La Crosse Technology WS-9080U-IT-CBP Wireless in/Out Temperature Station Featuring Atomic Self-Setting time & MIN/MAX Records

Nice little temperature monitor. Actually surprisingly accurate, I have it sitting right next to a more expensive weather station and it reads within tenth of a degree to smack dab on with the other one! Of which I've previously verified it's accuracy. This unit offers the ability to monitor up to three temperature sensors. This was purchased to replace one of my other temperature monitors that had just decided to stop working at the very moment that I swapped out the batteries with fresh new ones for the new year. Humph. Unusual but a new set of batteries and she died! BUT....... BUT the TX29U-IT sensor was still good so I started my research for a compatible device to replace the newly deceased with and was fortunate to have found this little jewel. It uses the exact same model sensor (TX29U-IT ) so I can now utilize two of the three temperature locations features it offers along with the inside (4th) location. I simply press a button the back to toggle between the two locations/sensors.What I use it for is to keep an eye on my home addition and garage (particularly) during the winter to avoid freezing pipes an other cold weather calamities we can experience up here during the cold Maine winters. It easily reaches through the walls and distance with no trouble at all. The manual specifies up to 100 meters which is about 330 feet but I've had no trouble what so ever with connectivity with this one, even as the batteries start to weaken. This has actually saved me more than the it's cost by savings in fuel. Huh.... What? How's that? You may ask? Well, I'll tell you.By knowing exactly what the temperatures are in the garage and upstairs all the time right from my spot on the living room couch in the house I can keep only the downstairs/garage heater on and I monitor the upstairs temps which I now know stay within roughly 2 degrees of the set point of the garage! Yes the building is very well built and insulated. It has 6" thick walls and the floors and ceilings are all fully packed with insulation. That is, the ceiling of the garage is the floor of the upstairs living area and the space between the two is fully packed with insulation inside. If I recall correctly I think I used 12"X16"x48" batts. The insulation as well has more than paid for itself too . By knowing the temp upstairs (and BTW downstairs) I don't have to turn on the heat upstairs just to maintain it enough to keep the pipes from freezing. That is, unless we plan on using the area or have company. It's a 32' X 28' "great room" with a gas fireplace rated at 28,000. BTU's (with a kitchenette and a sweet 1 1/2 bathroom) Anyway, back to the temperature sensor. One important little thing that gave me some heartache for a little bit in the beginning that will aid you in knowing is that the WWVB date and time will not be successfully received from Colorado UNLESS you manually set up the date and time first paying PARTICULAR attention to the AM and PM settings. At first it wouldn't update or even indicate that it was receiving the signal by displaying the WWVB icon by the time. I set the time and date and gave it a couple of days but it still it didn't work. I was beginning to think I might have a defecting product when It dawned on me that I had the AM/PM setting backwards. I didn't think that would matter because it would no doubt update itself as soon as it received the WWVB signal. It still didn't work and it had dawned on my that it indicated PM instead of AM and I thought perhaps it didn't initiate the WWVB signal thinking that it wasn't the correct time of day to look for it. So, I changed AM to PM and voila! the very next morning the time and date was exactly the same as my La Crosse weather station, right down to the second!All was good from that moment on.and it's been that was now for several months since the purchase. I can highly recommend this little station for the features that it has and tit's accuracy are excellent particularly when considering the price paid.The display has good contract and is bright with plenty adjustment to the contrast if you want to change it for a different viewing angle. As most of these devices are.You can set it to display along with the time of day, including seconds or the time without seconds but the weekday and date or the time with the month and date, all depending on what you prefer to see. IOW Sat. 6. or 2 - 6 (for Feb 6th ) so customization is good for an inexpensive little unit. Not that the display is too little, it's big enough to read from your easy chair, say, 4 or 5 to 6 feet away, but not to easy to read from across the room. Of course everyone's eyesight is different. The only function I don't really like is the daily min max temperature recordings. It works as stated but I don't find them to be of much use based on the time of day they update. The daily Minimum resets itself at 8pm each evening ( the low of the night before is now the current temp) and the Maximum updates at 8am each morning which erases the daily high reached during the previous day. To me it's sort of backwards. So at 8am each morning you no longer know what the high was for the past 24 hrs. Depending on when you choose to read the min and max it can be unreliable data.The bottom line here though is that I'd buy another one today if I had too and I highly recommend that anyone looking for a multi sensor (up to 3) indoor a d outdoor remote temperature monitor not to hesitate on this one. Heck I'd get another one today if I thought I could monitor any more locations!

