I've had thermometers inside and out for several years now. The wireless Thermometer/Hygrometer sits outside on the porch and transmits temperature and humidity to a battery-powered display inside. For the most part it works fine and the batteries last for years.
Recently a co-worker and I have been interested is using
MRTG to see temperature trends. It started out as monitoring data center equipment and moved on to local weather.
Last week while browsing Circuit City, I found a new variation from La Crosse Technology called the 4 Day Weather Forecaster. What caught my eye was the RJ-45 jack on one piece in addition to the display unit and wireless thermometer. A networked weather gadget? That would be too cool.
I went home to look it up and see what it was all about. I won't rehash all the details since they are available on
weatherdirect.com, but it got me interested. Not much other info out there since this is still very new (introduced at CES 2008, released to market in August 2008). There are supposedly several models and the one I found is a basic model. I went ahead and got it today and planned to set it up.
Unfortunately the packaging is worse than the
dreaded clamshell plastic packaging; this one has the plastic sandwiched between paper and the plastic is heat sealed everywhere except where the devices are - according to wikipedia this is actually
blister packaging, whereas I used to call clamshell packing blister pack. This makes opening very difficult! It is almost impossible to open without either hurting yourself or marring the devices (I did both). You can't simply cut around the edges, as with clamshell packages, you have to slice in the area right next to the device. It makes for sharp pieces of plastic that must be avoided as you try to pry the pieces out.
To further my frustration, just as I thought I was done, I noticed a section of the power cord that powers the wireless gateway was caught between the plastic and had been melted into place. Now I'm not sure if I should even turn it on for fear of the wires being shorted out.
I should contact La Crosse for warranty support but the thought of wasting that much time to replace a $60 item almost doesn't seem worth it. Also, one of the reasons for buying locally instead of ordering was so I wouldn't have to wait to use it. Bah!
What to do...
La Crosse should consider packaging their products in cardboard boxes like other respectable electronics manufactures do. They have some cool gadgets but package them like a cheap impulse item one might pickup on the way out of the store. At $60-$150 for the Weather Direct line, they are hardly an impulse item.
