weather radio suggestion?

[bcelect]

I was given a portable radio with a crank for power that has short-wave and several other bands. But I never take it in the outdoors. I get a long range weather forecast before the trip and use the Indian weather rock method. I have studied meteorology and have turned into a cloud watcher.

At Camp Read in the Adirondacks we also used the weather rock. Here are the instructions.
[h=2]Instructions for "analyzing" weather with the weather stone[/h] Some examples of the instructions for the weather stone include:

• If the rock is wet, it's raining.
• If the rock is swinging, the wind is blowing.
• If the rock casts a shadow, the sun is shining.
• If the rock does not cast a shadow and is not wet, the sky is cloudy.
• If the rock is not visible, it is foggy.
• If the rock is white, it is snowing.
• If the rock is coated with ice, there is a frost.
• If the ice is thick, it's a heavy frost.
• If the rock is bouncing, there is an earthquake.
• If the rock is under water, there is a flood.
• If the rock is warm, it is sunny.
• If the rock is missing, there was a tornado.
• If the rock is wet and swinging violently, there is a hurricane.
• If the rock has white splats on it, watch out for birds.

 

[shando]

Just curious if the weather radio would have changed the outcome of your trip. The scenario I envision is this...

Sitting in the tent waiting out a stormy day.

Unpack the weather radio

Wind it up, charge it up, turn it on.

Spend some time finding the station.

Station announces that is raining out.

Continue to wait out stormy day in the tent

There is that and the fact there is no station you can get up this way that I'm aware of. Better for the states and lower Canada I think.

That is a great point. I never thought about the fact that i could not get any stations up there. But to your point about changing the outcome of the trip, it would have helped to know if the next day would be just as foul or if it would clear up. I would then be able to plan to use up a rest day to wait out another day's rain or to push on if the forecast announced more consecutive days of rain.

 

[shando]

I've gone through a number of weather radios, and I finally have one that I'm very happy with. After using several models over the years, both in backcountry bush, and out on the Lake Superior coastline, I pretty much figured out what I wanted in a weather radio. After quite a bit of research I bought the Sangean DT-400W.

Here are the pros...
- very compact & light
- takes regular batteries - no wind-up BS. I found the wind-up radios frustrating, and the crank eventually breaks
- quite good reception & volume for a small unit
- antenna is a wire, not a telescoping type that will break (yes they will break)
- button lock function, so it won't turn on in your pack, draining your batteries
- am/fm with 19 programmable stations. In some locations, especially up here in Canada, a CBC radio signal may be available, while a weather band signal is hard to get.

I used the radio on a 3 week Quetico solo last year. Depending on where I was, I could get a weather band signal out of Atikokan, Ely, or a CBC signal. I had over a dozen very heavy storms on the trip - almost all in the evening or overnight, and the forecast gave me the heads-up to get things tied down tight.

As I've found out, the 30 dollar crank up radios are crap. Crappy signal. They switch on in your pack, draining the 5 minutes of crank power that you put into it. The parts and buttons are cheap, and the antenna will break.

The Sangean DT-400W is available on Amazon. You'll pay a bit more, about $75 to $80, but it's worth the money.

Thanks for the great reco! It seems like others agree that this a great product. I think I will order this one too. Hopefully, I will get a CBC signal from wherever I am in Algonquin and La Verendrye.

 

[Rob H]

Thanks for the great reco! It seems like others agree that this a great product. I think I will order this one too. Hopefully, I will get a CBC signal from wherever I am in Algonquin and La Verendrye.

shando you will have no problems receiving CBC anywhere in Algonquin and should be able to receive the weather stations as well. Plus depending where you are, receiving the local FM stations out of North Bay, Pembroke and Huntsville as well.
Sitting on Hogan one evening I was able to listen to stations out of Barrie and Toronto.

Cheers
Rob from Barrie

 

[ppine]

bcelect,
Precisely If you stare at it for awhile that is all very obvious.

Two years ago we paddled the lower Colorado River in February. We dragged into a fish camp one afternoon and took refuge from the 40 knot winds. The wind continued to build and blew 70 mph over night. I flattened my tent and slept in it with no poles. I had my dog in there with me and we were quite comfortable with the sand blowing over the top of us. The next day the wind was a steady 40 with gusts to 60. We stayed put and left the following day under clear skies and a slight breeze. A radio would not have changed anything. I don't take any electronic devices. Sometimes I bring a watch.

Edit-

Most places in the West, the closest met station is irrelevant. Sometimes on the big rivers there are towns around. There is often no cell coverage. It is best not to depend on any outside information.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

The helpfulness or relevance of a weather radio depends on where you're paddling. Weather changes may not be particularly relevant if you're in a mile deep river valley or on small lakes that are close to shore with abundant campsites.

On the other hand, I like to be aware of weather changes if I'm paddling:

-- On the open ocean. I don't like to paddle my open canoe on swells + wind waves that exceed 14 feet.

-- In highly tidal places. It's important to know the anticipated direction of wind relative to the ebb/flow direction of the tide. X wind flow will produce much different waves configurations on Y tide flow when the wind is going in the same direction vs. the opposite direction of the tides.

-- In the AmSouth during hurricane or electric storm season. The electric storms can be very violent, highly localized and swiftly moving. I don't want to be out on the flat-in-every-direction, treeless water-landscapes of the South, which have no shoreline protection, during an unsuspected electric storm.

-- When running whitewater in New England in February or March, when blizzards and ice storms are still significantly probable.

-- When paddling miles along high-cliff shores, having few landing spots, on the coasts of large lakes or ocean.

-- When making long crossings to islands or distant points of land.

-- When deciding, in a land of campsites that are few and far between, whether to paddle on for two or three more hours to the next known campsite or to stop in the early afternoon on the one I am at. I don't want to be grounded by weather on low quality shorelines.

Getting that weak, fading, robotic voice of a NOAA weather station telling me about expected weather extremes, wind speeds, wind directions, and small craft warnings is comforting to this weak, fading and unrobotic paddler.

 

[Philtrum]

Getting that weak, fading, robotic voice of a NOAA weather station telling me about expected weather extremes, wind speeds, wind directions, and small craft warnings is comforting to this weak, fading and unrobotic paddler.

Well said!

 

[Rippy]

Just got back from camping and was very happy with the Sangean DT-400W radio that this thread helped me find and purchase. It worked great for me all the way around.