Portable Weather Station

Reviews

The only con to this unit is the outdoor sensor. I've had two fail. I have it under the eve of my house, not in direct sunlight. Other than that it has worked very well.

work well , projection is bright but need a dark room . I have no regret . temp prob is working well also. wish the screen is lighted at night when it was on AC power. i will still buy it again

The clock works great, the temp is cool, but you can barely see the projector display in lighted conditions. It works great in the dark, but don't count on it projecting more than 2 to 3 feet away.

Bought the La Crosse to replace a unit from a competitor that was about 4x more expensive. The unit does almost everything that the more expensive one did. It has one remote thermometer compared with three, doesn't forecast the weather and the projection is a little less bright. It's smaller size requires that it be placed a little closer to where it's normally being viewed. To be fair, the original was replaced free of charge under the lifetime warranty, taking 2-3 weeks. That was after several years use and no proof of purchase (was a gift). The La Crosse comes with a 1yr. limited warranty. Because I was impatient and the price was so little, I made the La Crosse purchase and it arrived in a couple of days. (Sent out the original after it arrived.) If it lasts as well as long as the original unit it is well worth it.

I owned the older version (536OU) of this clock for about 7 years prior to buying this one. The old model was outstanding, and finally wore out after 6 moves and continuous operation. I was looking for the same thing only newer, and I got almost what I was after in this clock. Finding a clock with this many features, at any price point, is fairly tough. The only features it lacks (that the 536OU had) is two alarms programmable for two different times; the ability to choose what the projector displays (time/temp, time only, temp only); and the option to the turn the projector off or trigger it only by hitting the Snooze buton. The advantages to this model, however, are: * Much brighter back light * Much brighter projector (but not too bright. I keep my room DARK at night, and the red light does not disturb me at all) * Vastly better buttons - bigger and easier to press/operate * Offers indoor temperature and humidity as well as outdoor temp. Set up is pretty easy if you've ever set a digital watch before. The manual is clear enough if you haven't. Setting up the sensor is easy too (follow the placement instructions, though, or it won't be accurate). I actually used the old sensor for my old model, and didn't bother with the new one that came with the clock. Within about 10 minutes the clock picked it up and has worked fine ever since. Overall, a worthy replacement for my old model and easily worth the Amazon price tag of $20 or less.

Reviews

Simple enough. Put in the batteries and place the units where you want them. Within minutes you have your first reading and you don't have to think about it again. I am using this to monitor the temp in my newborn's room, so I have not tested the range, but overall I am very satisfied.

Bought this to replace a failed remote thermometer which had a 30 foot wired outdoor sensor, and bright red LED numeric readout. There are no cheap replacements for a thermometer with LEDs, which can be seen in the dark from across the room, but this unit's LCD readout is large and clear. The remote sensor works fine, no issues with wires, like with my previous unit. Both indoor & outdoor temps on this La Crosse were within 1 degree of my older, calibrated thermometer, so I'm happy with that.

I selected the La Crosse unit based on a good experience with a AAA battery charger that I bought a few months ago. I was replacing a unit from Bean that died after 2 years of good service. The thermometer worked as advertised after a 5 minute unpack and installation. I read some reviews that complained about accuracy/agreement between the indoor and outdoor readings. For an inexpensive unit like this I would expect errors on the order of 1-2 degrees F. That is plenty accurate to decide whether to open the windows or go outside. That is what I wanted it for.

There are two very important things to do when setting up this product. I opened the battery compartments on both the base and the transmitter. LOAD THE BATTERIES INTO THE TRANSMITTER FIRST. Within 30 seconds you have to load the batteries into the base. Unit came right on. I set the time and within minutes the two units synched to within three tenths of a degree. I mounted the base on my wall and installed the transmitter about 30 feet away, under my carport, keeping it away from direct sun and rain. I don't expect this unit to be accurate to the degree, I just want to get an idea of the temperature outdoors. Actually, I primarily bought this thing as a clock, with the temperature readouts as a added benefit.

This thing is pretty cool. I've bought two for myself and two as gifts. All in use for 6 months with no problems. I think the most important thing is to mount the wireless remote in a location out of the wind, rain & sun. I put mine in the carport. I like being able to check the outside temperature, from inside the house, so I know how to dress before heading off to work.

Reviews

I read all the instructions, and STILL can't get the outdoor sensor to work, no matter what channel I set both of them on. Don't waste your $10.

Internal / external temperature provide the needed information. There is a slight difference between the two temperatures (external sensor 0.8 degree higher). The external sensor range is limited when going thru an external wall. When placed within 1foot of the external wall I had no problem placing the display anywhere in the adjacent room. However when the sensor was 9 foot away (next fence post) the display would loose contact when the window blinds are dropped or if the display was not lined up with sensor thru the window.

