WR606
Desktop Emergency Weather
Station
USER MANUAL
EN
INTRODUCTION
Thank you for selecting the Desktop Emergency Weather Station (WR606). This device operates on the same radio frequencies used by the National Weather Radio (NWR) and can send you NOAA alert messages to warn you about weather and other environmental dangers. This weather station is constructed of durable materials and has a reception range of up to 50 miles (64 km). It is also equipped with weather information display, digital clock and daily alarm.
Keep this manual handy as you use your new product. It contains practical
ABOUT THE NATIONAL WEATHER RADIO SYSTEM
The National Weather Service (NWS) is an agency within the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administra- tion (NOAA) that operates a nationwide network of radio stations known as the NOAA Weather Radio (NWR). The NWR radio system broadcasts warning information for all types of hazards, both natural and technological. Working in conjunction with the Emergency Alert System (EAS), NWR is an
A nationwide network, the NWR consists of more than 900 stations in 50 states, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands and US Pacific Territories. Broadcasts are designed to meet local needs. Routine programming is repeated every few minutes and consists of local fore- cast, regional conditions and marine forecasts.
Additional information, including river stages and climatic data, is also provided. During emergencies, these routine broadcasts are interrupted to report specific warnings.
CONSUMER ELECTRONICS ASSOC. (CEA)
This product complies with the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) testing standards.
PRODUCT OVERVIEW
FRONT VIEW
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1.Remote outdoor sensor reception icon
2.Barometric pressure
3.Outdoor temperature and humidity
4.Weather forecast
5.Indoor temperature and humidity
6.Alarm icon
7.Radio channel
8.Clock / Alarm / Calendar / NOAA alert messages / Setting options display
9.MENU: Press to switch between clock, calendar, alarm 1 and 2 displays; press and hold to enter setting mode; confirm setting value
10.EXIT: Press to exit any setting mode or return to clock display
11./ : Increase / decrease settings; increase / decrease volume; enable / disable alarm 1 or 2
12.SNOOZE / LIGHT: Press to activate
13.Antenna
14.External antenna jack
15.External speaker jack
16.AC / DC adaptor jack
WR606 EN UM R2.indd 1
BACK VIEW
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1.NOAA: Press to switch between NOAA On / Standby / Mute / Off modes; press and hold to turn On / Off NOAA display
2.MSG: Press to switch between NOAA alert mes- sages; press and hold to activate / deactivate keypad lock
3.MEM: Press to switch between the current, maximum and minimum temperature or humidity reading; press and hold to clear all maximum / minimum records
4.CH: Press to switch between temperature and hu- midity display; press and hold to enable
5.PRESSURE: Press to select the barometric pressure unit (mb and inHg); press and hold to set the altitude compensation range for barometric reading
6.: Press to adjust the altitude when setting the altitude compensation range
7.RESET: Press to reset the unit to default value
8.°C / °F: Switch to select the temperature unit
GETTING STARTED - MAIN UNIT
ADAPTOR AND BATTERIES
You must use the AC/DC adaptor as the main source of power supply. Make sure the adaptor is not obstructed and the adaptor socket is easily accessible to the unit.
Batteries serve as
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in outdoor | Remote outdoor sensor |
temperature area | batteries low |
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in NOAA area | Main unit batteries low |
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TURN THE NOAA RADIO ON / OFF
To turn the NOAA radio ON / OFF, press and hold 
NOAA.
When the unit is first connected or reset, it will imme- diately enter the clock / language setting mode (see Change Settings section). It is advisable to set your preferred language English (E), French (F) or Spanish
(S)at this time, so you can read the NOAA alert messages.
DISPLAY MODES
There are 2 display modes:
1.Clock mode
To switch between the clock mode displays, press MENU.
2.Radio status mode
To switch between the radio status mode displays, press NOAA.
NOTE Leaving the unit in NOAA ON mode will consume substantially more power. To save power, set the unit to NOAA Standby when you are not listening to radio broadcasts.
CHANGE SETTINGS
To change clock, alarm, channel and location settings:
1.Press and hold MENU for 2 seconds to enter setting mode.
2. Press or to scroll through the setting options (Set Alarm / Set Clock / Set Channel / Set Location) and press MENU to select the desired one.
one.
