It’s New Year’s Day 2019! As we start most days around the Cataldo house, we head to the refrigerator, take out some breakfast foods and beverages, and check the day’s weather on our Bushnell FX5 electronic weather center.
We got this wonderful device about seven years ago during a $50 rebate deal, and it quickly became something that the entire family looks at daily.
Today, on New Year’s Day, our Bushnell weather center presented us with this ominous message:
“B NELL OFFLINE 12 31 19”
Oh no! We immediately began searching for more info on what happened or why these devices may no longer be supported. These weather centers receive data from Ambient and Accuweather, both of which are still in business. So what’s going on?
These weather centers operate on the Ambient Information Network that sends weather, stock market activity, sport scores, energy pricing and usage using a paging network that utilizes encoded FM radio stations to send out a data broadcast signals to ambient devices. This network is unfortunately being shut down at the end of 2019.
____________________________
October 2019 UPDATE: If you have an included model of Bushnell weather centers, Bushnell will replace them with free of charge when you mail your current unit in before 12/31/19. The replacement unit that they send is a La Crosse Wireless Color Weather Station CC85845v3.
Unfortunately, this unit is not comparable to the weather centers we’ve all grown to love. This La Crosse weather station has a wireless sensor to place outside your home which reports the current outdoor temperature to the indoor unit. It uses barometric pressure to predict upcoming weather, and there is no way to switch cities and look at forecasts for other parts of the USA — one of my favorite things to do with my Bushnell. It is an attractive unit though, and I do appreciate Bushnell offering any kind of replacement.
Here is the information on how to get a replacement unit: https://www.bushnell.com/weatherfx-replacement
Robert says
Ha, I Googled the same message moments ago, and got your site as the first result.
I got two of these on clearance for the cost of postage (after rebate), so it’s been a good (nearly-free) run.
Plenty of time to seek out an upgrade.
Happy New Year!
Coupon Maven says
Thank you — I also got mine free after the $50 rebate — I believe it was Walmart where I originally purchased the unit from for $50, then did the $50 rebate. Still, it’s frustrating — we REALLY like this thing :)
mike says
I just made a profile on change . com lets get 10000 sig and show bushnell please pass on thanks mike Schmidt Lakewood nj
Chad Horton says
Mine says the exact same thing but everything else on it still seems to work. Forecast and current temp are up to date. Maybe it’s just some glitch that we’ll have to see if it starts working again.
Mike barakat says
I have the same one too and got the same message. I’ve been looking for something similar for the past year and can’t find any weather station that show the whole week forecast. I’m going crazy now.
Robert deckman says
I got the same message on my Ambient Devices weather clock. (I found it on E-Bay several years ago for about $25, and my friends and family snapped them up after I told them about it). I hope that the clock keeps showing the time, even if the weather forecast disappears.
Chad Horton says
I got my Bushnell on Ebay as well many years ago. It says offline 12 31 19. Does that maybe mean that we have it for one more year and it will go offline at the end of this year? Maybe they’re sending a message out to everyone to let them know? Just a thought.
Coupon Maven says
Chad, that’s what I think – this is a one-year warning that it will stop receiving signals at the end of 2019. I guess it’s better than them suddenly discontinuing service to thousands of devices without warning. It’s still odd that Bushnell / Ambient / Accuweather have nothing on any of their websites about this.
Lee says
Ours is showing the same thing. You cannot find this type of weather center and we love it. Sad!
Marsha says
I love this weather center and have 5 of them! They all say the same thing. I hope somone finds an answer. I couldn’t bear to see it go offline. They are fabulous. So far working ok, but what happens next New Year’s Eve?!
Jason says
You posted this pretty quickly. I have this nice weather station alarm clock that I’ve been using because the decibel of the alarm wakes me up immediatly at 4am for work. Woke up and the entire middle of the display has the B’NELL OFFLINE 12-31-19 taking up all the real estate of the display. Lol 😂
Brad says
Thank you for the post, Jill. Was looking for information and this was the first result. This has been my family’s go-to weather center! We have this in the kitchen as well and use it every day.
It’s my understanding these operate on an older network that apparently will be shut down end of 2019. I’ve read that it is one of the same networks that used to support pagers, if that gives you any idea of how old the system is. Likely getting cost prohibitive to keep it running. :-( Either way sad to see this go next year, as we get a lot of use out of this thing — and it’s accurate.
