Weather Stations

Review by Q. Fu:

I bought it in February 09′. After two months’ use, the display was dead. I thought it was the batteries. So I replaced all the batteries. The display beeped once and then nothing. Same thing when I tried at least 3 types of alkaline batteries as recommended. As other reviewer mentioned, La Crosse has ZERO customer servce.

1)I contacted them using their online Contact Custome Service form in early May.

2)Having hearding nothing from them, I sent a email on June 10. An email came on June 12 with the typical Battery instructions despite the detailed problem description in my email. It also asked for the purchase info that I already sent in the previous email.

3)Anyway, I resent all the info requested on the same day, June 12. And guess what, nothing happened after that.

It’s 10 days now after I sent the last email. My patience ran out. So I filed a complaint with BBB. And I strongly encourage any one who have similr problems with La Crosse to do the same. We can’t just let them sell faulty products and ignore the customers.

Update: My case with BBB was closed as UNRESOLVED due to NO RESPONSE from La Crosse. Now La Crosse has the lowest rating of F in BBB system. Check it out before you buy!

Review by E. Maddox:

First off, this thing works. Second, I am kind of sorry I didn’t find money to buy even more options. But for the price I am thoroughly delighted with a working outdoor sensor giving me current temperature and an inside thermometer/humidity reading. The little man icon is kind of icing on the cake. Calendar and sunrise are nice. It’s a compact worthy desktop addition. My first go-round with setting it up was clumsy. Then when I had fresh new batteries in hand I decided to change to fresh (supposedly will last a year) and reset the station. The second go-round went much smoother and I suspect any problems I had with originally setting up the station were my own problems, not the unit. My recommendation is to buy this one if you want an economical weather station that works. But if you can afford more options, go for one that provides temps, humidity and perhaps a heat/chill index for outside. I’m saving up and looking for such a unit now.

Review by Julie Palmer:

I have used several products from the Weather Channel and La Crosse with no problems. In my directions it stated that it was very important to put the batteriies in the remote until first, wait ten minutes or so, and then put the batteries in the inside unit. For some reason, if you do not do this, the remote temperature will not be read. If James hasn’t already returned his unit, perhaps he could try this and write back!

Review by Mohan Chandra:

The Weather Channel WS-9016TWC Sun/Moon Wireless Weather Station

Easy to set up. Follow instructions provided. Just wait for a mew minutes for the system to set itself up. Then it is good gadget to have around the house since it monitors several parameters. Relative humidity apart from temperature is one of the more important parameters. This will also tell you if any unit on your heating system is providing the correct humidity and also useful in monitoring when air conditioning your house or apartment.

Review by Martin A Hogan:

I received a well deserved “C” in Meteorology in College, but when I got the Wireless Weather Station, I was stunned at what I had missed and what this device can offer. Quite simply, an outdoor sensor (a small iPod sized `thermo/hygro sensor’) placed on an outside post or wall acts as the receptor of information from, yes, the NIST (National Institute of Standards & Technology-Time and Frequency Division) radio station, WWVB, in Ft. Collins, Colorado, daily. Also using the local weather, the sensor transmits tons of information to the very cool looking unit in your house. Here are some of the features you see:

*Controlled Time

*Moon Phase Display

*Indoor Temperature/Humidity Display

*Outdoor Temperature

*Date Display

*A cute Comfort Icon

*a Forecast Icon

*Air Pressure Trend Indicator

*Barometric Air Pressure

*24-hour Air Pressure History

*Humidity Display

*Remote Sensor Number

It can be read in 12 or 24 hour mode. There is a radio controlled alarm that also has a snooze (or off). Maybe you can just watch the news to get your information, but this is more than a weather station for your neighborhood – it is a conversation piece. The only drawback I could find is that the LCD display is not very bright without indoor lighting. But that’s a small complaint considering all the cool stuff you get just by glancing at the display on your wall (I put mine among all my wall photos). This would also make a really great gift for anyone – weather-wise or not.

Review by Mark:

The La Crosse Technology WS-8035U-IT-SAL Wireless Weather Station is certainly more attractive than other units I have purchased from La Cross. The problem is that the functionality is not nearly equivalent to the high price of this unit. Some of the lower end units by the same maker offer most of the benefits of the 8035 for a third of the cost. In addition, the build quality did not inspire confidence that this product will last very long. There are certain things that worked better than others, but overall this product is lacking.

