|
The LCD panel on the TX6140
weather forecast station is just over 3 inches high by 2 inches
wide. Hour and
minutes digits in the display are bold and 5/8 inch tall, and
seconds are 5/16 inch. Calendar information is 3/16 inch tall. The
forecast icon area is about 1-3/4 inch wide by 7/8 inch tall.
The barometric pressure graph area is 7/8 inch wide by 5/8 inch
tall, and the pressure digits are 5/16 inch tall. The main
station is about 7-5/8 inches high by 3-3/4 inches wide by 1-3/8
inches deep without its flip-down table stand extended. The
temperature remote is white and about 4-7/8 inches high by 2-3/4 inches wide by
1 inch deep. Weather
Monitoring
The TX6140 wireless forecast
station monitors and displays the indoor temperature
and indoor relative humidity and, as
reported by the included wireless remote sensor/transmitter, the outdoor
temperature from a location up to 100 feet away.
A red front-panel LED on the remote lights when
the unit is transmitting, and an icon on the main unit tells you
whether or not reception is successful. On the main unit, temperatures can be
displayed in °F or °C, as selected by pushbutton, and indoor relative humidity is displayed in percent
(% RH).
The indoor temperature measuring
range of the TX6140 is 32°F to 122°F (0°C to 50°C). The
outdoor temperature measuring range is -4°F to 140°F (-20°C to
60°C). The indoor
relative humidity measuring range is 1% to 99%, and the
hygrometer performs best between 40% and 70% RH and at ambient
temperatures from 68°F to 86°F.
The TX6140's
integral memory records maximum and minimum values for
indoor temperature, outdoor temperature, and indoor humidity. These are
available at the push of a button, and you can simply push
another button to clear and reset the memory whenever desired.
As a weather
forecaster, the TX6140 displays any of five kinetic
forecast icons: Sunny, Partly Cloudy, Cloudy, Rainy, and Heavy
Rain. If the barometric pressure is changing, a rising or
falling trend arrow
appears as well. For weather stations
of this type, the pressure-based forecast is typically for 12 to
24 hours in the future. It covers an
18- to 30-mile (30- to 50-km) radius and is 70 to 75 percent
accurate.
The barometric pressure display on the TX6140
shows the pressure
numerically in your choice of inHg (inches of mercury)
or mb (millibars), as selected via pushbutton. Although not
indicated in the instructions, the numeric pressure appears to
be the actual ambient pressure, not the sea-level equivalent
pressure that is given on radio and television. The pressure
history kinetic bar graph at the left of the numeric pressure
shows how the relative pressure has changed over the past 12
hours (0, -1, -3, -6, and -12 hours).
Clock
Operation
You'll appreciate
the absolute accuracy of the TX6140's atomic (radio-controlled)
clock. The time can displayed in 12-hour mode with PM or in
24-hour format. The year is displayed only during manual setup,
which is optional. Month and date are displayed digitally, and
the weekday is displayed as a three-letter abbreviation in
English. If
you do set the clock manually, you'll need to set the time,
year, month, and date. The weekday updates automatically as the
date is set.
Successful
reception of the time-synchronization radio signal is indicated
by a radio tower and waves icon plus a WAVE OK indicator just to
the right of the weekday. You can enable or disable automatic
Daylight Saving Time change, depending upon whether or not your
location observes DST. After time synchronization occurs or
after manual setup, you select your continental U.S. time zone
(EST, CST, MST, or PST), and it is displayed above clock
seconds. Changing the time zone (as opposed to manually
resetting the time) does not affect WWVB time-signal
synchronization.
The alarm in the TX6140's clock is a single daily alarm
with an available 5-minute snooze function.
When you set the alarm time, both it and ALARM are displayed
instead of clock time. When you slide the alarm switch to ON, a (((.)))
alarm icon appears vertically below the colon (:) that
separates hour and minutes. When you slide the alarm switch to
SNZ, a Zz snooze icon also appears above the colon. With
only the alarm on, pressing the SNOOZE/LIGHT
bar when the alarm sounds turns the alarm off until the set time
the next day. With alarm with snooze
on, pressing the SNOOZE/LIGHT
bar when the alarm sounds turns the alarm off for 5 minutes.
Setting the alarm switch to OFF deactivates the alarm or snooze
alarm.
Pressing the SNOOZE/LIGHT bar at
any time lights the amber LCD panel backlight for about 5
seconds, after which it goes off automatically. We noticed when
testing the TX6140 that when the backlight is on, the display is
best viewed either at eye level or from above. This is because
internal texturing in the display that refracts the light for
even illumination tends to obscure the displayed information
when viewed from below in the dark. This texturing is invisible
in daylight, even with the backlight on.
Additional Information
For powering, the TX6140 main unit requires
four AAA (1.5V) batteries, and the
remote thermo sensor requires two AA (1.5V) batteries. The
batteries are not included, and we recommend alkaline batteries
for both units unless the remote will be used in sub-freezing
temperatures, in which case lithium batteries are recommended
for the remote instead. Low-battery icons are displayed for both
the main unit and the remote when replacement is needed.
Expected battery life for both units is about 12 months.
Here are a few
things you should
be aware of. With the TX6140, you insert batteries in the main
station first and then the remote. Also, the TX6140's remote sensor does
not have a temperature display of its own. Finally, be sure
mount the remote in a location where it is not exposed to direct
sunlight and is protected from rain, snow, and wind.
Both the TX6140 main
unit and the temperature remote can be free-standing or
wall-mounted. The main unit has an integral table stand that you
flip down and then push inward to lock in place, and it also has
a keyhole slot for wall mounting. The remote sensor has a
fold-out table stand, and it also comes with a separate
wall-mounting bracket that you can attach to the wall either by
screws or by two-sided tape (both included). The remote then
snaps into the bracket. If you're
looking for a handsome and highly informative wireless weather
forecast station, you need look no farther than the Timex
TX6140. In addition to displaying lots of weather data, the
TX6140 also features an integral atomic alarm clock with
calendar and repeat snooze. This station's neutral colors allow
it to fit
unobtrusively into most interior decor schemes, and its display is large enough to be read by most folks with reasonably
normal vision. We think you'll enjoy watching the kinetic
forecast icons, and the min/max memory and pressure history
graph are useful features as well. The TX6140 is equally well
suited for home or office use. It comes with a 1-year manufacturer's limited warranty.
|
