Customer Reviews

La Crosse Technology WS-9611U-IT Wireless Sun/Moon Forecast Station with Oscar Outlook

5 star:		(137)
4 star:		(77)
3 star:		(25)
2 star:		(25)
1 star:		(43)

 

 

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!

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.

I started up this little baby on 12/31 (the timing stands out in my mind) and TWO WEEKS LATER and the outside transmitter is dead. The set itself still works fine, except the whole point of it (for me anyway) is to know the outside temp. I loved the guy who would tell me how to dress, and enjoyed the moon phases and sun rise/set. But others have complained about that outside transmitter too... I wish I'd bought something else. I had one for YEARS that was just a simple wire from (a different) station which you could place out the window. Should have gone old-school, apparently. I'm very, very disappointed and suggest you look elsewhere so you aren't disappointed too.

UPDATE 7/2010. Some have asked me if I ever did anything about the warranty, so I thought I should give a quick update. I returned the product to Amazon (easy exchange) and got a new one. This time I used lithium batteries and kept the sensor more protected outside (basically it's protected on three sides and is never in direct sunlight or exposed to snow). I don't think I'm getting a fully accurate reading but at least it WORKS. Being in southern New England we can go from 100 degrees to below 0. It may not be 100% accurate, but it's working. Would I get it again? No. But maybe my expectations were too high. Buyer beware.

We purchased this item for our kids. The weather in Northern CO is often surprising, and I would always provide them with a "what to wear" recommendation when I wake them up in the mornings. I've installed this in their bathroom and NOW, while brushing their teeth they consult with the "weather boy" for how to dress for the day. I've also printed out a larger copy of the "outfits" that "weather boy" wears so that they can look on the back of the door to de-code the iconic clothing and symbols.

It's fun and our 6 year old tells us; "weather-boy hasn't lied to me yet!"

I'd rate it a 5 star if it were larger...

I purchased this hoping to get a great product. What i got was a unit that would not connect no matter how long and how many times i tried. Didn't even connect in the house with nothing between unit. Going back to store today to return and get the WS-9625TWC model for $20 more.

I got this weather station for my kitchen as I had bought 2 similiar ones for Christmas presents and I liked them. Aside from the indoor/outdoor temps it also tells indoor humidity, date, time, what time the sun rises and what quarter the moon is in! I love the little boy who either dresses warmer or with less clothing as the temperature goes up or down. If it's going to snow, he has snowflakes around him and if it's sunny he has the sun over his shoulder---so you get the weather in a 'picture' as well. It's a lot of information in a small space. Love it.

I just ordered this item in July and it has stopped working already! It started out by giving false readings that weren't even close to the right temps. Now it doesn't even register the indoor temp. at all.This is the second weather station that I have had from this company and I haven't had one that works. The first one I purchased a few years ago didn't work from day one. I thought that they might have improved them since the first one I purchased but I guess I was wrong. Save your money and don't purchase items from this company!!!

I bought this for my 7 year old daughter with the intent of mounting it on the side (inside) of her (very tall) loft bed. Just a little something to look at first thing in the morning to get an idea about the weather. We were pleasantly surprised by just how much we got for the money.

First off... over the years we've owned several weather stations, including complex exterior systems. In all cases, you MUST read the manual before you set these things up. Temperature sensors should be placed in a protected area - OUT OF DIRECT SUNLIGHT! You can't just leave these things in direct contact with the elements or they will not last long (as noted in some of the comments). If you follow the instructions for set up, I think you'll have no problem. Just put the batteries in the sensor first then QUICKLY install the base batteries. Should be all set then...

"Oscar" the weather guy is not always accurate, but it's close enough to make for good conversation. The sunrise/set times are based on major cities, which is fine for us, but may be not so great for more rural folks... but c'mon... for the price is that really an issue? In my region the clock sets itself automatically every night. One final benefit is the backlight. My daughter uses it as an "on demand" nightlight since it's mounted right near her pillow.

For the price this is a great little device. Just make sure you are careful about where you locate the sensor and how you set up the components. Just read the manual... it's actually detailed and well written.

This seems like a great product. However, I cannot get the remote sensor to connect to the main unit. Have tried at least 20 times, if not more, leaving it to do it's thing for over a day at times. Nothing. I have tried customer support many times and have left two messages. They finally did call me back...during the day when I was at work. No help at all.
I regret this purchase. I might just return it and spend some more cash on a better product.

edit: After several months of trying I finally did get through to Tech support. After convincing them that I had already done all of their recommended 'fixes' for my issue they determined that my remote sensor was bad. I received the new one in a matter of days and it worked INSTANTLY. It has been on for some months now and I love it. It used to lose signal from time to time but I changed the batteries and have had no problems since.
If you can risk the problems I had then I say go for it. Otherwise, save up and get a sure thing.

This is an amazing, inexpensive little weather station. The little boy weather predicter is almost always correct in giving the direction of the weather with a clever graphic........that's the fun part. The only criticism would be the difficulty in reading the graphics at an angle. You do need to look at it head on. The good part of that is the signal from the receiver is strong enough to give you a lot of flexibiliity of where to place the readout.