ANTHONY, Fla. – Sharon in rural Anthony, Florida has a Midland Weather Radio but the signal was so bad she couldn’t understand the words and, worse, wasn’t getting weather alerts!
So we found a $25 antenna on Amazon and installed it for her.
If you have a project you’d like Erik to tackle, send us an email at GettingResultsAtHome@wkmg.com and next week Erik might just show up at your door!
We purchased:
Midland Weather Radio window antenna
We brought with us:
Nothing
We recommend:
A hair dryer
Step 1
Try these steps in order. First, move your weather radio away from electrical interference. The Emergency Coordinator for Marion County advised to look for computers and power packs and make sure your radio is nowhere near them. The interference will deteriorate the signal of your radio.
Step 2
Move your weather radio close to a window, ideally the window facing your National Weather Service tower. As you’d expect, radio waves pass through glass much easier than through concrete block so putting your weather radio next to a window is much better than putting it in the middle of a room or in the middle of your house.
Step 3
If your signal still hasn’t improved, consider an extender antenna. We purchased a Midland antenna (link above) for Sharon’s Midland Weather Radio, but make sure to check compatibility for your particular radio.
Installation was simple. Determine where your closest National Weather Service tower is located by clicking here and stick the antenna using the included adhesive strip onto the outside of a window that faces the tower. Make sure the antenna can point straight up. On the inside of the window, stick the antenna base onto the glass. #Househack - use a hair dryer to heat up the adhesive before you stick it to the glass! Then plug the wire into the base and plug the other end of the wire into your weather radio.
Now just make sure you’re on the right frequency! Use this link to make sure the frequency you selected on your radio matches the frequency of the tower you’re aiming for.
You just got results at home!
