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EmergencyRadio.org

KZZ86: NOAA Weather Radio for Althorp Peak, Alaska

KZZ86 is the NOAA Weather Radio transmitter at Althorp Peak, broadcasting on 162.425 MHz at 5 watts. It carries the National Weather Service Juneau office's broadcast and covers 3 counties, each listed below with the SAME code an alert radio needs to wake for that county and stay quiet for the rest.

CallsignKZZ86
Frequency162.425 MHz
TransmitterAlthorp Peak, Alaska
Power5 watts
Forecast officeNWS Juneau
StatusNormal (NWS data, July 2026)

Marine radios often label 162.425 MHz as WX4, but WX channel numbers vary by brand - go by the frequency.

Counties KZZ86 covers

CountyStateSAME codeNote
Hoonah-AngoonAlaska002105ALL
JuneauAlaska002110ALL
SitkaAlaska002220ALL

A county marked with a note (for example partial coverage) is served for that portion only. Program the six-digit code into your radio's SAME location list - the SAME code guide walks through it, and how alert radios work explains what the radio does with it.

A radio that will use this code

KZZ86 alerts are only useful inside a radio you can program the s codes above into. Two that do it, for two different jobs.

At home, always on

Midland WR120B. Mains desk radio with battery backup. Program the SAME code from the table and it stays silent until your county specifically is warned, then wakes you.

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In the bag or the car

Midland ER310. Crank, solar and USB, with a flashlight. Receives KZZ86 the same as anything else; it does not do SAME alerting. The one still working on day three of an outage.

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Hearing KZZ86

Any receiver that tunes 162.425 MHz FM can listen: scanners, VHF ham radios, marine sets, or a software-defined receiver. What those do not do is wake you at 3 a.m. - for that you want a dedicated radio with SAME alerting, covered in the buyer's guide.

Every Alaska transmitter, county and SAME code: NOAA Weather Radio in Alaska. Or look any county up with the finder.

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