La Crosse Technology WS-8117U-IT-AL Atomic Wall Clock with Indoor/Outdoor Temperature


A Well-Made Easy to Use Invention5

I checked very carefully and this *is* the model I have. This is a GREAT easy to set up easy to use product that I wouldn't trade for anything. It has been prominent in my kitchen for over a year now and I love it!



There is a slight catch: you do have to read the directions. Apparently this a far more daunting challenge for most people than I would have guessed as they only took me about five minutes to read.



Yes the moon phases can appear backwards but the illuminated portion of the clock matches the illuminated portion of the moon. This is a very minor complaint and after I got used to it (again about five minutes) it hasn't thrown me off since.



Again yes you have to put a thermometer outside to have the outside temperature. I'm not sure what the other reviewer was expecting. On the plus side I've always found it extremely accurate and what's more the signal appears to be able to pass through an entire house with no problem.



But no this clock adjusts itself and I haven't had to worry about resetting it for a long time.



I love this thing and never plan on replacing it with anything else. After reading these other reviews I guess my only complaint is that it doesn't have a drink ready for me when I get home.



BTW I find myself using the moon phases a lot more than I would've guessed.More detail ...

Honeywell TM005X Wireless Indoor/Outdoor Thermo-Hygrometer


Accurate!5

I was most interested in the humidity measurement. I conducted a calibration****(See update at end of review) with a sling psychrometer. A sling psychrometer measures wet bulb/dry bulb temperature and is the least expensive (albeit a bit tedious to use) and most accurate way to determine relative humidity (RH).



I needed to know relative humidity for curiosity indoors and for a chamber in my basement used to dry cure sausage (I needed a 70%RH environment). The Honeywell unit was spot on with the sling psychrometer (and temp. was accurate as well).



The unit is new; I need to check it over time for accuracy. However it's running very well so far and the price is right. I'll be buying more remote sensors [...] I found the remote sensor part no. is TS33C can find them on Amazon with that search).



The majority of complaints say the humidity is "off." However I didn't see a single valid calibration conducted.



Update 01-March-2009

I just took the main unit the sensor and sling psychrometer. The conditions in my home at time of testing were 68F and 30% relative humidity.



Main unit read 68.4F/30% RH

The Sensor: 68.0F/30% RH

Sling Psychrometer: 68F/31% RH



The sling psychrometer consists of two sealed thermometers and will never need a calibration it is an accurate standard. This Honeywell Unit is pretty darn good.



Update 13-Dec-2009

Someone contacted me and corrected a big point. I did not calibrate the unit by adjusting it to a known standard I simply compared the values. My apologies for this rather serious error.More detail ...

La Crosse Technology WT-5120U Projection Alarm Clock with Outdoor Temperature


Most enjoyable and it works.5

This is one of the more delightful purchases recently. The little unit and its remote temperature sensor came to life shortly out of the box with no hastle and went to work as advertised. The readability of the projection on the ceiling when it's a little darker lighting curtains pulled and especially at night is wonderful. The direction of the projection is easily adjusted in several directions. It is easy to adjust and tailor to your environment keeps the right time right temperature and just sits there doing its job day in and day out in a most enjoyable way. I bought it as a gift to my wife more as a stocking filler but neither of us would want to be without it now as we find ourselves depending on it. And it has delivered so far.More detail ...

La Crosse Technology BC-700 Alpha Power Battery Charger


Handicapped version of BC9004

Just in case you were looking for the La Crosse Technology BC-900 AlphaPower Battery Charger: please be advised that ths is NOT the same charger.



Except for the color the BC700 looks exactly the same as the better-known BC900. However it is actually a "handicapped" version of the old charger. Its charging current can only go up to 700mA in three steps (200/500/700). The BC900 on the other hand can go up to 1000mA for 4 cells or 1800mA for 2 cells. Also the BC900 package includes eight NiMH rechargeable cells (4 AA and 4 AAA) eight C/D cell adaptors and a carrying case. The BC700 does not come with any bonus items.



This is not to say that the BC700 is a bad product. Quite the contrary it is better than any other NiMH AA chargers in the market except for BC900 and Maha MH-C9000. If you can find it at a substantial saving (like maybe 30% off from the price of BC900) it is still a good buy. But as it is right now I recommend getting its older brother instead.



[update on June 13 2008]

Recently the price of BC700 has settled to a level much lower than that of BC900 (partially because the price of BC900 has gone up) so it is now an excellent buy - especially if you intend to buy some low-self-discharge NiMH cells separately. In light of this the criticism in my original review now seems unnecessarily harsh. Too bad I'm not allowed to change the star-rating for this product.