Happy New Year everyone!
Chad Horton says
Thanks for the info Brad. Yeah, and with everyone using smartphones now for everything, that’s probably another reason they figure it’s just not worth it anymore. Still nice to glance at in the morning on the way out the door.
Lee says
I really haven’t found an equivalent. Have any of you??
Chad Horton says
I actually looked a while back when I thought my current one stopped working. I couldn’t find anything.
tom ciciora says
The maker of this device, Ambient Devices, is not the same as Ambient Weather. I sent them an email about the message, and they claim to respond within two business days,
Coupon Maven says
Thanks! My husband tried to call the 800 number on their website too, but they were closed today (of course.)
John says
Thanks for posting this! Our weather station, which we also got on a rebate, is one of my favorite pieces of technology. We look at it multiple times a day. It’s always accurate. The one line weather summaries have character and personality but are remarkably concise. It’s a beater too! We’ve dropped it by accident multiple times! I can’t find anything that rivals it. It just works.
Will be sad to see it go.
Thanks for the post! Bookmarking.
Rob says
Like the rest of you I have 4 or 5 of these devices in my home, office and garage. They are the only device that gives an accurate 5 or 7 day forecast and the color changing background makes them look great.
These devices sell for very high money on ebay, often $250+ and I find it hard to beleive that no one can produce and sell a newer version that works just as well.
Hopefully someone will see this blog and know how many people still want this device and the service.
Chad Horton says
The people on ebay trying to sell them for $250 are just trying to rip people off. When they were new, they were no more than 50 or 60 bucks. But yeah, they are a great device. Will be a shame when they stop working.
Coupon Maven says
I had NO idea the price had gone up so much on these in the eBay marketplace! https://www.ebay.com/p/RARE-Bushnell-Wireless-Weather-Station-Fx5-5-Day-AccuWeather-Forecast-Ambient/2170790550
Here’s a site still selling them for $95: http://www.weatherstationsupply.com/bushnell_weather_stations.html
I thought this was interesting too — for everyone saying that you can simply use a smartphone app for weather, the WSJ has a story today about one of the popular weather apps collecting too much personal data: https://www.wsj.com/articles/popular-weather-app-collects-too-much-user-data-security-experts-say-11546428914
Willie weatherboy says
A potentially sad day in the weather device universe…
Jimmy Shomo says
It is amazing how many people are still using these, and even more amazing that you can’t find a better product to replace these with.
Mine is dated 2008 and I have tried several times to find a replacement. I believe Bushnell was making a golf weather station forecaster recently, but I don’t even see those around anymore. In any case, they were nothing like the 7 day or 5 day ones. It was nice to have a dedicated device that didn’t rely on WiFi. I read on the back of mine that the data comes from AccuWeather, so maybe their contract with Bushnell / Ambient is expiring. I’m glad that Coupon Mavren took the time to write on this. Maybe if there are enough people out there that want this service, a work around could be developed to continue the service. Kind of reminds me of vinyl records. Old technology making a comeback! But it is obvious that these weather forecasters offered the best service and there is nothing currently available with new technologies that can replace them besides a phone app or website. I guess we will have to hang an extra smart phone on the wall!
its suprising
Kevin W Sanders says
I really loved the quick temperature estimate ( nearest city about 30 miles away ) but most importantly the temperature estimate on how I should plan my dress the next few days while brushing my teeth in the bathroom without having to go through several clicks on a phone app. I have looked for an equivalent year ago without any luck
Thomas Kovalcik says
Ambient made the 5 day and 7 day forecaster for bushnell and brookstone.
From Wiki
Services
Ambient Devices runs a data network called “Ambient Information Network”[9] that sends weather, stock market activity, sport scores, energy pricing and usage using a paging network that utilizes encoded FM radio stations to send out a data broadcast signals to ambient devices.
They also sell forecasting services to utility companies so that customers can reduce their energy usage when utilities are encountering peak usage and need an automated way of reducing energy consumption in homes and businesses.
Controversy
Brookstone licensed and sold an Ambient Device called the “Brookstone Weathercast Wireless 5-day Forecaster.” Consumers who bought this weather reporting device found out in February 2018 that Ambient Devices would no longer be sending data to these devices, rendering them e-waste.
