 | Nice when it worked
rating: 1
I had one of these for a couple of years. It was great and fun to watch.
And then it started glowing only orange (meaning it was 100 degrees out). We live near Chicago and it's warm here in the summer, but not that warm!
Anyway, I knew there was a problem so I contacted the manufacturer. After a few e-mails they asked me to send it back with a $40 check to cover the out-of-warranty repair.
They kept the device for a few weeks and then sent it back, still broken, with my $40 check. No note, no statement that I could get it fixed any other way. Nothing.
So, it's a nice product but if it fails don't plan on ever using it again.
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Doesn't work if you're outside a major city.
rating: 1
I purchased the Weather Beacon as a gift after reading the product description, which implied it would receive a signal essentially anywhere in the country, although perhaps not one that had the most local info. The recipient of the unit tells me it doesn't work at all at their rural location (50 miles from a major US city) and it also doesn't work when within 20 miles of the city. This was after going through the online setup procedure as recommended in the instructions.
So... I strongly recommend not purchasing the Weather Beacon unless there is some way to be sure it will actually be able to receive the required signal at the intended location. The manufacturer should provide a link to a web page that shows the geographical locations where it would function. Otherwise, it's a very expensive doorstop. The manufacturer's return policy doesn't make it easy to get your money back, either.
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Wish I Could Give It A 6
rating: 5
Worked right out of the box! I took it to my sister's for Thanksgiving in hopes it would pick up a signal so I could get her one, but she was out of range. I am glad to be in a receivable area. Tonight I finally got registered and played with the channels. Programming is easy. I had the default [Atlanta] forecast for several weeks and we had the right gear from a glance at the color, but I figured we'd get the more accurate Gainesville forecast. I should mention Gainesville is in the NE GA mountains; there IS no accurate forecast for mountains as far as lightning storms or tornadoes, but we won't have many of those until March. Programming the change took less than 10 mins, and most of that was me playing and waiting for about 2 mins for the signal to get down to my beacon. It changed to blue out of a possible 3 colors, I clicked the radio box for mine and a message told me to press the yellow button on the bottom, which I did. Now I have the Gainesville forecast. Talk about easy! By the way, I told them in the registration process that my favorite color was violet, and I swear, the blue was very near violet! The beacon makes a wonderful nightlight, especially with 3 brightness choices. A clear glass half-sphere the size of a quarter holds a card with the chart of what the colors mean, but I hardly look at it, since I am already used to the color scheme of every weather map from papers to TV. The clever glass card-holder reflects the color nicely, and is beautiful in itself. Back to the Beacon, it puts on quite a light show when you first plug it in; alternating white and red for a few mins while it acquires the signal is the first part. My sister complained that would make her migraines worse if it flashed like that, but I explained that it's just when you set it up. Then, you have a slowly fluctuating glow from purple through the rainbow to red and around again, which fascinated me and my 15-year old daughter. After just a few mins of that, the color for whatever you're tracking appears, and you get changes as it does. After several weeks of steady operation, we don't see a lot of changes, but I noticed some changes from blue to green and back through an evening or two. The pulses when rain is in the forecast are slow and from dark to light of the color, and that is beautiful, too. I also have migraines, and the Beacon doesn't bother me as far as that. What amazes me is how it can operate day and night for weeks and it doesn't get warm! The adapter is pink. I wish other electronics had colored adapters. I don't usually make purchases of this type, but I use it more than my year-old weather station with the remote sensor, a birthday present. A glance, and I know whether to wear a sweater or bring out the heavy coat and scarf :)
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Worked Perfectly & Wirelessly to Boot
rating: 5
I read the negative reviews after getting this for Christmas from my girlfriend and was braced to have problems. But, if you can set up your internet service you'll have no problems with this if it's not defective. I went to their website, registered, and customized the unit and had zero problems. Works flawlessly for my local weather (on Cape Cod, so we're out in the boonies) or for homeland security- the two custom channels I tried. I'd love to complain but I can't- great concept and carried out well.
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Not as advertised
rating: 1
The weather beacon is advertised as being able to convey "your weather." Well, the truth is that the free service only gives weather in select regions. If you don't live near the originating city for that region how does that do you any good? Is it any value to get the weather for a city possibly hundreds of miles away? Also, my unit was defective in that it would only display one color. Ambient said that they knew there were problems with quite a few units. However in 3 weeks, they never offered a solution. You can pay to get weather in your area but for $179 I feel this should be included with the product. Finally, the temperature that is indicated by color is rather difficult to decipher.
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