Winter weather gadget reviews
This season's winter weather gadget review continues below, with a lot of help from gadget buddy and fellow storm chaser Ron Shawley from Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and Dave Fisherowski from Boyertown. We have a desire to help all sectors of our weather community, including items that support weather enthusiasts, storm chasers, emergency management, astronomers and the general public.
+Tadi Brothers Underwater Cameras!
At last, a camera designed for storm chasers, first responders and the weekend angler. Ron and I have both lost action cameras and drones underwater, and we're not alone. With this, you have some hope of recovering them. In addition, storm chasers or first responders may need to know what's under the water in flooding situations. When you add on fishing and aquarium uses, there are many reasons to purchase this system. Most packages contain the Hi-Res Rotating Color Camera, sturdy case, 14-hour battery and optional DVR. The Underwater Camera comes to us via the Tadi Brothers, that brought you the back-up cameras and GPS that I reviewed last fall.
+ Tornado Alert: First of its Kind!
Remember in the movie "Twister" when the VHF television signal fades to static as the tornado approaches? This electromagnetic phenomenon led to research that has provided what the company calls "the world's first personal lightning and tornado detector."
Since cloud-to-ground lightning may eschew tornadoes, I can see how detecting lightning (or the absence of it) could be an important factor in forecasting tornadoes, but I'm not convinced this technology can do it (and it's very hard to prove, especially here in Pennsylvania, far from Tornado Alley). Still, it's hard to discourage the use of this device in addition to your NOAA Weather Radio and cell phone alert system.
+ iON Dash Cam WiFi: Finally, a Reliable Dash Cam!
Over the last two years, I've tried out a number of dash cams. In foreign countries, dash cams have become ubiquitous because of vehicular damage and injury lawsuits, and their videos are a big portion of the viral drivel we see every day. As a storm chaser and weather enthusiast, I thought it would be easy to grab a dash cam and document every drive I took from then on. I was wrong. The chief problem was that all the cameras I tried would focus on raindrops, dust or bugs on the windshield, instead of the vehicles, road or scenery ahead. Enter the iON Dash Cam WiFi, which solved that problem and provided high-quality low-footprint. It's cheap, simple and does what you need it to do. Example video follows:
Here's what it does well:
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The video is high resolution and color-correct and doesn't fill up your hard drive with abnormally large files.
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Wifi allows you to review files from the camera, even when you're not connected to the Internet.
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It comes with GPS built-in, and it actually works! You can view your trip by uploading to a website, such as KinoMap.com.
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Reasonable price ($160 for unit reviewed on Amazon; non-Wifi version no longer available from iON but you can get them on Amazon for around $45)
Here's another example video of the iON Dash Cam documenting a weather event -- in this case, a rain shower that moved over my location when I was in a store (the iON camera doesn't do time-lapses but I sped up the footage in Cyberlink PowerDirector):
As to the other dash cameras I tested... besides not focusing on anything but the windshield, they all produced video that took up way too much space or compressed it so much it was blurry. (You can read my scathing review of the CiBest A1+GPS Car DVR on Amazon.com. It had two cameras, but not much else.) I even tried a $250 system from Sam's Club that sported multiple cameras but the video was so blurry I immediately returned it.
+Schumacher Jump Starters & Safety Lights
Schumacher Electric has been selling automotive battery accessories, jump starters and safety lights since 2000. Their RedFuel series is new for 2017 and their safety lights and battery jump starters are customized for storm chasers and emergency vehicles.
I can't tell you how many times I've had to bother someone to jump start my car. One time I was stuck in a parking deck after storm chasing and couldn't even get anyone to come pay the parking fee to give me a jump. With the Schumacher SL65 Red Fuel 8,000mAh Lithium Power Jump Starter and Portable Mobile Power, I can jump my own car! Some of their flashlights include other emergency kit items like seat belt cutters if your car goes underwater.
Another great product is the Schumacher Storm 700 power backup system, which you can get at Lowe's. Who needs a generator when you've got 700 watts of backup energy? Ron explains some of the use cases below:
I think my favorite though is the SL159 Rechargeable LED Road Flare, which you can also buy at Lowe's. It's like a spinning hockey puck of light, to replace the standard, messy burning flares. Click here to fast forward to that section of Ron's review video above.
+ Bloomsky: Your 360 Camera and Weather Station!