I couldnt believe the cheap price. I think shipping was more than the unit. Keeps perfect temperature and the atomic clock is so cool. I have it next to bed so I always know the temp in the room, outside, and I know what time it is. Great product.

At $10 (the price on Amazon June 2010) this is well worth the price. I purchased this to replace an older Oregon Scientific indoor/outdoor unit that had operated for about eight years and then the receiver unit stopped receiving from the remotes. The previous unit was about $30 without the clock feature. Complaints about the freeze alarm are easily solved by changing channel. If the unit works for two or three years, I will be happy at this price. One negative is the location of the alarm button on the front. I tend to depress it when clearing the high/low memory and the alarm is set unintentionally. Another negative that is not critical for most people is the inability to use the older Oregon Scientific remotes with the new receiver. But for $20 you can get two complete units so you have two remotes and a spare receiver.

It's on sale because it isn't very good and it's not accurate (compared to more expensive units), but for me that's OK because it's not that serious. For the price and what it does, it's hard to complain. So it's off 2 or 3 degrees........I just want a general idea of what to expect when I go outside - - more than likely it's going to be hot in the summer. So what if it's off. It's $11.00 Where else can you find a wireless outdoor thermometer at this price? I couldn't even find a sensor at this price. For me it works and I like it.

Reviews

I got the Storm Station as a gift. After plugging it in to charge it for 24 hours (as recommended by the manual) I wanted to test it out. The flashlight worked fine. Nothing else worked at all. When I tried to turn on the radio or LED lights on the unit, they went on for about a second and then the whole unit died. I called Black and Decker customer service and talked to a pleasant, but unhelpful, rep who had no suggestions other than to return it. He indicated that this is not an unusual problem for these units. I really liked the features on this unit - AC power inverter, USB plug, hand crank, etc. - so I decided to return it for a new one. Amazon's return process was awesome, unfortunately the replacement unit had the exact same problem as the first. In this case, it's two strikes and you're out so I'm giving up on the Storm Station and will find a replacement that will actually work (which is a desirable quality for an item you may need to rely on in an emergency!).

I purchased this after I lost power during our recent 1-2 punch snow storms in the mid-Atlantic states. As far as I know all things work - Flashlight, radio, etc. I purchased this mainly due to the fact that I live in an all-electric environment and when that goes out so does everything else. My biggest fear was losing my cell phone and this has a place where you can charge up your cell manually if not on the battery power. So - I have not had to use it and I hope not to in the near future. But I keep it charged and I feel a little bit less "alone" should the lights go out. If it all works when I need it it's well worth the investment.

Loved the concept of having an emergency power source, weather and FM radio, and flashlight/room light easily accessible in the event of an emergency. I especially loved the idea of a hand crank in the event of an extended outage. However, I must add myself to the disappointed group. The instructions said it would come uncharged and needed to be charged for a day. It seemed to fully charge within a very short time (couple hours) and the detachable flashlight did not light at all. I kept it plugged in the full 24 hours hoping the flashlight would then light up but it did not. Not even a dim stream of light. Absolutely no light shone from this flashlight. This would not be very helpful in an emergency. Given that an emergency power station needs to be reliable, I had to one star this as this product appears not to be so.

My Dad had mentioned to me that he would like to have an emergency radio so I began searching for one for his birthday. I found two different models of Black and Deckers and started comparing them both. After reading lots of reviews and comparing I decided on the SS50B and I could not have made a better choice! My Dad just loves this radio. When I mentioned maybe getting one for him for his birthday he said all that mattered was that it had a crank and that he did not need all the extras. After I gave him this one he said he was glad that I had gotten him one with all the "extras" on it. The LED light is bright enough to comfortably read with, the flashlight is very bright and works well, the AC plug (yes, we have been experimenting just in case we need it for real) will charge our cell phone and actually run the coffe pot! It picks up the weather and radio stations nicely and has the emergeny channels plus AM and FM bands. We tested it to see how long it would hold a charge and it held a very powerful charge for a week. Our whole family now feels a little safer when a storm comes through and my Dad is very satisfied with his birthday present and he especially loves all the little "extras" !

I'm on my second one that has not worked properly out of the box. The first came and was not in new packaging, but the flashlight was super dim and it charged in just 30 minutes. It should of taken alot longer than that. The second was packaged nicely, but the USB caused loud buzzing through the speakers and the weather alert function did not work. I've returned them all and will avoid this model.

