Radio Shack 12-259 User Manual

Hazard alert radio, Handheld, What’s included

12A07

12-259

P/N: AO0158ADA1

Printed in China

12-259

Handheld

Hazard Alert Radio

Thank you for purchasing your Hazard Alert Radio
from RadioShack. Please read this user’s guide before

installing, setting up and using your new radio.

What’s Included

Radio

Belt Clip

User’s Guide

Specifications

Power supply ...................... 6V DC 300 mA AC adapter (not supplied)
......................................................................3 AA battery (not supplied)
Thermometer operating range ...................................... -4 °F to 122 °F
Dimensions (HWD) .............................................6

x 2

x 1

in.

Weight ............................................................................................ 5.6 oz
Channel 1 ........................................................................... 162.400 MHZ
Channel 2 ........................................................................... 162.425 MHZ
Channel 3 ........................................................................... 162.450 MHZ
Channel 4 ........................................................................... 162.475 MHZ
Channel 5 ........................................................................... 162.500 MHZ
Channel 6 ........................................................................... 162.525 MHZ
Channel 7 ........................................................................... 162.550 MHZ

Specifications are subject to change and improvement without notice. Actual
product may vary from the images found in this document.

RF Emissions Information

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a
Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are
designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in
a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate
radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with
the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular
installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or
television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off
and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or
more of the following measures:
• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to

which the receiver is connected.

• Consult your local RadioShack store or an experienced radio/TV technician

for help.

If you cannot eliminate the interference, the FCC requires that you stop
using your radio. Changes or modifications not expressly approved by
RadioShack may cause interference and void the user’s authority to operate

the equipment.
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject
to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful
interference, and (2) This device must accept any interference received,
including interference that may cause undesired operation.

Limited 90-Day Warranty

This product is warranted by RadioShack against manufacturing defects in

material and workmanship under normal use for ninety (90) days from the
date of purchase from RadioShack company-owned stores and authorized

RadioShack franchisees and dealers. For complete warranty details and

exclusions, check with your local RadioShack store.

RadioShack Customer Relations

300 RadioShack Circle, Fort Worth, TX 76102

04/04

Protect the environment by recycling used electronics. Go to
www.ecyclingcentral.com to find a recycle location near you.

Product:

Hazard Alert Radio

Model:

12-259

Responsible

Party:

RadioShack Corporation

300 RadioShack Circle

Fort Worth, TX 76102

Phone:

817-415-3200

Traditional weather radios simply receive the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather
broadcast (usually within a 50-mile radius), then sound
an alarm if any emergency code was transmitted along
with the broadcast. This means that people outside an
affected area are often alerted even though their area is
not affected, leading some to ignore weather warnings that
apply to their own area.

In 1994, NOAA began broadcasting signals called FIPS
(Federal Information Processing System) codes along with
their standard weather broadcasts. These codes identify

the type of emergency and the specific geographic
(such as a country) information about the codes, so you
can determine if the emergency might affect your area.
Only SAME-compatible weather radios are able to take
advantage of this technology.

Each FIPS code identifies a specific geographic area
defined by the National Weather Service (NWS), so your
alert radio, sounds an alert only when a weather emergency
is declared in that area. This helps you more efficiently
track the weather conditions in and around your area.

How Your Alert Radio Works

Using AC Power

Your alert radio can also use one 6V, 300mA AC/DC adapter
with plug size H (not supplied) for power.

1. Open the rubber DC 6V jack cover.
2. Insert the AC/DC adapter’s barrel plug into DC 6V jack.

Then plug the adapter into a standard AC outlet.

Power Up Reset

When powered on for the first time after installing batteries,
all LCD segments turn on for one second. The device starts
to search for the best weather channel. To reset the alert
radio to default settings:

1. Remove the batteries and disconnect AC power.
2. Hold down WX and install batteries or connect to AC

power. Hold down WX until USER SETUP appears and a

short beep sounds.

3. Release WX and press MENU. DEFAULT ON appears

briefly, and then USER SETUP appears.

4. Remove batteries and/or disconnect AC power. Reinsert

to begin use.

Note: The backlight is on when receiving an alert message, or for

any key operation.

Hold down G for two

seconds to turn on or off

TR/HM

Select Travel mode or
Home mode.

DC 6V jack

Selecting Temperature Display Mode

1. Press MENU. Then repeatedly press or  until

TEMPERATURE appears.

2. Press . The current temperature reading flashes.
3. Press  or  to select temperature display mode (ºF or

ºC). The temperature is updated every 30 seconds.

4. Press  to confirm. Press MENU to exit.

Selecting a Channel

1. Press MENU. Then repeatedly press or  until

SELECT CH appears.

2. Press .

To automatically search for channels, press  when
AUTO appears. CHANNEL and SEARCHING …

appear. If there is an available channel, CHANNEL,

and the number of the currently selected channels, and
AVAILABLE appear. If there is no available channel, NO

CHANNEL, AVAILABLE, BACK TO CHANNEL, and

the number of the last selected channel appear. AUTO

appears and the alert radio beeps.

To manually search for channels, press  when
MANUAL appears. CHANNEL and the number of the

currently selected channels appear. The alert radio
tunes to a channel and turns on the broadcast. To select
another channel, repeatedly press  or  until the
desired channel number appears.

