Question about Vector VEC438 AM/FM/Weather Radio

Power won't stay on

Just bought the VEC438 and am trying to program it. But I can't get the power to stay on long enough for the ALERT message to come on. I did put the battery pack in and charged it for over 10 hours. The light stays on untill I shut it off.

8 more comments
Anonymous Nov 12, 2007

I had same problem of rechargeable batteries not taking a charge in cradle. I am currently trying to charge batteries out side of the handheld. Wondering if connection between handheld & cradle is not good.
Anonymous Jan 08, 2008

Vector Stormtracker Series 438/ Batteries wont charge

Wonder if the company ever heard of Quality Assurance?

Oh, never mind just noticed it was made in China.

Guess that answers my question!!
Anonymous Feb 13, 2008

Not only is power staying on a problem, but the radio won't alarm to SAME codes. Have a Midland wx radio in another room & works like a champ. Didn't hear about the recall, but figures. When I went to www.vectormfg.com, was rerouted to Black & Decker site. Guess they like buying 'problems'.
SAYURI18 Apr 26, 2008

I got one too. I am trying to use it tonight because of severe storms.I can't believe it won't hold a charge!Even in the charge stand I don't get any alerts.So much for piece of mind during bad midwest weather!!!!!!
Pj12345 May 24, 2008

Yes same problem twice sent it back and yes the batteries don't charge and it doesn't alert to SAME warnings. What a piece of junk!
Lee Bartholomew Jul 08, 2008

Well my brother seems to have the same problem with his. I prefer Midland. Never had a problem with those. And I've seen problems before with other products with a charger base. In my brother's case, the rechargeable battery pack gets so hot one can't actually touch the product. In this case I'd assume a bad battery pack. But maybe it's the base. I checked the CPSC site, there hasn't been any recalls for this item. Perhaps someone can point me where you heard this.
Lindal010101 Aug 18, 2008

Not only does the power not stay on, but when it comes on for a couple of seconds it shows fm 991.?? mhz. The flashlight seems to work ok.
Anonymous Sep 01, 2008

Will not charge after being plugged in all night!!
Anonymous Sep 02, 2008

Got my on sale at Home Depot, now know what it was on sale. doesn't work. Charged it twice and it only held the charge for about an hour. Hard to program. Searches all over for an FM signal, can't program that. Plan to return it and get a good AM/FM with the WB.
Anonymous Apr 24, 2009

Battery wont hold a charge. the crank charging works fine but wont hold one from the wall outlet.

3 Answers

Anonymous

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Works great when it works, good reception, alerts work for county codes. Was terrible, terrible to program, never seen anything so bad. Took one back because I couldn't charge it, but bought another because of the $15 sale price. Everything I own charges on the left side, but this one charges on the right. I was trying to charge it in the headphone jack! With the second one, the radio went out in the middle of Gustav, but the flashlight worked if I hand-cranked it. Took it to the local Vector/Black and Decker/DeWalt service center and was sent a new one in about a week. I'm hoping it will keep working. It is really great for $15, but I wouldn't fool with it if cost any more than that. One thing, I keep seeing that it has a cellphone charging jack, but mine didn't come with any adapters. I have some universal charge adapters and I am wondering what would happen if put one in the DC jack . It is either that or the headphone jack; there aren't any other holes.

Posted on Sep 24, 2008

Anonymous

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I myself own this product and have the SAME problem. Try charging it IN the cradle with the power on. Its good for the batteries! (And truly, Black & Decker a terrible company) But... I have a few suggestions for S.A.M.E. code problems: Extend the telescoping antenna for one to give it good reception and a station with a strong signal, allow 48 hours and make sure to experiment with different codes. If I may make a correction? It's not an "AM/FM/Weather Radio", this model (VEC438) respectively; is an FM/Weather Radio! And NOTHING else.

Posted on Feb 15, 2008

Anonymous

Home Depot recalled all of them for this reason. Great radio, just use reachable batteries instead of the charger stand. The stand and OEM battery is the problem. I kept mine and use rechargeable's instead.

Posted on Jul 01, 2007

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How do i turn off the low tire pressure alert on the message center of my 2004 monte carlo ss?

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Tip

CUSTOMIZING YOUR PHONE SOUNDS

the samsung sync is a pretty good phone with many options of customization available. problem is, most are hidden. heres how to access them:

1. open phone, and push the side key under the memory card slot. [alternatively, just get to the PROFILE option. in that case, skip 2]

2. scroll over to the 'PROFILE' setting

3. highlight the 'NORMAL' setting, and push the 'OPTIONS' key.

4. go to 'EDIT'. push 'CALL ALERT' and you get a wealth of options.

i will map them out for you too lazy to look through everything:

1.    INCOMING CALL
----------------------------------------------------

Call Alert Type:
                [Melody]
                [Increasing Melody]
                [Vibration]
                [Vibration Then Melody]
                [Vibration & Melody]
                [Vibration And Increasing Melody]
                [Mute]

Voice Call Ringtone
                [Takes you to My Stuff, where you can choose a .mmf file to use.]

Ringtone Volume
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Auto Reply
                [Activation OFF/ON]
                [IF ON, THEN REPLY TO SEND]
----------------------------------------------------
2.   New Messages

Message Alert Type
                [Melody]
                [Vibtarion]
                [Vibration & Melody]
                [Mute]

Message Alert Tone
                [OPTIONS:
                   [1. USE EFFECT TONE]
                   [2. USE MY ALERT TONE]

Message Alert Repetition
                [Once]
                [Periodic]

Alert Tone Volume
                [1-7]
----------------------------------------------------
3. PHONE SOUNDS

Keypad Tone
                [Beep]
                [Clean]
                [Mute]

Power On Type
                [Melody]
                [Vibration]
                [Vibration & Melody]
                [Mute]

Power Off Type
                [Melody]
                [Vibration]
                [Vibration & Melody]
                [Mute]

Folder Open/Close Tone
                [Melody 1]
                [Melody 2]
                [Melody 3]
                [Mute]

Volume, Phone Sounds
                [1-7]

if i missed anything, leave me a message, or email me: mannyftw [AT] aim [DOT] com

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I just bought a brand new samsung galaxy ace s5830 last week.my problem is i cannot find the way to change the message or notification alert tone to an mp3 music message alert tone instead what the...