3. Use or to change a setting, then press MENU to confirm and move onto the next one.
4. Press EXIT to leave the setting mode at any time.
NOTE To reach a number quickly, press and hold
or .
RECEPTION SIGNAL STATUS
To check the status of the reception signal, look at the reception icon on the display.
ICON DESCRIPTION
Current selected channel signal is strong
Current selected channel signal is weak
No NOAA alert message has been received for 10 days. Current selected channel signal is weak
No NOAA alert message has been received for 10 days. Current selected channel signal is strong
NOTE When the unit is set to NOAA ON, Standby or Mute, it will continually search for NOAA signal.
GETTING STARTED - REMOTE OUTDOOR SENSOR
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1.LED status indicator
2.Wall mount hole
3.Battery compartment
4.RESET hole
5.CHANNEL switch
The remote outdoor sensor can collect data from up to 3 channels.
To set up the remote outdoor sensor:
1.Open the battery compartment and insert batteries, matching the polarity.
2.Select a channel then press RESET.
3.Close the battery door.
4.Place the remote outdoor sensor within 30 m (98 ft) from the main unit.
NOTE Use alkaline batteries for longer usage and consumer grade lithium batteries in temperatures below freezing.
SENSOR DATA TRANSMISSION
To search for a remote outdoor sensor: Press MEM + CH.
The remote outdoor sensor reception icon will show the following status:
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| Main unit is searching for sensor(s). |
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| A channel has been found. |
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| The sensor cannot be found. |
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TIP The transmission range may vary depending on many factors. You may need to experiment with various locations to get the best results.
NOAA ALERT MESSAGES
When the NWR airs urgent warnings, a digital code known as Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) is included as part of the message. This coding system contains specific information including the localized geographical area affected and the expiration time of the message. The WR606 retrieves and interprets SAME code messages and alerts the user. When SAME codes for a specific region have been entered into the unit, the unit alerts the user to relevant warning information for the specified region. Once alerted, a voice broadcast can be heard.
FIND LOCAL CHANNELS AND SAME CODES
The codes are subject to change. Therefore, to ensure successful operation you must obtain the most ap- propriate,
To contact the NWS by telephone:
1.Phone
2.Follow prompts through a simple voice menu.
To obtain NWS radio channels and SAME codes on the internet:
1.Locate www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/indexnw.htm
2.Click the State for which information is needed. For example, clicking on “Montana” will give a list of information relevant to the State of Montana including the names of counties, SAME codes, NWR transmitter locations, the frequency of the transmitter, the strength of the signal in WATTS, and any remarks as applicable.
Example of the first 10 county radio channels and SAME codes for Montana.
COUNTY | SAME# | NWR | FREQ. | CALL | WATTS | RE- |
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Beaverhead | 030001 | Butte, MT | 162.550 | WXL79 | 100 |
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Beaverhead | 030001 | Dillon, MT | 162.475 | WNG638 | 150 |
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Big Hom | 030003 | Billings, MT | 162.550 | WXL27 | 300 |
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Blaine | 030005 | Havre, MT | 162.400 | WXL53 | 300 |
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Blaine | 030005 | Billingd, MT | 162.475 | WWG85 | 100 |
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Broadwater | 030007 | Helena, MT | 162.400 | WXK66 | 1000 |
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Carbon | 030009 | Billings, MT | 162.550 | WXL27 | 300 |
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Carter | 030011 | Baker, MT | 162.550 | WXK57 | 300 | N |
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Cascade | 030013 | Great | 162.550 | WXJ43 | 300 |
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Chouteau | 030015 | Miles | 162.500 | WWG84 | 300 |
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NOTE Many counties have been subdivided into as many as 9 smaller subsections. The numbers
ABOUT RADIO CHANNELS
The NWR radio channels work in the same way as a regular radio channel. All of the NWR transmission sta- tions operate on 1 of 7 frequencies.
CHANNEL CORRESPONDING RADIO
FREQUENCY
1162.400 MHz
2 162.425 MHz
3 162.450 MHz
4 162.475 MHz
5 162.500 MHz
6 162.525 MHz
7 162.550 MHz
AAuto – the unit will tune to the strongest RF signal available
The unit labels each frequency as a channel
The channel number in use can be viewed on the top
SET THE RADIO CHANNEL
To change the radio channel, navigate to “Set Channel” setting mode and select the desired Channel, as shown in the Change Settings section.
