Cingular Go Phone: Vector VEC438 / VEC-438 / VEC-438 FM/NOAA Weather Alert Flashlight Review

I have looked a long time for the perfect weather-alert radio. The old ones "warned" so often they were annoying. Also, in hurricane and tornado-prone Florida, I wanted a portable unit that could go with me in an evacuation, but with an AC adapter so I wasn't wasting batteries at home.

This unit fits the bill. It's about the size of a walkie-talkie, with a nice solid feel and soft touch buttons. It uses a cordless-phone type rechargable battery (included) and has an AC adaptor, so you can use it 24/7 on standby in the home. It has a hand-crank if things get extreme. Having been without power for 8 days during hurricane Charley, this is a nice touch. It also has a LED flashlight for power outages.

The setup is easy, but the owner's manual is not the finest piece of writing I've ever encountered. The unit is rather self-explanatory, though, so it wasn't a major problem.

The LED display is easy to read, plus it has a siren feature for emergency alerts, as well as LED warning lights. On standby, it's silent.

The SAME feature allows you to add multiple individual county codes for very accurate local information, without alarms outside your area of concern. It also has an "all county" feature for when you are on the road and/or don't know the local codes. I found my local codes online at the NOAA website in minutes.

I'll add a long-term report later on, but so far I'm mighty impressed!

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Product Description:

AM/FM and NOAA rated
Auto storm alert warning alarm
Digital same scrolling text informs of latest warnings
3 LED flashlight
Digital LCD display
Dynamo power emergency generator
Charging cradle with AC adapter plug
NiMH rechargeable batteries
Cell phone recharges port
Alarm clock