001 - Life Saving Radio Communication

Published 10/06/25

WSEC213 Broadcasting Simplex 17, can you hear me? How am I modulating?

I love GMRS, OK maybe not as much as some folks. I'm not an amateur radio enthusiast by any means, but after spending a long time on clunky short range CB radios GMRS has been a wonderful new world to explore. The range, the options, the versatility, GMRS seems to do it all, but after a jaunt to Kentucky earlier this year I learned that it has an even more valuable feature... The frequency adjustability to be able to tune into NOAA Weather radio!

I have the weather channel app on my phone, Chris. Why do I need to use my radio?

Yeah yeah, I get it. We're all plugged in these days. A few weekends ago I was sitting in a river off Nimblewill road in North GA with my feet in the water not a care in the world when a crack of thunder rolled above us. Starlink to the rescue! Weather App! Ah, the storm is just north of us, keep calm, carry on and crack another beer.

Service.

Gosh dang it, I live in the south and have a TON of tree cover and spend a lot of time in the mountains. Cell service and Starlink isn't always an option, heck the price and monthly cost of a Starlink is a barrier enough for many adventurers. Some people even head out to get away from being connected, I get it. You dont always have the option to leverage modern technology to our convenience.

Earlier in the year I was on a ride with my good friends from Venture Unknown up in Kentucky, remember early 2025 when all those distilleries flooded? Yeah that was when we were up there. The weather SUCKED and one particular evening after an exhausting day on the trail we found ourselves at camp with no cell service and no Starlink. 10:30PM, dark and quiet, like a WALL the wind and rain hits out of nowhere. Scary place to be with no comms to the outside world, and the last time we did have service there was a threat of tornadoes.

Luckily someone in our group had the know how to plug in the local NOAA station to their handheld radio and keep us posted on what was going on. This was a huge eye opener, especially at that point being less than 6 months in the wake of Hurricane Helene, which lead to widespread power outages and communications systems failures across the southeast.

OK Yeah, that makes sense. Can my radio tune in?

Truth be told, I dont know. Maybe I should find a way to say "Enter your radio make and model to proceed reading this article"? Well anyway, I'm going to tell you about how to do it using a Baofeng UV-5R, a super affordable, easy to use radio that many overlanders keep on their rig already.

Standard disclaimer I know using this radio as a GMRS is not exactly kosher per radio regs, I know I opened this post by talking about GMRS and have mentioned GMRS several times. For the purposes of this article none of what I'm covering here relates to GMRS, this can be done with any UV-5R right out of the box without any of the... "Customization".... To make it work on GRMS. Receiving NOAA frequencies is legal — transmitting on GMRS using this radio is not. I do not condone the violation of FCC Regulations.

Anyway, now that the formalities are out of the way... This is a pretty easy process (Also covered in the video on this subject at the bottom of the article where I walk through programming the frequency step by step).

Step 1: Turn the Radio on

Step 2: Switch from Channel mode to Frequency mode, typically the orange VFO/MR button, the radio will verbally tell you which mode it switched to when you press the button.

Step 3: Consult the NOAA! Visit https://www.weather.gov/nwr/station_listing, pull up the state you are in, and it will give you a listing of weather stations in that state. Take note of the frequency that station is broadcasting on. *Note - some transmitters that overlap coverage. You might need to try multiple nearby frequencies for the best reception 

Step 4: Enter the frequency using the number pad on the radio, once complete it should start receiving the broadcast. 

Yeah, pretty simple. I really recommend printing out a list of the stations in states you regularly visit to keep in your dashboard, or at very least keep them saved in your phone. This stuff can save your life one day.

Now obviously this isnt perfect, there will definitely be cases where you just dont have a good enough signal even on your radio to hear the weather station, but I've been in a lot of situations where even spotty signal between me and the station has helped with planning. I have a radio always charged in my truck pre-programmed to stations both at home and in areas I frequent, this is a great way to save your bacon.

Whether you’re overlanding in the wilderness, camping at a state park, or just hanging out at home knowing how to reach NOAA can keep you a step ahead of the weather. Stay safe and Check out the video below on the topic from a few months ago as well!