Reviews

The numbers in the display didn't all work correctly, so the item was returned for a full refund. I purchased Weathertech model FX5000, which has more features and a larger display. It works great.

Just received and really enjoy the larger display. Nice to see at a glance what it says. Easy to set up and started working right away. Only drawback is the Min/Max function button is on the back of the unit. That is okay if you set it on a table or desk, but I have mine hanging on the wall, so that makes it not so handy. I would still recommend it!

This will be a really short review as the unit stopped working only after 2 days. I liked it for that little while but wish it would last a bit more. It does have a nice uncluttered screen and a modern stainless steel look. This is going back to Amazon.

I bought this thermometer because it had a large display and modern styling. Both of these are what I got. My complaint is that the accuracy of this thermometer around freezing is not very good. My kids have a couple weather stations I got them for last christmas and when they say 32 it is freezing out. Mine will say almost 35 even though it has clearly dipped below freezing. So if you just want a general idea of temperature with a nice large display, this is the one for you. Otherwise I would seek something more accurate.

Reviews

It's OK, has some nice features and some major shortcomings. It works well as an alarm clock as you can customize alarms as much you want and offers a variety of sounds. The available widgets vary greatly in their usefulness. It can be pretty handy to wake up to the weather. On the other hand, as a previous reviewer pointed out, the wifi reception is poor and the Chumby is very frustrating to use as an internet radio. At times it can stream music such as Pandora without problems but other times it constantly skips and freezes. The customer service responded very promptly to complaints but tried to blame the problem on interference. There are a number of complaints on the Chumby forums about weak wifi. The FM radio is worthless. I can't get a single station. The speaker is decent. It is fine for alarms and spoken broadcasts, not so much for music. The touchscreen is also rather mediocre and I occasionally have to touch the screen a few or even several times for it to register.

Chumby One is a nice toy, designed to provide snippets of the internet in a fun way. Since it's supposed to be always connected, it is very disappointing that its WiFi reception is so weak. It can't connect to a b/g router 20 feet away, and behind a wall. Nice little unit, if you keep it in the same room as your wifi router.

I received this as a gift in December and the family liked this cool internet toy. The novelty has worn off and I found that the chumby would sit in the kitchen unpowered for weeks. Nobody would bother to plug it in. So I have relocated Chumby to my office and reset to appropriate widgets. I like it here. So I think its value is more personal than as a shared item. You need to think about the user and setting before buying, which is true about any gift really. My 2 cents.

I like the graceful alarms, Internet radio, etc. Biggest problem is you can not lock it and the 2 year old messes up the configuration on an almost daily basis. Wish it had an iPhone style PIN login.

Reviews

My 92-year-old mother gave me an atomic projection clock for my birthday, and when her 93rd birthday rolled around, I gave her one, and she loves hers as much as I do! It projects very legible clock numbers onto the ceiling. Waking up to check the time and being able to just look up makes it much easier to fall asleep, versus having to wake up enough to roll over and focus on a traditional clock. It's fantastic! I recommend it for everybody who seeks a good night's sleep, even the near-sighted, because the numbers are large enough to read from the bed.

I love this clock! It projects the time on the ceiling in red. It is very subtle so it does not interfere with sleeping for those of us who like it dark. The only negative is, for it to continuously project, it has to be plugged into the wall. It also operates on batteries, but if you're using batteries, you have to punch a button to make it project the time on the ceiling.

I received this clock from my son a number of years ago, and just love it. The alarm isn't blaring, you can view the time in the middle of the night as it is projected onto the ceiling, there is a snooze button, it sets itself when there is a time change (daylight savings). It's wonderful. I recently ordered a second clock for another bedroom. It was almost the same as the first, but now it tells you the temperature in the room, as well. I really don't care about the temp. in the room, but that's okay. What isn't okay is that there were no instructions on how to set the alarm and the 2nd clock's alarm is set differently than my other clock, though they are both Oregon Scientific clocks. I tried for two hours to figure it out, tried again the next night, and finally succeeded last night (though am not sure how I did it). It would be WONDERFUL if instructions would accompany this clock. C.M. Bethesda, Maryland

I purchased 2 of these clocks as back-ups to the ones we already have against the day they fail and we then find they are a discontinued item. My lady and I love not having to fully wake up to see what time it is. These are fobust, accurate and reliable clocks that suit our lifestyle and are technology that is actually convenient.

This is very compact. Much smaller than I expected. The projection is small on the ceiling also. Not bad but not great either. From reading about it I thought there was a radio also but it's just a clock unless the radio is well hidden in the compact controls.

