Midland WR120
Overview
The Midland WR120 is the dedicated NOAA weather-alert receiver in the lineup — the only device on the bench whose single job is to sit silent for weeks and then yell when a tornado, severe-thunderstorm, or flash-flood warning is broadcast for the configured county FIPS code. It operates exclusively on the seven NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards channels in the 162.400–162.550 MHz VHF band and implements **S.A.M.E.** (Specific Area Message Encoding), the FIPS-coded protocol that lets the receiver ignore alerts targeted at other counties. This deep dive covers the hardware, the operating modes, the on-panel memory/setup workflow, paper-based backup discipline, and home field use. Migrated from the Scanners project as part of the Scanners/Radios restructure Stage 2 Phase 2 (2026-06-16).
Context
The WR120 is **Public Alert®-certified** — it meets the NWS/CEA-2009-B standard for S.A.M.E. decoding, event-code filtering, alert-tone audibility, and tamper-resistant programming, and is one of the units NWS cites in its recommended-equipment list. Its load-bearing feature is S.A.M.E. selectivity: silence-until-relevant behavior is what makes the household actually listen when it sounds, versus a generic non-S.A.M.E. radio that beeps on every county in the transmitter footprint. It is a receive-only appliance with mains power plus AA backup, configured entirely on-panel — no PC programming, no CAT control, no codeplug. Current revisions are the WR120B / WR120EZ family, functionally identical for S.A.M.E. and event-filter purposes.