THE ALTERNATIVES

So if you love La Crosse you will not be giving up too much to purchase the WS-9611U, WS-9013U or the WS-7014CH instead of this. All of them retail for a fraction of this unit. There are tons of others too. This unit’s performance is nowhere near where it needs to be relative to the cost.

If you are just looking for quick temperature and humidity readings, many wall clocks that run on 2 AA batteries will give you indoor readings. And several outdoor kits are available. There is additional information this will give you, but many people may not need or want that extra info. And for most people it may not be worth the added cost.

Some may want to step up to the pro units for more real data and flexibility than this and lower end models. But the high cost of those units will keep them far from most people’s budgets, including mine.

THE LOOKS AND THE BUILD QUALITY

Many La Crosse weather stations are made from a drab grey plastic. The center portion of this unit is also constructed from that material, but along the sides are two brushed metal wings. I was surprised by how much visual appeal those metal wings added. They make this unit appear much sturdier. Unfortunately, looks can be deceiving.

There are actually two parts to this product: the weather station, which is pictured, and the remote sensor, to obtain outdoor temperatures. First of all, this sensor unit does not look durable enough to be outdoors. There is no kind of insulation over the battery cover. So if you live in colder climates or places with tons of temperature change, you can expect a short life for the remote sensor.

The back of the unit itself has a hole near the top so it can be hung from a screw. But right next to the battery compartment are two plastic feet that can be pulled out to stand this unit up on a table. The plastic backing is not solid, and you can see it flex when you pull the feet out. Just moving the unit made it tip over and knocked the batteries out. And when the batteries fall out, you have to reinstall them and restart the setup all over again. More on this later. The bottom line is that those feet are not sturdy enough to provide a stable base for this unit, and the build quality as a whole could be improved. So you either have to hang this from a screw or have it propped up close to a wall for support.

SETUP AND EXPANSION

The booklet includes a “quick guide” list and a longer set of installation instructions.

1.) Install batteries in the sensor and the weather station and leave them to communicate for 15 minutes. The sensor unit is like a small remote with a screen alternately displaying temperature and humidity data. The readings from the sensor are reflected on the weather station as the *outdoor* readings at the bottom of the screen. So during the set-up you would expect the indoor and outdoor readings to match if both units are accurate. I found they were off by a few degrees at first, but seemed to slowly approach one another.

Both take AA batteries (3 in the weather station, 2 in the sensor). But the booklet warns against using re-chargeable batteries. Huh? There is no place for a power adapter to plug into the weather station. Using regular batteries doesn’t seem very efficient to me, but for the sake of testing I did use regular Duracell batteries and not rechargeable ones.

2.) When you are done *syncing* you can place the sensor unit outside. The sensor slowly adjusted its readings to the outdoors, which means you have to give it time before the readings will be accurate. There is an included wall mounting bracket that can be adhered or screwed to a wall.

You need a place where it will stay relatively protected from the elements, so it can’t be too far away from your house. You will most likely place it under an awning or over-hang. This unit just hangs in the holster and can easily be taken out. So your ideal location may be outside of a second story window. Then again, if the sensor falls, it’s toast. So you have to find a place outside to hang it where it can’t fall too far, won’t easily be taken by neighborhood kids and won’t be too exposed to the elements even though it’s outdoors. Anybody who doesn’t have such a place, prepare to scratch your head about where to install this.

And if that wasn’t frustrating enough, then comes the tricky language about sensor range. The booklet claims a range of 330 feet with *no obstructions*, but the sensor is designed to be put outside which already cuts the range down to 175 feet. For each additional wall, cut the range in half again. Then you factor in the distance from the wall, and … you get the point. Metal, stucco and even glass can cut down reception further. This basically means this unit must be placed relatively close to an outside wall near the sensor. Placing multiple sensors around a larger property will be limited by your home’s size and materials. Most people won’t read this fine print, but if you want an accurate outdoor reading you have no choice.

The model of sensor that is included with this unit is the T29UD. While the product page and included booklet would seem to imply that any La Crosse sensor would work, so far I have not been convinced of that. The TX28U and TX21U are both listed as compatible, and transmit on a 915 Mhz range which is one of the three frequency ranges listed in the product booklet. However, the TX6U may or may not work. It’s not explicitly listed as compatible and some posts on the other product’s pages give the impression that they won’t work.