Reviews

This ruined my ipod. It was not capatible with my ipod even though the instruction manual had the ipod's picture. Apparently it was the wrong generation and now my ipod is ruined. It froze and I had to replace it. Coby said it was not compatible so beware before you dock your ipod. The sound and ease of use is not very good either. I should have went to the store and shopped. I will think twice before ever buying from Coby.

I am returning this after one week - why? Because I can't read the time on it. The blue backlight for the time display it too bright, even on the slightly dimmer of the 2 available settings. If I try to look at it at night, it hurts my eyes. If the back light is turned off, I can't see the display at all, even during the day, thanks to it being recessed. This is a poor design concept. Who wants a clock you can't read easily?

This item was exactly what I was looking for! An alarm clock that works as an ipod docking system as well, and it's really great at both! The only negative comment I would attribute to this item is that the turn wheels are a bit obnoxious. They aren't too bad - and I like it for the volume adjustment- but in terms of setting the time with them it's just a little bit of a hassle. However, this really is a small complaint and it in no way is any sort of a deal breaker for me! The sound quality is far above average and for such a small system it has a really awesome base sound and can project really well! It's also really attractive and well styled. :)

The unit is almost perfect ... but the backlight for the clock makes this un-usable. When the backlight is used (so you can see the time at night), your room glows a bright blue. There is no way to dim it. It is like sleeping with the light on. So you have to turn the backlight off, which means you cannot read the clock. This is NOT A SMALL ISSUE! This makes the clock unusable at night.

I purchased this unit after reading a few reviews on Amazon. The LED lighting is not as bad as another viewer has complained about and the sound quality is reasonable given that this is a value priced clock radio.

Reviews

This book is great. It really does herd you through creating a weather station. It has been a little while since it was written. Java has been upgraded. The Mac OS x file structure had changed a little. I had a hard time finding the specific serial port called for, but I got it all to work. Right now waiting on an order from China, then I continue into the build phase. The website / forum that supports the book is not the most active, but I think it is because people get their weather station built to the degree they want and move on.

This book is a must if you want to build or design your own weather station. It is also a good book for someone who wants to test or fix their existing station. It follows building your own weather program in Java. The main weather station that this book refers to using is no longer available. But changes can be made from online help to use the new version. Even if you purchase a weather station the chapters on setup and calibration are very good. I also like the ideas on interfacing the weather station to home automation and other applications.

I bought this book for a bargain price from one of the sellers on amazon. It has good information about how one wire sensors work. Also if someone is interested in Java this will break you into getting a sense of how that works. But there are some corrections that were made after the book was published, especially concerning how to list the onewire usb adapter. I had some problems getting it to work until I looked up the authors website and read some of the comments. All in all, I probably would not buy a one wire weather station again because there are other weather stations that give you a lot more features for the price. But I would get the very inexpensive one wire temp sensors to play with as an introduction to such devices. I did learn quite a bit from the book and am glad I understand what it takes to do java programming even though I barely scratched the surface.

This book is an excellent primer to help you understand 1 wire devices and weather devices. I found that it helped motivate me in other directions such as bee hive monitoring in conjunction with the weather. The programs are good but it would be nice if they were available in alternate programming langauges such as C, C++, Visual Basic and a few others. I am not well versed in Java at this time so the alternate programming language would help greatly especially since I am in the process of doing remote wireless using the Rabbit microprocessor with ZigBee for the weather devices and the alternate languages would help the process. If you have a need to know about 1 wire and weather devices this book is highly recommended...

The introduction to the Java programming environment is well worth the price of admission. This is for folks who want to build a real proefessional grade weather station and not just a toy demon.

Reviews

THIS UNIT HAS ALL OF THE OPTIONS THAT A PERSON COULD WANT. THE SIZE OF THE BATTERY THAT POWERS ALL OF THESE OPTIONS IS VERY SMALL WITH MINIMUM POWER FOR THEIR USAGE. I DIDN'T PAY ATTENTION TO THE AMP OUTPUT AND WAS EXPECTING A LARGER BATTERY FOR THE PRICE OF THE PRODUCT AND SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT ONE WITH LESS OPTIONS AND A LARGER POWER SOURCE.

Reviews

I bought it for my husband, and he loves it! It is easy to take along and works really well. It is helpful for golfing, boating, and camping, and provides input for detail-oriented people.

