Been buying the $20-$30 ones. Although the location is dry, the transmitter always dies after about one year. I live in the tropics, and use the information to know when to open/close doors/windows in order to stay a little cooler.
I am willing to up the ante to buy a better model. Any suggestions?
They’re all crap, AFAICT, made by the same one or two manufacturers.
What irritated me was that when the outside transmitter for our dual-temp digital wall clock died, the clock started eating batteries (a new AA about every three months) - apparently because it was killing itself trying to connect with the missing transmitter.
They’re all such shitty designs, no matter how well packaged, under what brand or from any level of reseller. They remind me of the absolutely horrid alarm clocks that fill the market, all based on the same handful of chips, all with the same “two buttons for fifteen different functions” control system and fixed set of features.
(Which is why I love my Boston Audio tabletop clock/radio, which has much simpler and more sensible controls - push a set button, turn a dial to the desired time, with a smooth and predictable acceleration rate.)
But if there’s a good-quality indoor/outdoor thermo out there, for less than commercial scientific price, I haven’t found it.
I’m in the same boat. We use the Oregon Scientific models, but after about a year they all start losing connection with the outside sensor. It’s not the sensor going out, 'cause I replace those- it’s the antenna that receives the signal. I think we’ve gone through about eight clocck/thermometer units over the years, none of them lasting more than two years.
There seems to be a market for a high quality, durable indoor/outdoor thermometer-clock, but we’re stuck with these things.
And that’s why I spent most of a decade designing “better” electronic goods, mostly for hobbyist construction but a number for kits and commercial production.
Most e-goods are effectively designed at the chip level - the functions, controls, limits etc. are set by the chip designer. Manufacturers then take that chip and some form of the “recommended application” circuit and build it out into a consumer product; since such products are designed for minimal cost, the idea of adding extra buttons, extra components to expand the functions, etc. is Just Not Done. So you have the same four or five basic alarm clock chips built out in almost exactly the same way, regardless of brand, style or price variations.
I took interesting chips and found better ways to implement them, without much regard to penny-pinching or “how are those guys doing it?” guidelines.
But those days are pretty much past. I still have plans for a “perfect” alarm clock, based on a programmable microcontroller, but a few brands improved their offerings just enough that I set it aside… and now everyone uses things like their phones anyway.
But a really good home/amateur thermometer system, extensible to more than one remote sensor… hmmm. (Looks at the slightly dusty shelf of reference books.)
Moving to IMHO.
I have a Lacrosse I have never had an issue with. Outside battery lasted 2+ years, I only changed it then because I moved ,and figured it I would before I mounted it at the new place.
Have you looked into getting a wired thermometer–instead of a wireless one? Or one you mount outside the window and you just look out the window to see what temperature it is?
I have an Acu-rite, bought at Home Depot, and it’s lasted several years now. Going on three I think. You have to use lithium batteries in the outdoor one and when you change the batteries you have to do things in a particular order, but other than that, no hassle. And ours has a picture of a guy whose outfit will change according to the weather. We call him Basil.
Was coming in to say the same thing. We’ve had ours five years at least, and only replaced the old one because the display died.
We also have a rain gauge/ thermometer from Wind & Weather which has been working great for at least four years, maybe more.
My wife is a weather junkie, so I get stuff from Wind & Weather for her from time to time. Never have had a problem. I can see that junky cheap ones sold in stores might not be as good.