3.) Plan on manually setting the time. The batteries coming out so easily makes this even more annoying. I know it says that this is an atomic clock that should sync, but it may take days of waiting for the syncing icon to show up. In many cases this thing will not sync on its own. This alone is a deal breaker for this item. If I wanted a clock I was going to set myself, I would not be spending this much money for it. The instructions indicate it may not get a signal during the day, but I tried doing it at all hours. It will also tell you to keep it away from any *electrical source* which is basically anything within the modern home. That means the internals are not properly shielded, which is not the sign of quality electronics. This thing took forever to sync, and I mean several days. And when the batteries die, you have to play the waiting game all over again.

FORECASTS

The forecast icons are VERY MISLEADING. In fact, I get the impression that many people may not know what the forecast icons are telling them, primarily because they are so over-simplified as to not be very useful. Basically this unit will give you one of three forecasts: The weather is going to improve, the weather is going to be fair, or the weather is going to get worse.

Wait a second. You might be wondering, “When I look at the screen (and the product images for that matter) I see a sun with clouds or raining. Wouldn’t a sun logically mean that it’s going to be sunny out? Wouldn’t a cloud mean that it’s going to be cloudy? And wouldn’t you expect a rainy cloud to mean … RAIN???” Nope on all counts. The *sun* icon means “the weather will improve.” The *cloudy sun* means “the weather is expected to stay fair.” And the *rainy cloud* means “the weather is going to get worse.”

Even this language is somewhat confusing. If it was hailing yesterday and is going to rain today, will the forecast have a *sun* because *technically* the weather is going to be improving from yesterday? Or will it have a *rain cloud* because it’s still bad? These are the kinds of questions that you shouldn’t have to ask yourself about simple pictures that anybody should be able to understand.

I understand that La Crosse couldn’t have included icons for every possible weather condition, from hurricanes and tornadoes to rain and hazy sunshine. But if they were going to provide such basic weather information (good, bad, the same) why didn’t they use some other type of symbol or even words? That way, the forecast wouldn’t be so misunderstood? It’s going to be pretty annoying to grab that umbrella and go outside into the dry hazy conditions that this thing has interpreted as “the weather is going to get worse.”

To be fair, it seems like this is common on other units I have seen, such as ones branded by “The Weather Channel.” Those may be produced by La Crosse and re-branded anyway, but I still don’t like this design. To me, if I want information this basic I can look out my window. I thought I was going to find out whether it was going to rain or snow. Not even close.

See section “F” on page 13 of your instruction booklet for information on the forecast icons.

MOON PHASE AND BAROMETRIC PRESSURE

The moon phase data seemed a little more accurate. It came up when I manually set the time and date. According to the manual it’s pre-programmed into the unit up to 2029. Still, I think this info is included on many calendars, and I’m not sure how many people really need this feature

The barometric pressure is more immediately useful, yet is included in many analog gauges included on battery operated wall clocks. It seemed to be accurate enough, but the “air-pressure history” read-out seemed to continually cycle through for several days before it normalized. Still, once it shows differences over the previous 24 hours, you only get enough info to know that it has gone down or up. Reading prior values is not something you can do visually.

Pressing IN or OUT will give you max and minimum readings for temperature and humidity for indoors and outdoors respectively. Of course, that is until you have to change the batteries. Did I mention that it’s annoying to have to do all this every time you change the batteries?

PROS:

+ Attractive unit compared to others

+ Nice wall mounting or stand options

+ Fairly accurate indoor temperature, humidity, and pressure readings

+ Will eventually sync data with WWVB atomic clock signal from Fort Collins, CO

+ Good max and min memory per each battery charge

+ 24 hour pressure change histogram

+ Included moon-phase read-out

CONS:

- Installation is time-consuming

- No backlighting so you can’t see the screen without turning on the lights

- Using multiple sensor units is not easy and requires a whole new setup process

- You will have to manually set the time and date … because (see below)

- It takes TOO LONG (days or up to a week) to sync up with the WWVB signal!

- The plastic backing and feet feel weak and too thin for the size of the unit

- Outdoor sensor does not seem durable enough for outdoor use

- Placement of outdoor sensor is difficult based upon range and placement requirements

- Batteries come out easily requiring you to restart the setup process

- No setup info is retained when you change batteries

- No way to power the unit with a plug rather than batteries

- Forecast data is too over-simplified

- The cost is very high considering functionality

CONCLUSION

Don’t get me wrong, this unit feels more solid than most entry level units. Many of the more advanced features just didn’t perform well enough to justify the additional expense. Much of the read-out information did not feel more functional. This is after using this for a few weeks with decidedly underwhelming results.

