Lacrosse Technology WS-8025 Weather Station

I paid $128 USD for my Lacrosse Technology WS-8025 weather station from Weathershack.com. They had the best price, free shipping, and threw in the required batteries too. Very nice touch.

My first problem with this device was the display. First, it is covered with a slightly curved cover over the LCD, which makes it unreadable at anything more than about 15 degrees off center. This cover is also very shiny, so it almost always has glare. Another problem is the contrast. I had to set it to the highest setting just to be able to read it. The display could not be read across the room, because the individual displays had to be small. If the forecaster section was smaller, the important stuff would be more readable. It would work fine on a desk, but not on my mantle. The automatic update feature for the clock was intermittent at best. It updated during daylight hours when I first powered it up. This was more than I expected. I put it back on the mantle, and the next morning it showed that it had not updated. I checked the instructions, and there is no way to force it to update (my new one has an update button). The time seemed accurate, so I left it alone. The following morning it had updated. Very strange. It updated under the worst conditions, but not under prime conditions? The next morning it showed that it had not updated again. This is not the end of the world, but it should have updated at midnight.

Now, on to the pressure. Very accurate. I compared it to a calibrated instrument, and it was within .2 MB/Hp to actual pressure. Another nice feature is the ability to switch from ambient to corrected pressure with a button on the front. It has pressure history for the last thirty hours, and it updates on the hour. The history was displayed at -1 -2 -3 -6 -12 -18 -24 -30 hours. The resolution of 1 Mb/Hp allowed a detailed view of the history. There was a change indicator below the history graph which showed the pressure change over the last 2 hours. Very handy feature for a quick look at what the pressure is doing. The pressure history scrolls continuously. The instructions claim this is to prevent the LCD from burning out. This is kind of illogical, because it scrolls from right to left, and the right most segment is on 80% of the time anyway. What about the rest of the displays? Why is the same "protection" not applied to these? Strange thing is, that the device I replaced this one with does the same thing. Is there a special type of LCD for the pressure history that requires this?

The forecaster is a joke. The instructions claim 75% accuracy. My results showed about 25%. This would be OK if this non-functional thing didn't take up a full 1/3 of the display. It only updates every 6 hours, and does not seem to display the same data as the 2 hour display. It will show a storm coming, but only about 2 hours after the storm has arrived. The outside temperature sensor reads high, and the humidity reads low. I woke up one morning to a dense fog, and the outside humidity showed 73%. The local news said it was 100%. I tested it by putting the sensor in a bag with a wet paper towel. It never showed higher than 89%. The temperature seemed to read anywhere from 2 to 8 degrees high. It comes with a sun-shield. Removing this seemed to improve the accuracy slightly. The sensor was mounted in a location that would protect it from rain, and direct sunlight. When placed next to the display, it read about 1/2 degree high. It updates about every 5 minutes. It also displays sunrise and moonrise times. With a push of a button it will display the hours of daylight. Not something I really need, but it was a neat gee whiz kind if thing.

What it comes down to is this is a very attractive piece. I bought it because it looked nice, and I thought that being more expensive, it would be more accurate. I was wrong. I sent mine back and bought an Accu-rite 00593w from Walmart. The forecaster still isn't accurate, and the history lacks the resolution, but what it does display is accurate. It's your choice, but the Accu-rite cost $40. They are all made in China anyway, why pay for looks?