Bill says
I have an Ambient Flurry Clock Radio that joined in this unfortunate event on New Years Day. It’s the best weather device I own and I will be sad if this is truly the end. The feed has gone offline from time to time but none like this. Sending a cryptic message that may or may not signal the end is a crappy way to cut bait and leave. While the Accuweather feed is still active having the description feed display that stupid message ruins the entire interface. Uggggh.
I’ll miss the pithy weather commentary. It’s really a shame that there doesn’t seem to be any worthy replacements. (Sigh)
Shawn says
I’m thinking of replacing mine with an old iPad running a weather app. Now to find a good weather app!
Coupon Maven says
This is actually not a bad idea – we have an old iPod Touch lying around that’s so old it’s not good for much else. It would just have to be set in “never sleep” mode… and mounted on our fridge!
Marsha says
I tried calling Bushnell customer service several times today but there is a recording saying that there is a problem with the system and to try later. I tried different extensions…no luck. But the message is off the devices today. Still very sad. These are fabulous devices. I love them and rely on them multiple times during the day. Much easier than checking weather on a phone. I hope they can somehow get us connected on another network. This is not right!
Jeff says
I own an Ambeont clock radio and have yet to find a Conor’s me device — most weather stations don’t show forecasts in this way — I hope that even if the comments go that maybe the forecast (temperature, rain.shine, stocks around).
moshe says
please sign on change.com abt bushnell thanks
John says
Has the petition ended, and if so, why? I would love to sign it.
Martin says
That old Sony flat screen with the roof antenna app… I have a curved screen 40″ Samsung 1080P from two years ago, and it shows what is on all the stations picked up by my roof antenna. It gives the movie or show title currently playing and the time that it started.
Many of the channels are in high-definition. The OTA Channel Master antenna is great, and I would never pay for cable.
Kevin W Sanders says
I really like the 5 day forecast without having to click a bunch on an app on an iphone etc in my bathroom when I get dressed in the morning so I know whether to dress for warm or cold weather . Maybe Jill can use her influence and make ambient realize they have quite a following . But I doubt it . I had weather in my airplane on an MX20 and WSI just decided to no longer support my equipment and that box was like 10,000$ new.
My solution is I took and old iphone 4, turned off the auto off , display lock etc , dimmed the display a bit and using WIFI , ran the default weather app which luckily stays on all the time and updates itself. No wind data :( , but does give me temp and 7 day forecast
Bill says
Ok, so the feed is back on. What gives? Did anybody get feedback from any of the manufacturers?
Happy it’s back but would like to know what the heck happened.
And who or what the heck is “B’NELL”?
Coupon Maven says
B NELL stands for Bushnell, the manufacturer of these units.
Bill says
“B NELL stands for Bushnell, the manufacturer of these units.”
FYI Mine was an original Ambient Device. Bushnell came after. There are others.
From the looks of that message it looks as if Bushnell is the now the proud owner of the service contract with U.S.A. Mobility the host for the datacasting network. Let’s hope they pay their bills on time from now on…
Happy it’s back online!
Mark says
work for an online retailer, and thanks to our Search engine Optimization (we are an authorized Bushnell dealer), we’re getting dozens of emails about this.
I spoke with my contact in Tech Support at Bushnell, and was told that it’s just a glitch with Ambient, and Bushnell is working with Ambient to resolve this. I was told there is no “expiration date”, the service “will not terminate on 12/31/2019”.
While I suggested that they post a banner on their landing page with that information, I would think the issue will be resolved before the Bushnell web content team addresses it.
OTIS says
Mark, that is great news! Let us know if you hear anything else. Happy New Year.
Coupon Maven says
Mark, I (and I’m sure many others) appreciate your post. Please feel free to update us if/when you hear more :)
Russ says
I’m saw the same thing on my two weather stations! Anyway, it sounds like we are ok with service! I just wanted to add that people that are looking for a similar solution for an old tablet, look at DAKboard software, there is a free basic version and a pay version. Anyway, I don’t work for them or anything but have been using it on old Fire Tablets for months and it really looks a lot more ‘up to date’ than my two old/working Bushnell stations.
Wayne6161 says
I have been searching for an alternative but could not find any. These units continue to work so why stop the service? Bushnell never mentioned anything about end of service when we purchased these.
