Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Maybe I'm too picky when it comes to an alarm clock. I guess I have to shop them in person. Everything worked as advertised and it has some cool features. The following shortcomings have me still on the hunt for a replacement.
- If you go to 24 hour clock, you get temp in celcius. No choice in the matter.
- The alarm is a whispering beep. Won't wake me up.
- The alarm only goes for 96 seconds, then shuts off. Completely useless to me if it stops ringing.

So it's a thermometer and clock to me. It is by no means an alarm clock.

This was my first projection alarm clock and my absolute favorite, particularly because of the outside weather feature. This clock was silent, very reliable and easy to operate. I have been through 3 others since I gave this one away to an admirer and none compare. I most recently used the "colorflow" and it was majorly disappointing in quality, not to mention that it continuously "hums" all of the time. This one is by far the best quality, functionality and reliability of all I've seen.

I was really looking forward to the self-setting ability (atomic clock) but I find that in Houston, Texas, the clock has to be in an ideal location for it to work. In my bedroom, placed in a corner, it cannot pickup the signal required to set itself.

The projected display is plenty bright for me however the letters aren't very large. I wear glasses for near sightedness and my old brookstone clock projected large 18 inch digits on my 10 foot ceiling. This one projects digits about 8 inches in height. Fortunately, it is so crisply focused and bright that I can still read the display without glasses.

I don't use the alarm feature so I don't know if it works well or not.

The remote temperature sensor does work but it too is sensitive to where it is placed. Outside about 40 feet away, it did not pick up the signal. But when I moved it to the wall just outside where the clock is, it began to work fine.

We purchased one of these with a Christmas gift certificate our son gave us and we enjoyed it so much, we bought the second one for our camp on the lake. They have both been excellent products for us in that we enjoy knowing the time and outside temperature which we can get at any time we wake up and look at the ceiling. It is easily set up and projects well in the dark. The projection settings allowing four different ways on 90 degree variations allows the clock itself to face any direction you wish and still get the projected image at a convenient reading angle for ceiling or wall viewing.

The clock is simple and works fine. It is not fancy or good-looking. The outdoor temperature and clock are synchronized automatically by the outdoor unit. The only problem is the projection, it is not possible to see the projection unless it is 100% dark, even if there is very little light in the room (e.g. even right after sun rise) you cannot see the "projected" time.

liked it so much I bought several for Christmas presents. No problem seeing what time it is in the middle of the night....love it

The projection is great. At night, or in the morning, I can look up at the ceiling and see the time. I can project clear, sharp numbers on a wall or ceiling and change the size by changing the distance from clock to projection surface. I really like it. It is a good product.