Press  to confirm the selection. A beep sounds and
CH, the number of the currently selected channels, and

SELECT appear. Then SELECT CH appears. Press MENU

to exit.

Notes:
• If Auto mode was selected previously, AUTO appears. If

Manual mode was selected previously, MANUAL appears.

• During manual channel selection, the weather broadcast

turns on so that you can verify a station exists on the selected

channel.

• The alert radio automatically searches for and tunes to the

strongest weather broadcast channel in your area if you

select AUTO.

Selecting Alert Mode

You can set the alert radio to respond to an NWS alert
broadcast in one of two ways:

TONE – The alert radio sounds an alert for five minutes or

until End of Message is received and an alert description

appears until the alert’s effective time expires. To turn off
the alert sooner, press WX.

Note: The alert radio automatically selects TONE for the first

time you turn it on.

VOICE – The alert radio sounds an alert for about eight

seconds, and then automatically turns on the weather
(voice) broadcast for five minutes. It also displays the alert
description (such as TORNADO WARNING) until the alert’s

effective time, received as part of the NWS broadcast code,
expires.

1. Press MENU. Then repeatedly press  or  until ALERT

MODE appears.

2. Press .
3. Press  or  to select TONE or VOICE.
4. Press  to confirm, or press  to return without

changes.

5. Press MENU to exit.

Missed Alert Reminder

The alert radio beeps about every 10 seconds after a
specific weather alert broadcast ends and until the weather
alert expires. This is called a missed alert reminder.

1. Press MENU. Then repeatedly press  or  until ALT

REMINDER appears.

2. Press . Í (off) or % (on) appears.
3. Repeatedly press  or  to select Í or %. When the

desired mode appears, press  to select. Press  to
return without changes.

4. Press MENU to exit.

The following weather alert messages will generate a
missed alert reminder

avalanche warning

hurricane warning

blizzard warning

immediate evacuation

biological hazard warning

boil water warning

chemical hazard warnning

law enforcement warning

civil danger warning

dam break warning

coastal flood warning

contagious disease warning

dust storm warning

nuclear power plant warning

emergency action notification

radiological hazard warning

food contamination warning

flash freeze warning

earthquake warning

severe thunderstorm warning

freeze warning

shelter in-place warning

fire warning

special marine warning

flash flood warning

wild fire warning

flood warning

tornado warning

hazardous material warning

iceberg warning

high wind warning

industrial fire warning

civil emergency message

land slide warning

tropical storm warning

volcano warning

tsunami warning

winter storm warning

Adjusting Voice and Tone Volume

1. Press WX to turn on the broadcast.
2. Repeatedly press  or  to adjust the volume to the

desired listening level. VOLUME: and the volume level
appear.

3. Press WX to turn off the weather broadcast.
4. Repeatedly press  or  to adjust the alert tone volume

to the desired listening level. TONE VOL: and the alert
tone level appear.

Setting the Alarm

1. Press MENU. Then repeatedly press  or  until SET

ALARM appears.

2. Press . É and the alarm time appear. The first time you

activate the alarm, the alarm time shows 12:00 AM.

Note: Repeatedly press  or  to enable or disable the alarm.
The alarm is enabled with É on and disabled with É flashing.

3. Press . The hour digits flash. Then press  or  to set

the desired hour.

4. Press . The minute digits flash. Repeatedly press  or



to set the desired minutes.

5. Press . AM or PM flashes. Repeatedly press  or  to

make your selection.

6. Press  to confirm. A long beep sounds. Press MENU to

exit.

At the set alarm time, the alert radio generates an alarm.
Press any button to stop the alarm.

Note: The alarm duration is one hour under standby mode and
five seconds only during an NWS alert broadcast.

Setting the Clock

1. Press

Press MENU. Then repeatedly press

epeatedly press

press  or  until SET

CLOCK and Ì appear.

2. Press . The hour digits flash. Press  or  to set the

hour.

3. Press . The minute digits flash. Repeatedly press  or



to set the minutes.

4. Press . AM or PM flashes. Repeatedly press  or  to

choose the desired format.

5. Press  again to store the time. A long beep sounds to

confirm the entry.

6. Press MENU to exit.

Note: Hold down MENU to view the clock time during NWS alert
broadcast.

Battery Notes

• Dispose of old batteries promptly and properly. Do not

burn or bury batteries.

• Use only fresh batteries of the required size and

recommended type.

• Do not mix old and new batteries, different types

of batteries (standard, alkaline, or rechargeable), or
rechargeable batteries of different capacities.

• If you do not plan to use the alert radio for a month or

more, remove the batteries. Batteries can leak chemicals
that can damage electronic parts.

Installing Batteries

1. Slide down the latch on the battery compartment cover

and remove the cover.

2. Install 3 AA batteries (not supplied) as indicated by the

polarity symbols (+ and –) marked inside.

3. Replace and secure the cover.

Full battery power is indicated on the display as j. When
battery power is weak,

;

appears. Further operations are

not allowed until you replace the batteries.

Note: Be sure to turn off the power and replace new batteries

within 1 minute as to keep the set clock time. If it takes more

than 1 minute to replace the batteries, you may be need to reset

the clock time.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,130,600 and 7,050,784

Press to listen to a
broadcast.

Press to select menu
items.



Press to navigate the
programming menu
and adust the volume.