Recommendations on weather band (NOAA) capable media receivers?

[pnwkayaker]

I want to replace my media receiver with a similar one that has weather band capabilities (aka NOAA radio), does anybody have any recommendations that will fit and look nice in the Vanagon?

I'm currently using a cheap JVC media receiver unit in my van, and like the small form factor (no fitting issues) and the use of solid state storage (all my CDs are in MP3 now) - however, I'm planning to use my van to do more skiing with my family, and want to get accurate/up to date weather information for planning purposes (plus I love to hear the weather forecast as we drive).

Thanks in advance for any recommendations, I'm aware of the Custom Radio Corporation radios, and those are my only options so far (unless I'm not doing a good job searching in Amazon).
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87 Syncro Westy EJ25 ("Tardis")

Seattle Meetup at Marymoor (link)
A collection of Simple Useful Mods (SUM) (link)

[newerwesty1987]

Never heard anyone say "Media Receiver" before. Sounds like some kind of PC replacement word.

Anyway, look at the Jensen Heavy Duty line.

https://www.jensenheavyduty.com/jensen-am-fm-wb-us...-1198.html

[SyncroHead]

[pnwkayaker]

Thanks for the Jensen recommendation, not a fan of the look (too many colors for my taste, I think the Custom Radio looks better in a Vanagon) but will check it out nowadays.

What about marine radios? Are they 1-DIN sized similar to a Vanagon radio? It seems most of the hits I found regarding weather band are related to marine radios (even at Amazon).
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87 Syncro Westy EJ25 ("Tardis")

Seattle Meetup at Marymoor (link)
A collection of Simple Useful Mods (SUM) (link)

[nemobuscaptain]

I personally wouldn't pay $250 for a $100 amfm cd that adds a weather radio receiver.

I have had a vehicle scanner (needed for work) and a cb back in the day, both of which had wx channel receivers. some FRS do. Most GMRS radios do. Of course most small handheld scanners, FRS and GMRS do. The handhelds are about the size of a deck of cards and can use a veh power cord.

Marine radios aren't cheap. Also it's against federal law to operate them outside of the maritime environment.

Ham is cheaper and makes more sense. Some are as low as $30 (look for Baofeng). If you actually wanted to use the two way ham radio, the licensing test can be completed after an afternoon course now. If not, learn to program and use the radio to scan almost anything (including marine or WX).

What are your goals exactly? Have you tried a handheld scanner and think you need more for some reason? you can usually get a vehicle power cord for this and it'll clip almost anywhere.
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https://www.facebook.com/groups/FullMoonBusClub

RIP Bob Hoover https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=427791
Hoover Sermons: https://www.vwsage.com/images/vwsage/Bob%20Hoovers%20Sermons.pdf

[jlrftype7]

Try Crutchfield and see if they still carry any WeatherBand radios.
Years ago BMWs came with them as standard on certain models.
My only beef is waiting for your local forecast while the automated voice gives you weather in every other place including Marine Conditions.... Cell service may have pushed the WB feature out of car radios once Smart Phones became so common....
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'68 Westy- my first VW and vehicle/Bus- long gone.- sold it to a traveling Swiss couple....
'67 Type 3 Fastback, my 2nd car- gone
'69 Semi-Auto Stick Shift Beetle-gone
2017 MINI Coopers, our current DDs
‘84 Tin Top - Hilga....Auto

[Abscate]

[IdahoDoug]

Just as an aside - I am also a weather junkie and I also spend a lot of time outdoors adventuring and pay close attention to the weather. I know you mentioned the nostalgia of hearing the weather forecast and not only is that cool, I'm the kind of nerd who'd also appreciate it.

However. Any smart phone will give you far more information than that if the highest priority is weather awareness. For instance, when I drive and weather is in the area, I have my phone sitting there with active color radar on the screen using a free app. It literally shows the weather and I decide if we're going to stop for dinner, or if the front will cross the highway after us if we simply push on another hour to have dinner. Or if we're clearly going to get hit (possible hail), I'll decide to stop for dinner now until the front passes.

So, just another thought for you in assuaging your weather needs while driving. Having said that, the strategy backfired on me this summer as I allowed my son to drive us into a hellacious summer storm in a highly competent classic sports car just so he could learn about hydroplaning, etc. I got a little overconfident and the storm had severe damaging hail I did not expect. We took a beating, unfortunately.
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1987 2WD Wolfsburg Vanagon Weekender "Mango", two fully locked 80 Series LandCruisers. 2017 Subaru Outback boxer. 1990 Audi 90 Quattro 20V with rear locking differential, 1990 burgundy parts Vanagon. 1984 Porsche 944, 1988 Toyota Supra 5 speed targa, 2002 BMW 325iX, 1982 Toyota Sunrader

[Steve M.]

[mellowslow]

Since I’m not really having fun until cell service runs out, I sought the same type of receiver with NOAA capability but couldn’t come up with a unit to suit my musical needs

The Cobra C75 WX ST fits in the glove box and provides audio output so it’s possible to plug right into my existing Alpine Mechless. Install needed it’s own antenna.
I can listen to Donna and Craig until the house battery goes flat.
I admit to never having a CB radio conversation, but it is there.