Try under profile settings... you will have an option to change the message alert tone...

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My Epson Stylus Photo RX500's red alert light stays on and the message says "printer error - See your documentation and call service if necessary". Bought in 2004.

Try to read my other posts. I've already posted a "trick" regarding the same problem.

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At what web site can I download a user manual for the VEC438

Looks like someone has already posted it on one of the public forum sites .. good luck

http://www.dewaltservicenet.com/documents/English/Instruction%20Manual/Vector/VEC438.pdf

Dec 24, 2009 | Vector VEC438 AM/FM/Weather Radio

1 Answer

Atempt programming. Power on, push menu, does not

Returned radio to Black & Decker. They are to send a new one. Easy solution.

Jun 24, 2009 | Vector VEC438 AM/FM/Weather Radio

1 Answer

Vector VEC438 AM/FM/Weather Radio my AC adapter

I have one of these too. Here is the information, in case you don't still have the adapter.
Ktec
Model KA12D090050034U
Input 120V AC 60Hz 95mA
Output 9V DC 500 mA

The inner part of the plug is the positive side.

Try googling the model number above. I did and found several sources. If you still have the adapter and only the power supply itself is bad (but the plug is still good), you may be able to splice on another 9 volt DC adapter, as long as the power output is 500 mA or greater. If you go this route, make sure to check the polarity before plugging it into the radio.

May 06, 2009 | Vector VEC438 AM/FM/Weather Radio

2 Answers

Manual

Hi, not sure why the manual I uploaded doesn't show up anywhere so here it is in 2 posts (too large for 1 post)

Stormtracker Vector Model: VEC438 Classified: UNOFFICIAL USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!
Programing Instructions
To Program Alert:
Turn the radio on and then press:
1. Menu button (may have to hold it a few seconds) and Alert should show in the Display.
2. Press Channel/Snooze button to the right of the Menu button which will display one of the following: Voice/Siren/or Off.
3. Then use the Menu button to select between Voice/Siren/or Off.
3. After making your selection, press the Memory button to the left of the Menu button. This completes the programming of the alert function.
Example: If "Siren" is displayed on the LCD screen and you push the Memory button to the left of the Menu button, when a weather alert is broadcast the siren tone will sound and the appropriate yellow or red light will activate. If "OFF" is displayed on the LCD screen and the Memory button is pushed, the alert will not activiate.

To Program County
Turn the radio on and then press:
1. Menu button (may have to hold it a few seconds) and when ALERT appears, tap Menu button to scroll to County.
2. Press Channel/Snooze button to the right of the Menu button which will display one of the following: All/Multiple/or Single
3. Then use the Menu button to select between All/Multiple/or Single (You'll need to know the S.A.M.E. codes for the area you want to listen to, otherwise select ALL and you will recieve "All" Statements, Watches & Warnings without having to select a specific County).
4. After making your selection, press the Memory button to the left of the Menu button if ALL was selected or Channel/Snooze button to the right of the Menu button if you chose Multiple or Single (You'll see CODE01 on the display) If you chose Multiple use the Menu button to choose which Code Position to enter (01-10) then press the Channel/Snooze button to the right of the Menu button. Enter the first digit of the S.A.M.E. code then press the Channel/Snooze button to the right of the Menu button to move to the next digit of the S.A.M.E. code. Repeat this for all digits of the S.A.M.E. code. Then press the Memory button to the left of the Menu button to lock in that code. Press the Menu button to select the next code position to enter. Then press the Channel/Snooze button to the right of the Menu button, then the Menu button to select the digit of the next S.A.M.E. code to be entered. Repeat these steps as necessary to enter in all the S.A.M.E. codes you wish to enter, each time pressing the Memory button to the left of the Menu to lock in each code position. When completed entering in all S.A.M.E. codes press the Memory key again to lock in all codes and return to normal operation. This completes the programming of the County Code function.
Example:
COUNTY SAME # NWR TRANSMITTER FREQ. CALL SIGN WATTS
Fulton 013121 Atlanta 162.550 KEC80 500
Colquitt 013071 Pelham 162.550 WXK53 1000
Colquitt 013071 Valdosta 162.500 WWH31 1000
NOAA Weather Radio Frequencies
162.400 MHz (WX2)
162.425 MHz (WX4)
162.450 MHz (WX5)
162.475 MHz (WX3)
162.500 MHz (WX6)
162.525 MHz (WX7)
162.550 MHz (WX1)
Channel numbers, e.g. (WX1, WX2) etc. have no special significance but are often designated this way in consumer equipment. Other channel numbering schemes are also prevalent. Best to just tune to the strongest sounding station in your area, this radio does not display frequiencies, only channel numbers.
NOAA Weather Broadcasts
Channel Frequency
1 162.550
2 162.400
3 162.475
4 162.425
5 162.450
6 162.500
7 162.525
A link to get the S.A.M.E. codes for your listening area: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/indexnw.htm

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Not keeping time and date in memory

I have the same problem. I guess we're not supposed to turn it off? lol

The only solution i know of is just keeping it plugged in and turned on.

Plz help!!

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