[Update on April 7 2010]

I hope my overly critical review above did not discourage anyone from buying the BC-700. As of this moment it is the best value if you are looking for an advanced battery charger/analyzer. This is because:

- The BC-9009 has been recalled recently due to excessive overheating/meltdown incidents.

- The Powerex WizardOne Battery Charger-Analyzer is more powerful but costs twice as much as the BC-700.

- The newest La Crosse BC500 has severely limited functions compared to the BC-700 (see my review for details) yet it costs more.More detail ...

Tech 4 O HH2 Handheld Digital Weather Station with Altimeter and Barometer


handy gadget but....3

Having an altimeter compass thermometer stopwatch clock and barometer all-in-one seems handy enough. The unit seems to work well with one exception; the instructions say it may take 3 hours for the barometer/altimeter to correct itself after flight.



My unit was delivered by air and when it arrived the pressure reading was a full 3 inHg below the local weather station (reading 27" rather than 30"). It took not 3 hours but a WEEK for it to slowly creep up so that now it reads about 0.3" below the local station. Not sure how confident I am with it's minute-to-minute variation and since it calculates altitude from this I wouldn't be skydiving with it...More detail ...

La Crosse WS-8035U-IT Wireless 915mhz Forecast Station with Pressure Graph & In/Out Temps!


A nice station for the price5

I'm a meteorologist. If I had it in my budget to get a professional weather station (like from Davis) for my home I would but until I do this station will serve nicely.



The display unit is nice and large very easy to read. The base is narrow enough that I can set it on the kitchen window sill without worrying it will fall into the sink. The remote sensor is about 30-40 feet away around the corner of the house. Our home has metal siding and the signal from the remote has to travel through two exterior walls and a window; we've had no reception problems.



The sensors are accurate. When I first put in the batteries (follow the instructions as another reviewer said) I let the outdoor sensor sit next to the indoor sensor for quite a while. The readings from the base unit and remote matched within 0.7 of a degree and 2% humidity.



The clock set itself within about an hour of putting in the batteries.



The base unit is easy to read and full of information. The unit records not only high and low temperature and humidity for both the indoor and outdoor sensors but also the date and time the reading was taken. If you were so inclined you could reset the measurements on 1 January then on 31 December see when you had your highs and lows for the year.



I want to address a couple of comments by other reviewers. First the specifications of the unit (found on page 23 of the manual downloadable from Amazon) clearly state the unit will only report outside temperatures to about -22F. Expecting La Crosse to do something about this is like buying a Geo Metro and complaining that you can't compete in NASCAR. The unit is not built for those extreme low temperatures. Don't buy it if it doesn't meet your needs.



Second the Weather Channel reports measurements taken by a weather station (often at an airport or NWS office) that is in your cable viewing area. The Weather Channel is not reporting conditions in your backyard. Official measurments are taken using instruments housed in a shelter built to certain specifications usually 4-6 feet off the ground. I've got my outdoor sensor stuck to the side of the house about 8-9 feet up. It's good enough for backyard meteorology but it's definitely doesn't meet requirements for official measurements.



Third the reason the pressure tendency chart blinks (actually it's displayed in a scrolling fashion) is "to avoid burnout of the LCD". Manual page 18 section I9.



Remember the pressure displayed is station pressure. The values reported by the Weather Channel are converted to sea level pressure. Station pressure is affected by the height of the weather station; the higher you're located above sea level the lower the pressure displayed compared to sea level pressure. Fortunately it's not the number that matters. What you're interested in as a weather watcher is the pressure tendency. If the pressure is dropping then look for worsening weather; likewise with increasing pressure you can expect conditions to improve.



All in all this is a nice package with many features found only on more expensive units.



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Update 25 Aug 2007

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The unit is still going strong after a year though the outside sensor died. It fell off the side of the house a couple of times - it's possible that had something to do with it. Fortunately the replacement sensor is only $15 here on Amazon though it doesn't come with a weather shield. I have it under an eave but I still may seal the new sensor (La Crosse Technology TX6U Wireless Temperature Sensor) with silicon as a precaution.



I didn't realize how much I looked at the thing until the sensor died...I'm going through data withdrawal now.



Interestingly the unit is now branded as "The Weather Channel" wireless weather station. When I bought this it was just a regular old wireless weather station. Perhaps TWC branding is the reason the price has gone up since last year.

More detail ...

Oregon Scientific WMR90 Pro Wireless Weather Station


Reasonable and functional product4

I bought this product so that I can keep track on the local weather. This is the best reasonably priced weather station that I am happy with. Still the user manual should be better (not sure hos to get Wind Chill and heat index function to work.....) and the mounting option should be better equipped.

Overall all I am happy with it.More detail ...

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