Kevin W Sanders says
Well one of those last posts sounds encouraging but I would imagine before lond everything will be app based and digital just like TV broadcasts
10 years ago and now our traffic reports in VA
https://www.dailypress.com/news/newport-news/dp-nws-traffic-highway-advisory-radio-20190106-story.html
Dave says
Got the following response from Bushnell on January 10, 2019
Dave-
Unfortunately, Bushnell will no longer be able to support the AccuWeather service for the Bushnell weather stations through Ambient Weather Services and it will be discontinued by the end of 2019.
Bushnell appreciates and values all of our customers and while we truly regret any inconvenience this or any previous announcement may have caused, we are working diligently on identifying a solution that will provide similar service to our customers.
Check back with us at the end of the year and hopefully we will have a fix for these!
Thanks!
Eric
Bushnell CS Rep
Coupon Maven says
Dave, thanks for the update. I hope that they do find a solution for everyone who owns these.
Marsha says
Where can I write or call about this? I love these weather stations and hope they do not shut down the service.
John Burgess says
I never noticed the “B NELL offline 12-31-19” message. However, I noticed that the unit is no longer receiving weather data as of today (9/30/19). Sorry to see it go – it’s been a great item.
John Burgess says
I did not see the notice that the service would be discontinued by 12-31-19. However, as of 9/30/2019, the unit is no longer receiving weather data.
Coupon Maven says
John, as of today, 10/1/19, our weather center is still receiving data and showing the forecast for this week (yes, it really is this hot today in Chicago!)
Mark says
Is yours still working in Chicago? Mine stopped a few days ago?
Coupon Maven says
Our area had a power outage today. When our power came back on, our weather forecast didn’t. :( It is powered up, but it now receives no forecasts.
Chad Horton says
Have any of you stumbled on to any other forecasters similar to this one? There are weather stations out there that just guess a forecast based on barometer readings, but I’m hoping there’s another one out there that gets an actual forecast from NWS or something like that. We have less than 3 months left with this one now. Thanks.
Coupon Maven says
Unfortunately, no, not yet — I actually bought one of the 3-day barometric ones as I saw it on clearance at Ace Hardware a few months ago. It’s awful. Its predictions are rarely accurate at all (shows clouds when the Bushnell one shows sun, temperature predictions are 5-10 degrees off the actual, etc.) It made me appreciate even more how great these Bushnell units are. :(
Mark kraft says
Chad, Three months left, mine stopped working only a few days ago (Columbus OH) is yours still updating?
Chad horton says
The current temp is no longer updating on mine. Still getting the 5 day forecast. Someone just said that the end of their 7 day forecast is blank so this could be it.
ducksworth says
Here in Central Ohio, my two are still showing Sunday’s forecast and temps, which seems to be from around 4PM or so. I see signal indication on both devices, so I’m pretty sure it’s not the paging service these piggyback on. This is exactly what the Market Maven did when it was shut off – the device simply stopped updating one day and would never download new data (because there wasn’t any.) The clock continued until the device was reset.
I’ve re-powered the larger device to see if it gets new data, and I’ve also contacted Bushnell to see if they have anything to say. I’ll report back if anything of interest is found.
Jim H says
Mine is still going strong here in Grove City, Ohio. Thank you all for a wonderful thread.
Jim H
Clb says
Don’t turn yours off. We did to move it and now it won’t come back on.
Jeff f. says
Uh Oh, I just found a link on Bushnell’s website stating:
“Effective December 31, 2019, service for the Bushnell WeatherFX Weather Forecaster will end. As a thank you for being a valued Bushnell customer, Bushnell is offering to replace your Bushnell WeatherFX Weather Forecaster with a comparable replacement weather forecasting device.
To take advantage of this offer please ship in your Bushnell WeatherFX Weather Forecaster to the address on this page. Within 30 days upon receipt of your Bushnell WeatherFX Weather Forecaster, we will ship out a comparable replacement weather forecasting device. Please include your name, address, and telephone number.”
https://www.bushnell.com/weatherfx-replacement
The current temperature has not updated on either of my FX-7’s for two days now and the forecast for Monday 10/14 is blank as of this morning. I am very disappointed that this service appears to be truly coming to an end.
lgeorgehsv says
News from Bushnell with a Replacement offer: https://www.bushnell.com/weatherfx-replacement
Coupon Maven says
Thank you SO much! I will update this post. :)
Daniel says
I have a very old Bushnell Ambient, it only has a 3 day forecast. It’s worked great until this past week. Not really sure which day it stopped but I loved it. I think it stopped over the weekend. I noticed the forecast was really off so I rebooted it. Now I’m not getting any data :(
It sure was a great device. I’ll miss it. This is second device that’s died on me this year. RIP jawbone too.
