Oregon Scientific WMR100 Professional Wireless Weather Station

I have the Oregon Scientific WMR100 which comes with a rain collector, a combined wind/temperature/humidity sensor, a display unit, and various mounting hardware. I tested its accuracy in several ways, including pouring carefully measured amounts of water (from a rain gauge) through the rain collector, comparing the temperature readings with a very accurate thermometer, and holding the wind sensor out the window of a car at 40 mph. The results were impressive. I had previously tried these tests on a LaCrosse weather station as well as one from Radio Shack, neither of which was completely accurate. The Oregon Scientific WMR100 was right on the mark for measuring preciptiation, and also for temperature. The temperature was down to minus 15F one night, and lithium batteries still worked fine. The outdoor temperature sensor is slow to respond to rapidly rising or falling temperature, but this is probably a good design feature to avoid over-reaction to direct sunlight if it's not in the shade. The wind speed readings for 40 mph on the odometer ranged from 40 to 45+ on the display unit, but doing this out the window of a car may not be 100% reliable as a test! The display unit sits firmly on a table (well weighted in the bottom) yet is easy to use as a hand unit. It is a little inconvenient to have to scroll through the settings to see everything -for example, the readings for rainfall, UV, and barometric pressure do not display simultaneously and it is necessary to use the control buttons to change between these settings in order to see them all. The manual is good in explaining everything. The construction is very sturdy considering that it's made of plastic, and the mounting pole is even metal. All in all I am very satisfied with it and certainly would recommend it over LaCrosse for a number of reasons. From what I would expect for something at this price, I would give it 5 stars.

Update, July 2, 2008: After several months, the temperature and humidity signals were no longer coming through to the display unit without constantly having to reset the sensor (on the roof!), so I returned the whole weather station under warranty, as instructed by Oregon Scientific's Customer Service Department listed in the warranty. After more than 7 months and many inquiries, they had not sent me the new unit yet, saying that it was "back ordered" and would be sent when available.... in a few months! I then contacted the Oregon Scientific retail store where I had purchased the unit, and with no hesitation they told me that they backed the product and would send a replacement. So, if you buy, buy from a retailer who will back the product or directly from the company's retail store. Don't depend on Oregon Scientific's Customer Service Department! The Oregon Scientific retail store in Tigard, Oregon was very helpful in dealing with the problem because I had purchased it there in the first place and they still had a copy of my receipt on file. My only regret is not having called them first when the problem began.

Update July 24, 2009: This weather station is still working wonderfully!

For several months I had debated buying the WMR 100, but when I finally did, it proved to be a great decision. Oregon Scientific has a very well-designed product that puts LaCrosse to shame, especially when it comes to wind and temperature readings. My old LaCrosse 2310 was an acceptable unit, but would under-report wind speeds while over-reporting the current temperature. This is not the case with a WMR 100. Even the slightest breeze registers on the anemometer and temperature readings are very accurate, even in direct sunlight. Unlike the 2310 where a Stevenson screen was needed to reduce solar radiation heating, this unit has adequate shielding already built in. Plus, the anemometer employs a cup design instead of the turbine which usually missed those light wind gusts. While the WMR is completely wireless, its refresh interval is 14 seconds; perhaps not as good as LaCrosse's 8-second cycle (in *wired* mode only) but still entirely adequate condidering it's superior design. There are a few minor drawbacks to the WMR 100. Both the rain gauge and barometer sport lower resolutions than what is offered in LaCrosse models. The tipping bucket measures rain in .04" increments, compared to .02" for a LaCrosse station. Barometer readings are at a resolution of 1 MB (or .03 inHg) while LaCrosse sports a .01 inHg resolution. I consider both of these issues to be relatively minor with respect to the big picture. The WMR base unit is very nice, featuring a crisp LCD display and vivid backlighting. For those who will be connecting their PC to the station, a basic trial version of VWS is included. Oregon Scientific made a wise decision when they designed the base station to connect via USB. LaCrosse employed the serial port interface which is considerably outdated for most computer users. I have been an amateur weather observer for a couple of years now, and I can say that the Oregon Scientific WMR 100 is undoubtedly the best choice for anyone considering this hobby.

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I have an older OS unit that only has remote temperature sensors. It mounted on the wall and is battery operated.

I upgraded to this unit to have other indications of the weather. It does all this very well, but...

It only shows one temperature at a time. So you can see the indoor or an outdoor temp but not both unless you spin the knob. Then there is the knob. It is a bit tricky to control.

This unit is also a table top unit with no option to wall mount. It also requires an AC plug in. The batteries don't last long without the AC adapter.

On the good side, the outdoor units are truly wireless. There are no cords connecting the rain gauge and the wind gauges as some other units do which almost precludes mouting the wind gauge on your roof unless you can figure out a way to mount the rain gauge there too.

Also the outdoor units seem to have a long battery life. I have had mine in operation more than 4 months without changing batteries.

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I bought this based off the 2 other reviews listed. So far I haven't been disappointed with this station. It was at first a little difficult to set up. The base station worked after plugging it in but I couldn't seem to get it to pick up the wireless sensors. I was convinced that I had a broken unit. I pressed reset a few times on the sensors and then it finally started working. I'm definitely pleased, especially since with the price. Oh, I have a wireless G network set up in my house, wireless phones, and a wireless baby monitor and it has not interfered with any of them.

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I decided on this weather station after reading reviews on Amazon of just about every station offered. I have not been disappointed! I've wanted a weather station for years, but just as an amateur, so I didn't want to spend $500+ . I was already leaning toward Oregon Scientific after getting just the rain gauge for my Dad. This station has everything you can think of except UV, which you can add for about $40 (the base is pre-programed to sense it). You can also add up to 9 more temp/humidity sensors. Includes forecast, temp (inside and out), humidity (in and out), real feel temp, dew point, wind speed and gust, wind direction, barometer, rain amounts (incl 24 hour history), moon phase, date/time.

I considered the more expensive version of this product which is solar powered instead of battery, but it had some negative reviews about losing connection (maybe if there hasn't been enough sun?). From what I could tell, it also doesn't track any more than this station, and you still have to add the UV sensor extra.

The batteries on the wind sensor are SUPER easy to get to, but the rain gauge requires a screw driver to get into the battery compartment. I set this up in about half an hour (and that includes with 3 toddlers crawling all over me). At first I couldn't get the base to pick up the sensors, then I pressed reset on the BASE (rather than on each sensor as the directions say) and it suddenly read them all. HTH.

There is a computer program included, but you have to buy an deluxe version of it (or some other program) if you want to be able to upload data to a website like wunderground. The one included in the box has some bugs but there is a free download of a newer version available on the software website.

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