La Crosse Technology Weather Channel WS-9043TWC Wireless Weather Station with Heat Index

1 rating: 5.0

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Weather At Your Fingertips

Mar 2, 2009

by caffiend

Rating:

The Weather Channel Wireless Weather Station (Model #: WS-9043TWC) is made by La Crosse Technology. I chose it over other La Crosse models because it is the most compact high-end model available.

Range
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I have the remote unit in the balcony and the receiver unit in my bedroom. The units are about 50 feet apart, with no direct line-of-sight, and a wall and balcony glass door pane between them. The receiver very rarely loses reception, but when it does, it regains reception within 5 minutes. I figure I would get perfect reception if the units were closer and there weren't any obstructions between them. Do note that the batteries on both the remote and the receiver units have to be changed every 8-12 months, or the working range between the units will be reduced. The remote unit uses 2 AA batteries, and the receiver unit uses 4 AA batteries.

Function
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The unit provides the following information:

- Moon Phase
A picture of the moon depicts the moon phase

- Weather Forecast
One of three icons is displayed: 1) Sun 2) Sun w/Clouds 3) Clouds w/Rain.

The following information from the manual will help to interpret the icons:

Sunny - indicates that the weather is expected to improve (not that the weather will be sunny).

Sun with Clouds - indicates that the weather is expected to be fair (not that the weather will be sunny with clouds).

Clouds with Rain - indicates that the weather is expected to get worse (not that the weather will be rainy).

- Barometric Pressure
An Up Arrow indicates increasing barometric pressure; a Down Arrow indicates decreasing barometric pressure. Increasing barometric pressure indicates the weather is going to improve; decreasing barometric pressure indicates the weather is going to become worse.

- Day of the Week, Day of the Month

- Time, with seconds

- Temperature (Outdoor)

- Dew Point (Outdoor)
The dew point is the temperature at which the water vapor in the air condenses. The higher the dew point, the more muggy it will feel.

- Heat Index (Outdoor)
AKA Apparent Temperature, Heat Index is an indicator for the temperature your body PERCEIVES. It is a function of both _humidity_ and _actual temperature_. For example, if the actual temperature is, say, 85 degree F, the Apparent Temperature, or Heat Index, may be 90 degree F due to high humidity.

- Temperature (Indoor)

- Humidity (Indoor)
This is a handy reading for helping you decide when to use a humidifier.

- Comfort
A smiley (or frowny) face helps you decide whether you're comfortable at the current temperature and humidity.

With the press of a button, the unit will also display the Maximum Temperature (Outdoor), and Minimum Temperature (Outdoor). These values are not the the maximum and minimum temperatures for the day, but the maximum and minimum temperatures *since these values were last reset*.

Accuracy
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I also have an Oregon Scientific electronic thermometer. Since the difference in the readings between The Weather Channel Weather Station and the Oregon Scientific thermometer is at most +/- 0.2, you might surmise that The Weather Channel Weather Station provides fairly accurate temperature readings.

The indicators for whether the weather is going to improve (become more sunny) or worsen (become more overcast) is right on! For example, oftentimes, when the clouds w/rain icon is displayed, the sky does indeed become overcast with ominous signs of rain.

3 Remotes
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The Weather Station comes with one remote unit but it can support up to 3 remote units (channels 1-3). The weather forecast, however, will only be based on channel 1.

Durability
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I've had the unit for about 3 years now and have had no problems. The remote unit has held up to being left out on the balcony, where it is subjected to the sun and rain.

Atomic Clock
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The self-setting clock rarely works for me indoors. I have to leave it outdoors for a few hours before it's able to receive the atomic clock signal to set the date and time. You can, of course, manually set the date and time.

Conclusion
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The Weather Channel Wireless Weather Station lets you know the indoor and outdoor temperatures at a glance. Its weather forecasting feature provides accurate and helpful information on weather trends. It is compact and has most of the features of other La Crosse models. I would definitely recommended this one!

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