This is still an attractive unit if what you really need is a stylish wall clock with a temperature and humidity read-out. I’m not married to the digital read-out, and I have a number of standard wall clocks that already give me that information. This was not my first La Crosse weather station purchase, but given the higher price tag I expected much more. What I got was on par with the lower priced units they sell, which is simply not good enough to justify keeping this unit at this price. Check out the alternatives and hopefully you will either save money for similar features or find an alternative unit with a better feature set.

Happy shopping.

Review by Robert Slocum:

This unit is easy to read and works great–compared to what, I dunno. We’ve never owned anything like this. But it’s fun to have, much more so than a simple thermometer.

Two caveats however. You need a very small flat-head screwdriver in order to put the AAA batteries into the sensor. Not so small as the one in an eyeglass repair kit though. I had a small screwdriver with a shirt-pocket clip, that small, and still had to file the sides down in order to reach the deeply recessed screws. I’ll have to do this anytime the batteries need changing. Not the best design perhaps.

Second, the instructions tell you to put the (outdoor) sensor (1) in a sight line with the (indoor) monitor– (2) open to the sky– (3) out of the sun– (4) out of the rain– (5) away from metal– It’s not easy to do all of this! Ours is nestled in a plastic container cut up into the shape of a bus kiosk and tied to a post. I’m not sure if it’s all 100% necessary.

The atomic clock took about a day to find its signal. The instructions warn about this odd (to me) likelihood.

It’s a little discouraging to have to deal with all of this out of the box but as I say the device is great.

Review by Stephen Fine:

The weather station operates flawlessly and is very clear. I chose it because unlike some other models, this one shows both the indoor and outdoor conditions at once for both temp and humidity.

One caution: Although the description does not say so, this is a desk unit only not a wall mount unit–there’s an immovable rest sticking out the back (most of the other models are not like this)

Review by Ambergris:

This weather station is about as elementary as it gets. Its easy to set up, easy to read, and despite what the other reviewer here said about it being inaccurate, I have found it to be profoundly accurate when compared to two other more expensive stations I have. I believe accuracy in any of these stations depends mostly on the position of the sensor. Its harder than one thinks to find a fairly sheltered area that is out of the wind and direct sunlight. Try different places if yours seems consistently inaccurate. As far as this unit as it compares to others, most of these weather stations I have found are all about the price. Spend more money and you get more cool icons and numbers to look at. This unit has an atomic clock, (nice to have one clock in the house that is precisely accurate all the time), date, indoor and outdoor temperature, and a forecast icon which is really nothing more than a monitor of the barometric pressure. If it is heading up the icon will forecast fair weather. If its heading down it will display clouds. Despite this simple gaging technique, it is usually very accurate in most cases. And you also have the option of setting the sensitivity of the forecast icon. That is, to make it react more quickly to minor fluctuations in the barometric pressure, thus seeing the forecast icon change more often. (There was a time when all weather forecasting was pretty much done by just watching the barometer. I suggest keeping the sensitivity set to “medium”, for setting it higher had mine changing far too often, and too soon). La Crosse units are one of the oldest and most reliable that there are going. My station has been running flawlessly since I installed it, and after 6 months the batteries in both the station and sensor still test out strong. One other thing, none of these units around this price could be considered overly generous in their screen display dimensions. Some, even ones that are more expensive can be down right cheap. They’re so small you have to walk right up to them each time to read it. This units screen is a full 2″ wide and 3 1/4 inches long. A decent enough size to see from several feet away. If you’re interested in a simple easy to read accurate weather station/forecaster I would highly recommend this one…

Review by J. Davis:

I rated it as 3 weather station and not 5 because I bought this station for one reason. It’s range. I read the description before I bought it and knew that walls would knock down its range. My hopes were too high. I was hoping it would penetrate 4 walls at about 125 feet distance. That turned out to be to many obstructions for it. So to monitor the two buildings I I just moved it to one of the buildings and put the remote in another. Then for inside my house and to monitor outside temperature I purchased the Weather Channel model W5-9625TWC-IT. It has Indoor/Outdoor temperature and humidty displayed all the time and has many other features also. I recommend it.