La Crosse Technology WT-5431 Projection Alarm Clock with Remote Temperature

by La Crosse Technology

Product Features

• Dual alarm clock displays time set by U.S. atomic clock
• Also shows indoor and remote temperatures in Fahrenheit or Celsius
• Projection display features adjustable intensity level and rotating axis
• Projects time or temperature from 3 to 10 feet away onto wall or ceiling
• Adjustable snooze function; reads all U.S. time zones

Product Details

Product Manual [464kb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 6 x 2.9 inches ; 1.1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00008T95P
• Item model number: WT-5431
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #569,025 in Home & Kitchen (See Top 100 in Home & Kitchen)

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

The La Crosse Technology WT-5431 projection alarm clock with remote temperature gauge is ideal anytime absolute accuracy is paramount. The clock, which can project the time or remote temperature onto a wall or ceiling from 3 to 10 feet away, receives its time and date signal from the atomic clock in Fort Collins, Colorado, ensuring that it will never be off by even a few seconds. The included dual alarm employs an adjustable snooze, in addition to running on either 12- or 24-hour time mode. The clock also displays the date (month, date, year, and day), the indoor temperature in either Fahrenheit or Celsius, and the remote temperature in Fahrenheit or Celsius. The projection feature is a real plus, as it's versatile and flexible, with a rotating option for proper viewing and an adjustable intensity level. Use it at home as an alternative to traditional alarm clocks, or at your business. When operating on the AC adapter, the unit can project the time or temperature constantly. However, when using the battery, the clock projects the information for three seconds each time you press the button. --Rivers Janssen

Product Description

• Radio controlled time (hour,minute,second)
• Radio controlled date (month,date,day,year)
• Indoor temperature (F or C)
• Remote temperature (F or C)
• Projects time or remote temperature; or alternating
• Projects from three to ten feet onto wall or ceiling
• Projection can be rotated for proper viewing
• Adjustable intensity of projection
• Automatic focus of projection
• When operating on AC, can project time constantly
• When operating on battery, will project time for three seconds when a button is pressed
• EL backlight when a button is pressed
• Dual alarm
• Adjustable snooze for alarm
• 12 or 24 hour time mode
• Time zones from GMT to -12 GMT
• US map identification for US time zones
• AC transformer included
• Remote temperature transmitter included

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 5 Stars for functionality - 3 Stars for desigin., November 20, 2003

By 

M. M. Strauch (Tennessee, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: La Crosse Technology WT-5431 Projection Alarm Clock with Remote Temperature (Kitchen)

I decided to list the pros and cons first for those that want the short and sweet.

Pros: Projection display works well even at max distance. Able to rotate the projection. Able to choose what is projected (Time, Remote Temp, or Both). Impressed with accuracy of remote temperature. Able to receive info from remote sensor even through several walls.

Cons: Too light. Main base unit could be a bit larger. Awkward initial setup. Bracket for remote sensor needs improvement. Alarm could be louder.

This is a nice little unit. The picture and measurements are a bit deceiving as they give the size of the entire unit including the projector - the `main' part of the base is a bit smaller than I expected. Still, the item works well and I was quite impressed with the projector, although the documentation states it will project 3-6 feet, in a test I was able to project across the room (about 10ft) with no problem. You can also rotate the projected display in 90 degree increments, which is nice.

I was quite impressed with the range and accuracy of the remote temperature sensor, I have it about 30ft away, through 3 interior walls and one exterior wall. As for temperature accuracy, I live about a mile from where one of the local TV stations has a remote weather monitoring site and can pull up their real time info - this unit comes very close to what they report. Getting the temperature to report for the first time is a bit of a pain, it does not actively look for the remote sensor... you must make sure the main unit is unplugged and has no batteries - then install batteries in the remote sensor - then supply the main unit with power. To me this went against my `hook it up and play' demeanor.

The backlit display could stay on a bit longer - but as long as you are actively pressing buttons (such as setting the alarm) it will stay lit. I like the adjustable snooze - up to 59 minutes - and you don't have to remember to turn the alarm on every night, just press any button (other than snooze) and the alarm silences, but remains set for the next day. The alarm is easy to set, but the volume could be louder - if you need a marching band to wake up to, this is NOT for you.

There are some design flaws I found frustrating. The unit is very light weight.... too light. This causes it to move around slightly, so the projection is never in the exact same spot. Even the weight of the power cord will cause the unit to move. The base could be made heavier. And don't expect to be able to press buttons on it without having it move around.

The power cord awkwardly plugs into the unit, and is almost impossible to remove without tweezers.

I was very disappointed in the mounting bracket for the remote sensor. You can adhere the bracket with either the supplied double sided tape or supplied screws. I wanted to go the screw route, however the screws are so small - it is impossible to screw them into a wall. They are about the size of eyeglass screws - only longer. With my precession screwdriver I wasn't able to get enough torque on the screw to get it to go in the wall. I then tried small nails, but the holes in the bracket are too close to the rim, so with a hammer you cant get a clean strike.

All in all I like and would recommend it, the functionality is impressive, the design is not.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice unit, September 5, 2003

By 

John S. Dean "John" (Sturtevant, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: La Crosse Technology WT-5431 Projection Alarm Clock with Remote Temperature (Kitchen)

I never use the radio on my old alarm clock, but wanted one with two alarms like mine had. I decided to give the projector unit a shot, since it's nice to be able to not have to twist around to see the time in the middle of the night.
The unit is great - nice, compact, and unlike most of my other alarms I've ever had, I don't have to turn the alarm off in the morning. You can program the snooze to simply turn it off when it goes off, but leave the alarm on so it'll go off next time in 24 hours. No more trying to remember to set the alarm at night.
The projection will work well at night, when there's no light, but I was disappointed with it because it only has a focal range of between 3 and 6 feet. I had been hoping to project it onto my ceiling. I have to settle for one of the projections on our wall. But it's still functional at that point, so I'm content. I wish there was a way to set the clock display to be backlit all the time, but you can't. It'll only light up when you hit a button, and then for just 2 seconds. Not a big issue since there's the display projected at night, but when you want to see something else, like the alarm, or the temp, you can only see it for a couple seconds after hitting the buttons.
All in all a good unit though, despite the small shortcomings.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Comparing this clock with the Oregon Scientific competitor, June 16, 2006

By 

Daryl R. Gibson "Writer, Editor, Technology Geek" (Las Vegas, NV USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: La Crosse Technology WT-5431 Projection Alarm Clock with Remote Temperature (Kitchen)

I have both this clock and a competing model from Oregon Scientific. Both were purchased from Amazon. Although this clock works reasonably well, I really prefer the Oregon Scientific model. The OS model found WWVH more rapidly, and found its remote transmitter more easily. If the clock doesn't find its remote, (which it didn't, even though the remote was sitting 2 inches away from it) this clock forces you to remove the batteries, which forces a reset of the time zone and other stuff, including the WWV information. Dealing with this clock is quite awkward, although once it gets going, it seems to work all right. The "automatic focus" really is just a fixed focus -- there's nothing automatic about it. If you aim it at something that is closer or farther than the focus point, the projected image is out of focus. You can turn the projected image in 90 degree increments, while the OS model allows you to manually focus the projected image, and turn the projected image exactly to the point where you want it to be.

I have other La Crosse products that function quite well, but I must say that this design is somewhat flawed -- not to the point where it is non-functional, but only to the point where trying to deal with the clock is sometimes distracting.