ORIGINAL REVIEW- Anyway, perfect combination of simplicity and usefulness. I owned another very similar model before this that tried to do way too much, it tried to predict the weather etc. and had a very cluttered interface. This does not predict the weather (no loss) and the interface might look a bit cluttered at first but there is a lot of very useful info display, in large format you have indoor/outdoor temp then you also get the date and time (atomic) and the daily Hi/Lo temperatures reset automatically each day. The overnight low nice to know before heading off to work (icy roads etc.).- Nice looking and table mount or wall mount.- REVISED (Fixed) Takes 2 AA and 2 AAA Batteries (not 4 AA batteries per description)- Quick note the description incorrectly states in takes 4 AA batteries however it actually takes 2 AA (sensor) and 2 AAA (receiver) batteries and it does not come with batteries.TIPS:QUICK CONNECT STEPSTERMS USED: indoor unit (display), outdoor sensor (transmitter)PREP TIP: mark the battery orientations on the units for easy reference (sharpie pen), have both (all) units with batteries removed and ready to place batteries in. use NEW ALKALINE batteries (ex: copper top, 2 AA,2 AAA).OPT 1: 1 indoor, 1 outdoor sensor (what you rec'v w/ this pkg): - batteries out of both units, set both units within a few feet of each other, batteries in outdoor sensor first, then within 30 seconds batteries in indoor unit.OPT 2: 2 indoor units, 1 outdoor unit (both indoor units get signal from single outdoor unit, must buy another indoor unit, TIP: at time of this writing it's cheapest to just buy this same pkg & get a "free" outdoor unit vs. buying either separately) - same as OPT 1, batteries in outdoor sensor first then both indoor units at same time (immediately, don't do one first then the other at a later time, if adding a second one, start fresh, remove batteries from all units).OPT 3: 1 indoor unit, 2 outdoor units (one indoor unit gets single from multiple outdoor sensors, TIP: same as above, cheapest to just buy this pkg again and get a "free" indoor unit) - more complicated, may want to ref instructions but here's a quick summary: batteries out of all units for a minute or so, then batteries in 1st sensor, with 30 seconds batteries in indoor unit, WATCH CLOSELY for "channel 1" outdoor temp to display then WITH 10 SECONDS insert batteries in 2nd sensor. outdoor temp should show on "channel 2" within a couple minutes.IF THINGS GO WRONG1. If you're replacing batteries in units you've hand a few years and the outdoor temperature won't sync up with the indoor unit, my advise is to bail and just spend another $15-20 and get a new set of units (the price far outweighs the time / headaches trying to troubleshoot issues (IMHO)).2. batteries must be new, "copper top"3. remove batteries from all units, press any button on back of indoor unit 20 - 30 times to reset everything.4. try the setup steps againif this fails, then step 1 is highly recommended : ) my experience is it's the outdoor sensors that fail after a few yrs (don't just buy a new sensor individually ($20), by this pkg again ($15) and get a new indoor and outdoor unit.CUSTOMER SUPPORT- I contacted customer support and they were very responsive (regarding the multiple indoor units rec'ving from one outdoor sensor), here are the emails (just fyi - they did not include my original question in the response but the answer is thorough)Regarding Model Number: WS-9080U-IT(Please contact us if the model above is not correct and complete).You would need to go through the restart below to connect multiple displays to one sensor. It will not shorten the life of the batteries or degrade the signal. All units must be within range of the sensor.Restart 1 Transmitter Multiple Displays.KBA-01673-KGQ6CQSummaryOne outdoor transmitter can operate several compatible displays that are within range of the transmitterNote: Please have all units 5-10 feet from each other for set up.1. Remove batteries from the outdoor sensor.2. Next remove batteries from all displays.3. With the power source removed, press one of the buttons on each display 20 times to clear all stored power. Please do this even if the display is blank to remove any remaining power.4. It is important for the displays to remain without power for at least 15 minutes.Note: Failure to allow the displays to rest for 15 minutes can result in failure to connect with the outdoor sensor or missing segments on the displays. The instruction manual describes a setup for a new unit that has not had time to build up stored power.5. Place batteries into the outdoor sensor first.6. Install batteries into each display according to the diagram in the battery compartment.7. Allow the sensor and displays to remain 5-10 feet apart for 15 minutes to establish a strong connection. Do not press buttons at this time. The outdoor temperature reading should appear in the first minute.Batteries remain the #1 warranty issue we see. We advise the use of batteries dated 6 or more years in advance of the current year. Good name brand batteries make less noise, which reduces the chance of RF interference from the battery compartment. If you have a voltmeter that reads numerically, a minimum voltage of 1.48V for each battery is necessary for proper performance. Batteries dated earlier than 6 years from now may still work, but may be unstable in performance.