand crank radio, but after reading some reviews, it seemed like most of them were garbage, so I spent a few hours reading reviews and trying to decide which radio seemed like the best choice, and finally settled on the CL-100. It does everything I want and then some, and don't regret the purchase.The nice thing about the CL-100 is that you can program it to pick up alerts from select counties (it's easy enough to look up the county codes online), and you can also pick and choose which alerts you want to receive and which you don't. For example, I don't really want to be notified every time a Severe Thunderstorm Watch is issued. I just want to know when something HAPPENS. It looks like you cannot disable the alerts for more serious events, like Tornado Warnings, Hurricane Warnings, etc. but that is probably a good thing.So far so good as far as being alerted to weather events, as I found out recently with Tropical Storm Andrea. My radio went off saying that a Tropical Storm Warning had been issued, so I went out to the NHC's site, and sure enough, there was Andrea with newly initiated advisories. The radio was also going off like crazy when Andrea rolled through and there were Tornado Warnings left and right in my area. So the CL-100, so far, is doing it's job, and doing it well. I've had it for almost a year by the way, and still seems to work great.Regarding the volume of the siren - yes, I concede that it is pretty loud. But when the radio first goes off, it starts at a low volume so that it doesn't scare the bejeezus out of you, and steadily increases to its full volume in about 5 seconds or so, rather than blowing you away at max volume the moment it goes off. When it reaches peak volume, yeah, it's loud, but just hit the "weather" button and you will be switched over to the NOAA radio giving you the details and you're good to go. I guess I'm fine with it being loud, though - I'm a heavy sleeper and might sleep through it if it wasn't so loud.This is a great little weather radio for a reasonable price. I highly suggest picking up a CL-100 if you're in the market for a weather radio.