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(More customer reviews)I've had multiple La Crosse weather stations for many years, and when I saw this new model integrated with the Internet I couldn't wait for the product to show up.
Now I wish it hadn't.
First, the package comes with a 4x6 "Quick Set-Up Guide" card that offers no troubleshooting. To troubleshoot, you must hit the [...] web site. Not a big deal, until you have to navigate around the site to try and figure out how to reboot your "Weather Gateway" or the display itself.
In the interest of full disclosure, I'm a software engineer with significant network administration experience. It took me nearly 90 minutes to get their "Weather Gateway" to blink it's little red light in a pattern of 4-- and I'm not sure precisely what I did. First, it was blinking in a pattern of 2 -- no DHCP IP address was assigned to the device. I run DHCP on my home network, a 10.0.0.1 gateway. Perhaps this was my downfall- not sure- as a lot of devices ship with a default of 192.168.1.xxx environment. Even if it did, surely the manufacturer would have been cognizant that not everyone runs a 192.168.1.xxx network environment. After monkeying around with the "Weather Gateway" for awhile, I did manage to finally find the "Weather Gateway" from my Windows XP laptop after I downloaded their advanced configuration tool. I re-programmed the "Weather Gateway" to my network map, but still no luck. Now, it was flashing in a pattern of 3-- IP address assigned, but cannot get to "box.weatherdirect.com" which provides the data feed. I checked all my logs, as I do run a firewall- nothing showed up. I rebooted the device one more time, and suddenly I got the magic pattern of 4.
Then, per the directions, it was time to link up the display with the "Weather Gateway" so they could talk. That took me another 2 hours. The moment I installed the batteries in the display, the display started scrolling "Updating" which was not what the display was supposed to say-- at least not according to their directions. I looked and look for how to factory reset the display, to no avail. One screen on their web site said to hold down the "Set" and the "ALM" keys together, as this is a non-audio model-- but the device has no "ALM" key.
Time to call technical support, a non 1-800 number, but most people have free nationwide on their cell phones so no big deal. This was Friday afternoon around 2PM Central-- their office hours according to their automated system are from 8AM to 6PM CST, Mon thru Fri. After 30 minutes of listening and waiting for someone to answer- I opted to try email. Their web site even says that for "faster service" to use email. Sent an email, heard nothing back-- and it's now Sunday. I finally managed to factory reset the display (there are only so many button combinations!)- and it FINALLY had synchronized with the "Weather Gateway" internet device.
Awesome - except I did all of this in my home office, which isn't where I wanted the "Weather Gateway" to be mounted to the wall. So, this afternoon (Sunday) I unplugged the "Weather Gateway" and took it into the master bedroom closet to mount it, connecting to the gigabit switch I have running in there. I was back to the pattern of 2 flashing lights- argh!!
Now, their documentation is in bold and very explicit - if you don't obtain the pattern of 4 flashes within 30 seconds, give up -- it failed, reboot the "Weather Gateway" and troubleshoot. Well, I spent another full hour screwing around with the "Weather Gateway" and was not able to get an IP address assigned to it. Ironically, my Windows XP laptop was getting a DHCP address assigned to it so I could search their help site-- so I know my DHCP was working properly.
Don't waste your money on WeatherDirect.com and its related products-- just yet. Clearly, their equipment is buggy and not yet ready for prime-time.
I love their idea, and in fact on Friday we in Houston were under a Dense Fog Advisory- and sure enough it showed up on the display with the orange light glowing.
The promise of their "Weather Gateway" being 1) plug in the ethernet cable, and 2) plug in the power is awesome- but don't kid yourself, it certainly wasn't that simple in my case, and I'm left with a "Weather Gateway" paperweight that isn't doing anything, and an un-responsive company not providing me any support.
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La Crosse Technology Weather Direct WD-9535U Large 4 Day Wireless Severe Weather Alert StationPrepare for a forthcoming ice storm, flash flood, or excessive heat wave with this wireless severe weather alert forecast station from La Crosse Technology. On its large display screen, the WD-9535U four-day forecast station relates internet-provided forecasts, advisories, watches, and alarms for the forecast location, selected from over 60,000 US and Canadian location options. Alerts are also sent as e-mails or text messages for away-from-home notification. A provided AC-powered gateway connects with a secure LAN cable to a network router for internet transmissions to the display, whether or not the computer is on. Additionally, the forecaster provides the outdoor temperature, measured from right outside the front door with the included TX-50U wireless sensor.
The large LCD display stands alone, or wall hangs. In the top section, the current day\'s forecasted high and low temperatures and a sky condition icon are posted. The customizable, scrolling LCD center section allows the user to use the Display button to choose from assorted data sets, including time, day of week, date, indoor and outdoor temperatures, or current forecasts. For severe weather, the complete alert details scroll across this section in LED. Orange LED signifies a weather watch or advisory, while red LED indicates a weather alert. Below the scrolling section, the next three days\' forecasted temperatures and skies are depicted. Additional function buttons enable LCD contrast and scrolling-speed adjustments, Fahrenheit/Celsius selection, alarm setting, five-minute snooze, and viewing micro forecasts for morning, afternoon, evening, and night. Communicating with the display from 330 feet unobstructed, both the gateway and the sensor come with mounting hardware. No additional software or Wi-Fi connection is required. However, the system does necessitate high-speed internet service, a network router, and the separate purchase of three D and two AA batteries. A limited one-year warranty covers the forecast station.
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