The following is a review of this Weather Station hardware by WeatherMatrix Founder Jesse Ferrell, who uses and reviews multiple Electronic Weather Stations as a hobby. The key for the ratings is shown below.

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The following is a review of a WX-200 weather station purchased from Radio Shack in 1997. For more information about this station, including manufacturing details, see the main page. This station was reviewed for approximately 16 months from installation.

P R I C E :

This station originally sold for $300. As of this writing the price has been reduced to $249 by Oregon Scientific. There are no additional options available for this station other than software. This is far below any full-featured stations (see "Features" below.

F E A T U R E S :

This is a full featured station which includes Pressure & Humidity as well as Temperature, Rain and Wind which are typically standard with Electronic Weather Stations. Also calculated are Dewpoint, Rain Rate, Yesterday's Rain, Wind Chill, and Heat Index.

I N S T A L L A T I O N :

This unit was a little short on wires - only 30 foot for each sensor, which made placement of some of the sensors difficult. Additionally, the thermometer sensor, although in a pagoda, was originally painted black, which made it very had to shelter from solar radiation. Later versions changed to a white sensor but it still absorbs solar radiation and must be shielded from the sun.

R E S O L U T I O N :

The resolution is very low and might not be sufficient for the scientific user. For example, the pressure is measured every 0.03"Hg every 15 minutes (as published in the specs), which makes for a really choppy graph (as can be seen from the Live Observations from my WX-200). Temperature and Humidity are polled every 10 seconds and Wind Speed every 5 seconds. This polling time, though not unusual for low-priced stations, could mask out maximum wind gusts.

A C C U R A C Y :

According to WeatherMatrix Member Ed Edelman's Electronic Weather Stations Accuracy Table, the Accuracy of this station is the lowest of all reviewed for Rain and Pressure, and ranked next to last for all other features. The Pressure accuracy of +/- 0.21"Hg would not be acceptable for most meteorological purposes. This station was not tested independently of the above accuracy claims.

R E L I A B I L I T Y :

A good percentage of people who own these stations have had problems with the temperature/humidity sensors and this has given the station some bad press.

We have had the thermometer/hygro sensor replaced four times. There may also be some confusion between different versions of the WX-200 which won't take each other's sensors.

There are also a good number of reports of spurious readings for the thermometer and anemometer sensors. We experienced these on the average of one per month during testing times.

My raingauge also no longer works, but it did fall from the roof during a windstorm.

It is important to remember that people with bad experiences are much more vocal than those with good experiences and the percentage of any malfunctioning stations versus the number shipped is likely small. However the fact that the unit we tested had problems does not make us any more comfortable with this station's reliability rating.

S U P P O R T :

Radio Shack currently refuses support on this station since it is no longer in stock. Since it was developed in the mid 1990's, it is an older station and support or parts from other companies may be less available than for new stations. This station is also sold by Oregon Scientific who has generally not had good support reviews.