Customer Reviews

La Crosse Technology Weather Channel WS-9625TWC-IT Wireless Forecast Station with Oscar Outlook

5 star:		(63)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

Easy set-up. Just insert the batteries in the temp/humidity sensor, then the base unit, as the instructions indicate. They synch up in a moment and you're ready to go. The atomic clock feature is handy for helping to keep the other clocks around the home set more accurately. Also records high/low temps for a given period. If you're looking for an easy-to-use, relatively inexpensive indoor/outdoor wireless thermometer, this unit will do the job nicely.

This is a wonderful, well designed and well made product. It's temperature and humidity readings, indoors and outdoors, are accurate. I experienced only one issue with the device, and it is a fairly major one. That is the stated 330' range of the exterior sensor. In order to have the exterior sensor not in the sun during any part of the day I needed to place it about 25' away from the base station with one interior wall (wood stud) and one exterior wall (wood stud with fiberglass insulation). To my disappointment, no connection. I ended up settling on a location about 15' away through one exterior wall only. Two other minor issues - when changing batteries you apparently need to have both initialize both base and remote at the same time - a pain when the remote is, well, remote. Also, I hear that the batteries in the remote don't last long - makes sense if they are out in frigid weather having to work continously.

I have an Oregon Scientific wireless indoor/outdoor thermometer, but the outdoor sensor stopped working. I was going to just replace the sensor, but I found this La Cross Wireless Forecast Station on a Gold Box deal at Amazon and it was such a reasonable price (especially for all the information it provides) that I just bought it instead.

I roll out of bed every morning just after sunrise and walk the dog for 20-45 minutes. As a result, knowing what the weather is like outside is quite important to me so I know how to dress to be comfortable for that length of time. This product has really been a big help with that!

First, it shows me the outdoor (as well as indoor) temperature AND humidity (currently 38.8 degrees farenheit and 61% humidity outside). But what's really cool is that Oscar, a little animated figure on the screen, shows me how to dress! Right now, for example, Oscar shows me that it's sunny outside (because there's a sun graphic over Oscar's shoulder) but that I need to wear my heavy coat, hat and scarf because it's quite cold. If it's raining, Oscar shows me that too because he has an umbrella in his hand! The product also displays the time (atomic) and date and shows minimum and maximum temperatures outside.

My only complaint, and this was only at setup, is that the instructions said to remove the hood off the outdoor sensor in order to insert the batteries. Well, I pulled and pulled and I could not get the thing off. I finally had to go to a neighbor (a big guy with very large hands) and he was able to get it off for me. It shouldn't be that difficult to remove! Also, I would have wished for the product/screen to be a little larger so that the information on the screen wasn't quite so jumbled together. I'm giving the product 4 stars vs. 5 for those two things, but otherwise highly recommend the product.

I have owned several La Crosse Technology weather stations and remote sensors, but never again. An extra sensor arrived DOA. The replacement quit in two months. La Crosse Technology quality and reliability has declined dramatically. First weather station lasted at least 5 years; the next one just past the warranty period. This weather station has been problematic. The indoor sensor display became erratic. I swapped batteries multiple times with no luck, then magically removing the batteries and putting them back in caused it to begin functioning properly. However, remote performance is not up to previous one. When I installed this weather station, I left one remote sensor from my previous station. This station could not pick up the remote sensor.

Try to contact customer service and, if your are lucky, after 4 days you will get a canned response from them telling you to change the batteries, even when you have already told them you changed the batteries multiple times. Your followup reply seems to go in a black hole.

In summary, declining product quality and reliability, coupled with bad customer service means La Crosse had lost a customer. I have not tried Oregon Scientific, but I will in the future.

I really like this weather station. The atomic clock never needs setting, it measures both temperature and humidity (inside and outside), and the "Oscar outlook" graphic display is amazingly accurate.

This is a good weather station, I would definitely buy this again.

As the other reviewer noted set up is easy. I really like the fact that it displays the time, the indoor/outdoor temperature and indoor/outdoor humidty all at the same time. You can walk up to it and hit the memory button and cycle through the indoor/Outdoor Temperature and Humidity min/max. The station works great and is pretty accurate.

Update 07/14/2010:
We have been using this Weather Station for over a year and it still works great!

Update 08/18/2011:
Still using the weather station and it still works perfectly!

We bought it for Christmas. Our 4 year old likes to see the weather and dress accordingly. It worked great for this. Then, mid-March it stopped working, other than the time and date. La Cross provides poor support. I received an email after my request informing me that, in essence, I had to have perfectly new batteries. (See their web site. They suggest nearly all problems are due to batteries.) Gee great. So, I bought some new ones and it still fails. A week later La Cross still does not reply with a return code. I wish Oregon Scientific had a fun person weather icon. I've had a couple of their units for years, without trouble.

Update 5/4/2011. I have sent several emails. La Crosse only responded to the first by suggesting new batteries. They have not responded to requests for warranty service. I am filing a BBB complaint. Best of luck if you purchase this junk.

Update: 10/18/2011. If you review the Better Business Bureau (BBB) you will find that they are not BBB accredited. Also, they average over 1 filed complaint a month about their warranty fulfillment.

This thing is incredibly accurate, so I do recommend it to anyone. The only reason why I gave it 4 stars is because it doesn't have a light, so it is almost impossible to read it when there is not much light.

I purchased a La Crosse atomic clock a few years ago that has a readout for remote temperature and it has worked without a hitch. So, I thought I'd give this product a try since in addition to temp, it reads humidity and several other features.

Despite trying several times, I could not get the device to synch with the remote sensor. Tried new (fresh) batteries, different positions, nothing. So, I emailed the manufacturer for assistance - zero response.

Fortunately, Amazon gave me zero problems when I returned it for a refund.

It seems that at this price point quality control is hit or miss. You'll see a lot of reviews that praise this for working well, but it's a gamble - some will not work at all right out of the box.

If you're lucky and get one that works I'm sure you'll like it - my other La Crosse product is great, and has had zero problems in 3+ years of operation. If you do decide to gamble and get one, be sure it's from someone who has a good and easy return process since the manufacturer will be of absolutely no help.

I had high hopes for this little device. The outdoor sensor is approximately 5 inches tall by 3 inches deep. Apartment dwellers be aware of where this may be placed. I set it up in no time and it worked ... for one day with my rechargeable batteries.
When it stopped working I read and followed the directions online: Use NAME BRAND standard alkaline batteries (no "max", "super duty" etc.... just the plain alkaline *BUT* they MUST be a NAME BRAND and they MUST have expiration dates AT LEAST 7 YEARS IN THE FUTURE. Good luck WITH that because I had a hard time finding batteries that met these requirements.
Okay, I went out and bought the freaking batteries and followed the directions to the letter... twice. The only time the outdoor sensor worked was when it was right next to or no more than 5 feet or so from the base unit... AND INDOORS. I could not get a signal from the outdoor sensor... outside. It was no more than 4 feet from the base unit through sliding glass doors in the direct line of "sight" of the base unit.
I emailed La Crosse and didn't get a response within 24 hours. So I called. I sat on hold for 5 minutes with a charming computer generated voice popping in now and again. No, I don't want to go through the directions read to me by a computer generated voice. I emailed back telling them to nevermind my request for support. I'm not playing this game any longer. I pay more for my cable bill and get great support.
Fuggedaboutit. I packed the pathetic little piece of electronic components up and it's going back in tomorrow's mail.
Reviews are funny, some people adore something and someone else says something is hideous. This is my experience and, as I said, I'm not playing this game any longer.