Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

UPDATE 12/14/13: I've now had the unit for a couple of years. With the unit plugged into an outlet free of interference from other electrical/electronic devices it has (to the best of my knowledge) never failed to issue an alert during severe weather. I like this unit. Again, I'm only trying to make everyone aware of the reception issues that can occur with improper placement. Thanks. ORIGINAL REVIEW: The purpose behind purchasing this type of radio is to provide a reliable early warning in the event of severe weather. The city of Joplin, MO - which is about thirty minutes to our southwest - was destroyed this last Sunday by an EF-5 tornado with 200+ mph winds. 122 people have died and 1500 are still listed as missing. I've narrowly avoided being in several tornadoes merely by dumb luck. I don't intend to be unprepared again, particularly in the event that my family is sound asleep when one of these monsters comes rolling through. All that said, the key word here is 'Reliable'. Despite the glowing reviews, the Midland WR-120 DOES HAVE SOME LIMITATIONS. Maybe all weather radios have these same limitations, but I'm somewhat disappointed and wanted to share my concerns with anyone who may be considering a purchase. It took me AN HOUR - even with the unit next to a window - to find a spot where I did not experience from moderate to severe radio interference - severe meaning that it completely lost the channel the WR-120 was set on. I tried different extension cords, no extension cords, etc. Why? Was it due to a weak signal or poor antenna placement? No. I live five miles from the NOAA broadcast station and even closer to the National Weather Service's local office. The problem is the effect that certain other devices plugged in to the same electrical outlet have on the unit's reception. Three seconds after plugging my laptop into the same outlet, the reception went from CRYSTAL CLEAR to LOST!. Initially, I plugged the WR-120 in to the surge strip that powers my Mac and experienced an even more disturbing issue. Upon plugged the unit in the reception was fine, but upon silencing the unit with the weather/snooze button and then activating it again the unit had completely lost reception - COMPLETELY! While running the unit strictly on battery power - with the exact same physical placement of both the unit and the antenna - I experienced NONE of these issues. Running the unit off of batteries alone is not an option. As stated by the manufacturer: "Batteries provide approximately 5 hours of emergency power or 75 hours of standby power for the radio in case of a power outage". I have my WR120 installed in my office. Needless to say, all three available outlets have other items plugged in to them. If I had left my unit plugged in to the outlet I had used initially, I would have NEVER received ANY WARNING of an impending weather event as the item completely lost reception after the original setup. I'm pretty sure that NO RECEPTION = NO WARNING. I discovered this by accident. Given our recent history in this part of the country I'm very glad that I did. My recommendation is this: Wherever you decide to plug in your unit, make certain to test it under all of the different electrical usage conditions of the outlet in question. Additionally, one minor gripe for those considering mounting the item to a wall: This unit is designed with the input for the AC cord on the top (or back for those laying the unit flat). This means that if you mount the WR-120 to a wall the cord obtrusively juts up into the air out of the top of the unit and then loops back down to the ground. It looks bad. This could have very easily been remedied. The manufacturer should have moved this input onto the left side of the unit (opposite the on/off switch) and provided an AC adapter with an 'L' shaped prong rather than the 'sticks-straight-up-in-the-air' prong that results in the obtrusive two inch piece of black cord jutting out the top. On the positive side, when the unit finds a good outlet it seems to function well. It's easy to use and set up. It's a nice looking piece of equipment. Unfortunately, my only option is to mount mine to a wall with it's appearance marred by the poor cord placement.