Customer Reviews

La Crosse Technology WT-5432 Projection Alarm Clock with Forecast

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

UPDATE: 3/22/2010 This unit is still our primary clock in the bedroom. I've only had the change the electronic reader that is placed outside once. La Crosse has made a great product here.
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I bought this clock as a gift, but couldn't resist one for myself as well. I love how the clock automatically syncs with the atomic clock. Knowing that the time I am seeing is as true as possible is a neat feature. The projection feature is not as large as another projection clock I own, but it works nicely. I agree that it could be a bit brighter, but in the dark it's easily readable. In addition, the temperature reading is a nice addition. A previous review stated that the reading was off by a few degrees, which makes me wonder if they have it in the sunshine. My reading has been right on for the last three weeks. I like how you can set the projection display to rotate from time to temp. It's nice waking up in the morning and knowing how warm it is outside before you even get out of bed. Takes any guessing out of your morning.

For the price, this is a great little clock. I do wish that the backlight stayed on continuously, but with the projection display, it's really not necessary. Setting the alarm is also a bit confusing. You'll need to read the manual to figure it out.

Works well but has a few drawbacks. I had no problem syncing the time, I just left it overnight and the next morning it was set. The outdoor temp feature has been pretty accurate so far. I've had it for a week and it is always within 2-3 degrees of the weatherbug temp. However, the drawbacks are that it has no constant backlight, so it is difficult to read the time during the dark, you have to press teh snooze button to make the backlight show, which only lasts a few seconds anyway. It wouldn't be a problem since there is a projection feature, however, the projection is too small for me since I wear glasses so I can't read the time during the night without my glasses. And the projection isn't very bright so even a little bit of light in the morning will prevent you from seeing the projection. Overall, its an alright clock, especially if you don't wear glasses, but I would have prefered a clock with a constant backlight and larger and brighter projection.

It did smell a bit when I first took it out of the package but the smell went away after about 5 minutes. And as far as the AC cord being difficult to remove once plugged in (see other reviews below)-why on earth would I ever want to do that? I thought it was very easy to set, it did half the work for me. And I don't mind that the backlight on the clock itself doesn't stay on- it isn't supposed to. One is supposed to look up at the ceiling or wherever you've projected the time/temp- that's the whole idea. The alarm is kind of soft but it does get increasing louder if it isn't shut down, and I like that- really loud alarms scare me out of my skin and that's not a great way to start my day. Plus if you like louder alarms, the second alarm (it has 2) is louder you can just use that one. I think many of the problems others have had with the outside temp not working and/or getting the time set have to do with what order you put the batteries in. The back of the unit on the battery cover it says explicity to install the batteries in the remote outdoor part First and then install the batteries for the inside unit Second. You have to do that in order for the inside unit to "sense" the remote unit, and if you do that it's a snap.

I think it's great, and here it was a full $20 cheaper than Target's website.

We bought this clock 2 years ago to use only the projection feature because we thought it would be cool to see the time and outside temperature during the night. We loved it so much that we purchased one for each of our mothers for Christmas this year. Then we purchased another one for our spare bedroom. We do not use the alarm feature so cannot comment on that. We have 5 or 6 atomic clocks/weather stations in our house so we are hooked on the automatic set feature and weather details shown. This is a nice purchase, especially for weather nuts like us.

Great clock! Syncs with atomic time automatically. Displays indoor and remote temperature. 2 independent alarms. Only cons: projected display is only red and a bit dimmer than some models, although snooze has an adjustable time, it only adjusts up, so if you want to change from 10 to 8 minutes, you have to cycle all the way up to 60 before going back to 8. Recommended.

1. weather forecast picture is misleading. sunny and rainy picture doesn't represent actual forecast. manual says. "rainy cloud" just mean "it could get worse". whatever that means...

2. Outside Temperature is off by 5 degree. display shows one tenth of degree yet it doesn't serve any purpose.

3. Manual recommand not to press any button for 10 minutes after put in the battery. well... clock doesn't synch unless the time region is defined first. If you live in east coast, like me, you would automatically think it's set to the region by default. You still and MUST press "Set" button 10-20 times (set initial time clock),then leave the clock in 'signal zone' for 10 minutes to have it synched.

4. Power adater hook up is absolutely amazing. goes in so easy and it lock itself. then you can only pull it out with a tweezer. yes... it's pain. you have to see it to believe it.

5. vertical viewing angle is off balanced for LCD screen. if you look straight to the display it will look all blurry.

6. back light is too dim. and it need to stay on longer.

function and features.. it's all there... but just not quite there.

I bought this clock shortly after being disappointed with the Homedics SS-5000 Sound Spa Projection Clock Radio with Atomic Clock and Indoor/Outdoor Temp- On Sale!. This is a much better clock than that one, but still has a few flaws. I bought the weather channel version of this clock(The Weather Channel WT-5432TWC Projection Alarm Clock with Forecast)thinking it was different than this one, but it turned out it was exactly the same only $20 more for the weather channel logo (don't be fooled).

Pros
-Great projection display at night (not too bright)
-Weather forecast is accurate
-The temperature is accurate and registers correctly
- There is a button on the clock to change the position and brightness of the projected time so you can project it anywhere

Cons
-The backlight on the clock only stays on for 3 seconds by pressing the snooze button, but this is a good thing because it would be too bright to sleep with at night if it was always on.
-The alarm isn't loud enough if you are a heavy sleeper and will shut off automatically after 90 seconds
- The clock was much smaller than I expected
- The buttons are hard to press

Although the clock has its flaws, it does everything it claims to do. I like mine.

A great product for the money. A little tricky with setting it up. It projected the time and temp on my 12 foot ceiling very clear and crisp. The alternating time temp mode is a nice feature. For the money you can't beat it .......

This alarm clock is more of a travel model than a permanent one. The external temp has never worked. The backlight does not stay on for more the 10 seconds. It does not have enough buttons to easily set and use it. There is only one volume for the alarm. The projector does work well. It is much smaller than I expected. If you are looking for a great travel alarm this will do more than you need. If this is something you plan on using everyday please look elsewhere.

The clock is just fine with the exception of the intensity of the projection. For some reason the projector has 3 levels of intensity from just visible in a dark room to invisible. I like the display and the ability to rotate it. If only I could see it.