Ron, David and I have been extensively testing the Bloomsky units for over a year. This sleek, ultramodern fish-eye-lens webcam/weather station combo provides a daily time-lapse animation of the weather from your home and 5-minute updates to the Bloomsky App & Bloomsky Map. They also held a Kickstarter last year for an additional unit that measures rain and wind speed and is now available for pre-order.
The Bloomsky, like many modern tech gadgets, was designed in Southern California. As a result, precipitation was given short shrift in the engineering. If you get a decent snow, the Bloomsky camera can be covered by snow for some time, and raindrops can linger on the lens. Dave created a special plastic shield cover for his; Ron suspended a piece of Plexiglass above his, which allowed at least a look at the ground, even if snow covered the shield. The unit can be purchased with an optional solar panel, but I'd recommend running an extension cord instead for better reliability, especially in northern latitudes during the winter.
I had some issues getting the station online because it requires a very specific Wifi router specification (2.4ghz 802.11n, which my new Comcast modem/router didn't support, so I set up a repeater that was configured to that mode). At one time, they had a web portal that allowed you to download the daily timelapses and weather station data, but that failed in late 2016 and as of this writing they have not responded to emails about it. Because I like to archive my data, I hope they bring that back soon. Their current map of stations is available on their website:
+Celestron Elements ThermoTorch 10 & Firecel: The "Super Flashlights!"
How many times have you been outside camping, watching the stars, chasing a storm or experiencing a power outage and your flashlight stops working? Our friends at Celestron have developed quality products in their Element line, items that combine heat, light and charging power. The ThermoTorch and Firecel provide long-lasting light, both red and white, gives you some warmth on a cold night and can even charge your cell phone. In the weeks ahead, we will be showcasing these items in action out in the field over at the Pennsylvania Weather Watchers Tech Blog; check out Ron's video below for more. Celestron is primarily known for their astronomy products, including telescopes.
+ Subzero Snow Brushes
Subzero products, from a division of Hopkins manufacturing, are a motorist's best friend. Their snow brushes are a must for all travelers, including storm chasers and emergency service personnel. I literally just helped a guy out of the snow with their Hopkins 12501 Subzero GripTrax Traction Tool earlier this winter. Last month, a coworker at AccuWeather had just moved here from North Carolina and was unprepared for the harsh winter, so I gave her a spare Hopkins 16619 Subzero 51" Ice Crusher Pivoting Snowbroom, which I also carry in my SUV. Here's Ron with additional information:
Stay safe! Orion emergency kits and road flares are a must when you're near the road observing storms or photographing the weather. Orion products are engineered and manufactured in the USA, primarily in two manufacturing facilities in Indiana and Pennsylvania.
Princeton sells a lot of LED products but the standout is the Princeton Tec Helix Basecamp Lantern, which I plan to use during my next power outage. It's collapsible, dimmable, can stand up with raised legs or be hung on the wall.
Oregon Scientific has been the name for clocks for years. The Oregon Scientific BAR292 PRYSMAChrome Weather Clock is my favorite product that we reviewed. I simply love things that glow different colors and the BAR292 glows a different color based on the outside temperature.
Here's Ron's complete video review, which includes the PRYSMAChrome clock, a grill thermometer, a beautiful wall clock and a basic weather station.
+ Ambient Weather Stations and Clocks
Ambient Weather is the oldest weather store on the Internet -- I've worked with Ed, the owner, for over 20 years! Ambient is the exclusive seller of the Ambient Weather WS-01 Intelligent Color Changing Temperature Night Light, which I have plugged in all over the house! They change color based on the temperature. I love these little guys!
I also have the Ambient Project Clock Ambient Weather WS-8400 Projection Clock with Indoor and Outdoor Temperature Color Changing Display on my ceiling in the bedroom; it apprises me to the time, outdoor temperature, and indoor temperature (the only projection clock to do all three) on the ceiling, with digits that are a foot wide! So much easier than rolling over to squint at the clock! It also changes colors based on the temperature!
The next time your power goes out, or you need to see something at night, do me a favor. Check out the Streamlight 44902 Waypoint Spotlight. This is one of the brightest LED lights on the market, yet it weighs a fifth of the competitors. It got a 4.6-star rating on Amazon, and if you've ever shopped on Amazon, you know how hard that can be!
Got a mess created by flooding? Use the more environmentally-friendly solution: Clean with steam. Ron explains more:
DISCLAIMER: This is not an official endorsement from AccuWeather, Inc. Product was supplied by the vendor for some of these reviews.
