Ambient 5 Day Weather Forecaster

Do not waste your money on this piece of junk. It is supposed to update weather forecast for the next 5 days in your area every 15 minutes. In actuality, it updates the weather about every 3 days, and then only if you take the batteries out for 30 seconds and then put them back in. The reset button doesn't do anything. And, it says that batteries last 2-3 months. About 10 days is the norm that I've found out. Right now, it is May 22nd. The last time it updated the weather was May 10th, and I've changed the batteries twice since then. Also, I live in a Chicago suburb, so it's not like I live on a remote desert island or something. I wasted $87 on this as a Christmas gift to my wife. Buyer beware!!!

$99?! We bought ours on clearance at Radio Shack for $30 and I've seen them much cheaper (check eBay). We keep ours in the kitchen, and whenever we have company, they often ask about it and where we got it. Yes, it's that cool! We live in Kansas City and ours picks up forecasts for not only our city, but neighboring metro cities 150 miles away (Wichita and Salina)! If you want the 5-day forecast at a glance without having to turn on the tv or the computer, this little gadget is for you!

I initially liked this device, a lot. But two weeks ago it stopped receiving data. I called Ambient's support and was told that the receiver electronics have broken, it can not be repaired, and that they will not replace the unit. This is pretty poor customer support for what I thought was a good company. If they turn out products that break and then won't fix them, it tells me a lot about the company and their products. I will not be spending money to buy another unit from Ambient. If you want a weather unit that will last, pick a different product.

This product did not work at all. It received no signal despite the manufacturers web site indicating full services in my location.

The idea of this device is great: it picks up a 5-day weather forecast from AccuWeather and displays the key elements on its screen. Icons show projected weather conditions and temperature ranges at a glance, along with the current outdoor temperature. Unfortunately, if your experience is like mine, you may find yourself spending a fair amount of time corresponding with Ambient's apparently sole customer service rep trying to get the device to work properly. I have owned one of these for several weeks now and am already on my second unit; Ambient replaced the first one under warranty after first sending me a refurbished pager board that didn't fit in the unit's plastic case. The replacement unit had a problem too: the little switch on the bottom wasn't working properly, making it impossible to select among city forecasts in my area. Because I had already had experience (too much) opening the case, I think I managed to solve the problem; at any rate, the unit appears to be receiving updated forecasts for New York City, which has been my primary objective since I bought it. So if you're game for a little fiddling, you may be very pleased with this 5-day forecaster. If you can't be bothered with things that don't work properly right out of the box, however, you should probably pass this gadget by. I have come to understand why Radio Shack has apparently unloaded their remaining inventory of these at $15 a pop; you may be especially upset by the "adoption pains" if you have shelled out the retail price of 100 clams...