[url] https://www.cobra.com/collections/recreational-cb-radios/products/c75wxst [/url]

Mine was a $50. Craigslist score from a retired RVer.
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'87 WBWE FAS Gen V

[MarkWard]

I needed the dashboard space for AC vents. This is a Clarion from the Marine industry. It has a remote head and has an optional remote control.

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☮️

[jlrftype7]

[pnwkayaker]

Thanks to all for your recommendations, to answer some of the questions/comments:

1 - I'm aware of the many weather apps for the iPhones (my wife is a weather junkie with a GIS background and we have tried - and kept - many different apps).

2 - I was looking for something similar (minus CD) to the stereo that my wife has on her Forester (that has weather band); that thing will work even if there's no cell signal like it happens many times in the middle of National Parks.

3 - I actually like very much the idea of the CB radio outputting weather band audio (that I could connect to my stereo ?), need to look at that more in detail (CB radio was also in my todo list for next year) - this might be the solution we end up with.

4 - Regarding the Cobra C 75 mentioned above, are there 2 different pieces of hardware with it (the mic and a base)? The pictures in the Cobra website seem to only show the mic portion (unless everything is together in the mic ?) - I'm not a CB radio expert.

5 - I was not aware of the limitations to using marine radios on the ground, that's weird (thanks for the heads-up).

6 - Finally, Doug nailed out the nostalgia of hearing the weather radio while driving, it brings memories of great road trips and put us in the right "adventure" frame of mind.
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87 Syncro Westy EJ25 ("Tardis")

Seattle Meetup at Marymoor (link)
A collection of Simple Useful Mods (SUM) (link)

[sped372]

I carry a handheld "police scanner" in the camper which I have the weather frequencies programmed into. As was mentioned, we're often out of cell coverage but I have yet to find a location that isn't covered by the weather bands. Might be another option to consider.
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1971 Karmann Ghia - 1600 DP
1984 Westfalia - 1.9 WBX

[dschaftlein]

The great thing about radio is that when you're out of cell range you can still get weather warnings, forecasts etc.

I carry a VHF/UHF handheld radio for communications and I use the weather band channels as well. Keep in mind that you may not be able to pick up weather band channels deep in the wilderness. I rarely can unless I'm near the coast or a city of some sort.


Danny

[IdahoDoug]

Not my picture but it looks like one of my all time favorite Bimmers - the 635CSI. From that angle the 735 also has those delicate C pillars but I think its the beloved 6 Series coupe.
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1987 2WD Wolfsburg Vanagon Weekender "Mango", two fully locked 80 Series LandCruisers. 2017 Subaru Outback boxer. 1990 Audi 90 Quattro 20V with rear locking differential, 1990 burgundy parts Vanagon. 1984 Porsche 944, 1988 Toyota Supra 5 speed targa, 2002 BMW 325iX, 1982 Toyota Sunrader

[Vanagon Nut]

I had a then new Cobra CB with NOAA but wasn't impressed that it died an early death, (took a hit?). IMO, family service radios can do as good a job as a CB for caravanning etc. I liked the NOAA feature in the Cobra but when in camp, almost always used my Eton FR300. That Eton has suffered smoke, slight heat damage, dropped, etc. and I had to replace the dipole antenna but radio still works fine. It picks up FM stations well but the TV bands are useless like a viola solo. I often use it on FM at low levels inside the van.

The Baofeng UV5R also picks up FM broadcast stations but I wonder how well the stock "rubber ducky" antenna works for NOAA vs an adjustable expandable dipole? Unlike the typical UV5R, the FCC UV5R I purchased can't be programmed to pick up NOAA et al. There might be a work around using CHIRP but I kind of doubt it. Coming in from Canada to US, I carry an FCC rated VHF/UHF HT to avoid any potential hassles at border.

Neil.

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1981 Westy DIY 15º ABA

1988 West DIY 50º ABA

VE7TBN

[Merian]

Doug, what highly competent classic sports car ??
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[Sodo]

Ummm back to NOAA.....

Just so y’all know Whassup...

NOAA is an organization that’s basically “owned” by US citizens, we pay the salaries, pay for the satellites, the entire infrastructure. It benefits commerce, transportation, agriculture, aviation, marine, military. Its like our roads network, its basic infrastructure that “makes it all happen.“

There was a fellow from Accuweather who’s been trying to make NOAA stop giving out “free weather” cuz he’s in business to “sell weather”.
To us.
Which we’d buy if NOA wasn’t already in there providing it to us.
We pay for the whole shebang already and he wants to be able to sell weather info to the owners, info from our own equipment.

In October 2017, Barry Lee Myers, CEO of AccuWeather, was proposed to be the agency's administrator by the Trump Administration.
It didn’t happen.
Whew!!

Anyway, keep your eye on what’s ours, cuz the data you need for that NOAA radio came pretty close to being given away.

And there could be other weather issues of contention wherein the data NOAA can gather needs to be controlled a little tighter.

Sorry about that, I know nobody cares anymore......back to your regularly scheduled program.
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'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[nemobuscaptain]