SET THE LOCATION
You need to set the location so that you can receive weather and environmental information for an area that is relevant to you.
You can choose the location by either the state and county name, or FIPS code. Up to 9 locations
NOTE If you do not set a location, the unit will use the default setting “CO:All” for all counties.
To set the location:
1.Navigate to “Set Location” setting mode as shown in the Change Settings section.
2.Select where you want to store the location e.g. C1.
3.Select the
4.Select “Name” or “FIPS”.
•If you select “Name” you can select first the State and then the County of your chosen location, then press EXIT. (If you wish to receive
•If you select “FIPS” you need to enter the
NOTE If at step 2 you select “C0:All” you will receive all warnings within the unit’s reception range. This may result in giving you information for regions that are not relevant. The regions can be as large as 5,000 square miles (13 sq km). If you select
the ALL option and will only receive warnings from specified local areas.
NOTE Once the location name is selected, the cor- responding FIPS code will be set into the memory.You cannot convert the code back to the location name.(FIPS is the Federal Information Processing System number assigned to each State, or open waters in or around the US. The SAME code comprises of numbers generated by the FIPS system.)
ACTIVATE / DEACTIVATE LOCATION
You can activate / deactivate 1, some, or all of your stored locations.
When a location is activated, the
When a location is deactivated,
your stored locations display.
To switch between activated or deactivated loca- tion status:
1.Navigate to “Set Location” setting mode as shown in the Change Settings section.
2.Select a stored location e.g. C4 and press MENU.
Then when “000000” or
or to activate or deactivate it and press EXIT to confirm the setting.
SAME CODE – WHAT EACH DIGIT MEANS
A SAME code is broken into 3 sets of numbers.The example below is the code for the northeast
3 04 003
Code for Cochise County
Code for Arizona
Code for northeast
Cochise County
State-county code:
The 3 digits on the right are for state county coding. Each county within a state has an independent
NOTE To receive all of the alerts for a given state, insert
000 into the county section.
State code:
Moving towards the left, the next 2 digits are for state coding. Each of the 50 U.S. States has their own 2- digit code.
County sub-section code:
The last digit on the left is for county
NOTE If the county
A county can be subdivided as follows:
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RECEIVING NOAA ALERT MESSAGES
To receive NOAA alert message, press 
NOAA to set the unit to one of the following options:
•ON [ 
]: The unit is ON and voice messages can be heard continuously.
•Standby [ 
]: The unit is in Standby and will switch to ON when NOAA alert message is received.
•Mute [ 
]: The unit is in Standby with the sound turned OFF. NOAA alert messages can be viewed but not heard. Switch the unit ON to hear messages.
•OFF: The unit is turned OFF and will not respond to NOAA alert messages.
Turning the unit off by setting it to Standby, Mute or OFF will help to save power.
RECEPTION TEST
The fact that you can get clear voice reception does not guarantee that an emergency alert will trigger your unit’s alert tone. To test actual reception, your unit must receive a test or emergency alert signal broadcast. The National Weather Service (NWS) broadcasts a test alert every week on Wednesday between 11AM and 12PM (noon). To find out the specific test schedule in your area, contact your local National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) or National Weather Service (NWR) office. These offices are usually listed in the telephone book under “US Government”.
REMEMBER For your system to be effective, you must place the unit in a location where it can receive an emergency alert signal, you can hear its siren, and see its flashing indicator lights.
RECEPTION PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
Forests, deserts, and hills / mountains tend to greatly reduce reception. Reception in cities may be reduced due to steel and concrete, while higher elevations will enhance the signal. Reception can vary from room to room. Moving even a few feet can enhance signal reception.
RECOMMENDATION Place your weather station near a window, away from other electronic equipment, and on an upper level of your house.
INTERPRETING NOAA ALERT MESSAGES
This product is equipped to receive all required NOAA and Emergency Alert System (EAS) events. When an EAS event is sent by the NWS, any 1 of the following NOAA alert messages will scroll across your weather station display: “WARNING”, “WATCH”, or “ADVISORY”. The unit can store up to 8 NOAA alert messages.
Additionally, to help you check that your unit is
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