The kestrel 4500 is highly accurate, fully waterproof and rugged enough to carry on any of your excursions. It does everything it claims to do very well. Instead of praising it for 5 paragraphs, I'll get to the point and tell you what I don't like: - It should have a mini-USB connection like my Garmin GPS 60CS so I don't have to buy an expensive cable. - You should be able to set the measuring frequency separately for each measurement. For example, wind speed, which can change quickly, I may want to measure every 5 seconds, but temperature and barometric pressure, which aren't so quick to change, I may want to measure every 5-10 minutes. - The price is a little hard to swallow at $300+, but you are paying for accuracy, peace of mind, a 5 year warranty and rugged construction. It's a great little meter. If they were $100 and had a USB connection, I'd have 5 of them set up all around the yard and inside the house just to look over the data. And FYI, I've heard a bluetooth version is in the works, so the USB connection may be a moot point. Not sure what kind of premium that will add, though.

I bought this because i like all sorts of Cool gizmos. Works great very sensitive wind gauge very nice hand held weather Gizmo well made glad i bought you will be too keeps my mind busy love my Gizmos

This device is small enough to carry in your pocket and is very fast and accurate. Very useful since it can measure water and air temperature. Waterproof and it also floats. I have owned this for about 2 months and I am very happy with it has not let me down.

This thing is GREAT!!! I fly, sail, do astronomy, target shoot, hunt. Basically a lot of stuff that is weather related. The Kestrel 4500 is very pricy, but everything works as advertised. From the other reviews I gathered that the battery door is flimsy. It is, you have to take care not to break it off when loading the batteries, but once they and their spacer are in place. the thing is accurate, intuitive and provides just about every piece of weather data you would want to use. The wind speed and direction, crosswind and headwind calculations are excellent for flying. Density altitude is also very handy too. For astronomy, being able to watch the temp and dewpoint is real handy to know when to turn on dew heaters. I pondered over getting the "night vision" version so that the light wouldn't blow my dark adaption, but the green LED backlight isn't too bright. The altitude and baro pressure features are very simlar to an aircraft altimiter, if you know one, you can get the other. The graphing is really cool, easy to read, the increments can record from 2 seconds to hours. I'm sure the wind chill and heat index will be handy during those extremes. The battery life is practically "forever" with two AAA batteries. Overall, if you need a device like this, get this thing. It just comes with a lanyard and soft pouch, but I'd recommend buying the belt clip pouch too.

Reviews

The Kestrel 2000 is a nifty, no nonsense, intuitive, straight forward, wind and temperature instrument. Minimalist means less to go wrong. Primary use is for snowkiting and paragliding. Sometimes, just feeling the wind can determine go, no-go, but putting numbers to it can help perceptions improve. In the area of kiting, it helps in selection of the right sized model for conditions. Life is easier.

I am a kite surfer and have been using the Explorer 1 for the last two years. I thought that I have lost it and purchased the Kestrel 1000 instead. It looks beatiful and rugged and the specifications are attractive. 1. Once I got it, I found out that it does not measure well (shows ~13 knots when the actual speed is ~20). I sent it for repair. 2. Unlike the Expoler which shows the average wind speed and maximum speed in one screen, the Kestrel shows one data (average, max, speed) at a time and you have to move from one data to another by pressing a button. 3. When comparing to other instruments (my Explorer, which I have found after receiving the Kestrel and others) I still think that it is far from presenting a reliable wind data to enable me to decide which kite should I use. When sent fo rrepair, the company has a noce follow-up system to enable you to see the status of the repair. Ze'ev Kirshenboim

I bought this Kestrel for windsurfing in order to get a better idea of what wind strengths I use certain sails in. I emailed Kestrel about just how waterproof the Kestrel 2000 actually is and they told me (emailing me back within 24h) it was IP67, which means it can be submerged underwater at 1m for a total of 30mins. This is great as it means I can take the Kestrel with me on the water to measure the wind/temperature on the water, which can differ quite a bit from measurements on the beach. As promised the impeller picks wind up as of 0.8knots, which is much lower than I would need for windsurfing. The menu is super simple and easy to navigate, you can get to whatever information you want really quickly and the backlight works well. I also love how you can change the impeller simply by pressing it out, which is a really great feature as I imagine the impeller could easily get knocked out of balance. The only thing I would've liked is to have the beaufort scale like on other brands indicated in a sort of ladder format on the side while you look at other information. However, changing the the units is so fast that this really isn't a problem. All in all, if you want a good anemometer for watersports, where temperature and windspeed are the main conditions you'll be worried about, look no further.

I originally bought this so that I could estimate wind speed and direction for long-range rifle shooting. I have only used it on a couple of occasions but it works fine. I'm sure it's better than the cheaper anemometers the large sporting good chains sell.

I use the Kestrel 4000 while hiking for the wind & wind chill, temps, and altitudes. It's small, light weight and works great and best of all, takes AAA batteries that are easy to find and not near to costly as the button type of batteries that some units require.