Brooke L Kasubski says
I wonder what the replacement will be… i cant even find anything else LIKE this!
Shawn says
Ours is a 7-day that’s now only showing forecasts through this weekend. Monday (10/14) and Tuesday are blank. Guess the service is ending early! :( I wish I had a replacement ready. I’ll have to check out Bushnell’s offer.
Susan says
Mine stopped working about a week ago, so sad. I am mailing the unit to Bushnell today. I wonder what they will send me in return? I can’t imagine it will be as nice as my original Bushnell weather device : (
Coupon Maven says
I am not sure, but I am sending mine in today as well. I am guessing they will send something that either gets its forecasts over the internet, or possibly from the cellular network. (The network it currently uses is a frequency reserved for pagers.)
ducksworth says
Mine is in the mail today. I don’t expect anything decent in return – probably one of those cheap department store units that reads barometric pressure and tries to predict based on a pre-programmed model.
You never know. I’ll report back when/if I get anything.
Ed says
I saw the post about Bushnell offering a replacement and called their support line yesterday afternoon to find out more information. After being on hold for 15 mins – hung up and sent them an email. As of today no response.
The good news is that my Bushnell 7 -day forecaster came back on last night at 6pm after being off line for 3 days.
I seriously have my doubts about this offer as their website does not show any weather products for sale.
Coupon Maven says
I bought one of the barometric units earlier this year when I saw it on sale – it’s junk. Nowhere near as accurate as my Bushnell :(
ducksworth says
There’s really no way one of the barometric units could be as accurate. The WeatherFX units had the full force Accuweather behind it, with all of that company’s predictive modeling and computing power. The barometric unit just tries to guess based on certain assumptions (lower pressure means warmer, etc…)
The only way to get anything as accurate as the FX units is to just go to NOAA or Accuweather direct. Maybe it’s time to look into seeing what’s out there for small embedded controllers in regards to pulling weather data and showing it?
The FX units had a good 10 year+ run, I suppose that’s more than you can ask for in the disposable world.
Brian says
Has anyone tried to return one of the Ambient-branded versions of the Bushnell WeatherFX stations to take advantage of the exchange program? The only difference is the chrome logo on the bezel. Perhaps if that logo went “missing” before it was returned… ;-)
Traci Jan Silverman says
I am in Houston, Texas. Mine stopped working on 10/07/17. I have searched long on hard for an equivalent device with no luck. am in complete withdrawal! My device actually has the Ambient name on it. I wonder if Bushnell will replace? I’m sending it in anyway and crossing my fingers.
ducksworth says
I have an Ambient-branded unit as well, but it’s not one of the ones that looks like Bushnell’s – it’s rectangular and black. I thought about sending it back with the other one to see what would happen…
Bruce Wukovits says
We will see what bushnell sends since they don’t seem to make forecasters anymore.LaCrosse has several sharp WIFI ap controlled units but they only give 12 hour forecast.
Bruce Wukovits says
My units stopped but interestingly restarted evening of 10-9-19,
Did not think Bushnell made forecasters anymore.
La Crosse makes several sharp WIFI models but they only get 12 hour forecast.
ducksworth says
The one unit I kept also started working again. No real hard feelings about the one I sent back, most of the backlight colors quit years ago and I was tired of feeding it batteries (too bright for a bedroom on AC power.)
I guess I’ll keep using it until the service shuts off for good.
Jon says
My ambient flurry found the network and it is updating again.
I am shocked. It was dead for 2 eeeks.
At this point, I assume it will be dead for good at the end of the year. Heck, ill take what I can get.
Did anybody elses start updating again?
Coupon Maven says
I already disconnected mine and mailed it back – waiting for my replacement, whatever it may be. My parents’ house has the same unit as me, and theirs also has resumed service! Now we are waiting to see what -I- get back before sending theirs in…
Ed says
I would like to know if those folks that sent their Bushnell forecast device in for a replacement got acknowledgement from the company that they received the device. I have emailed them twice and called twice to find out more information about this replacement and got no response.
Ed says
Since 7am EST today there has beern no update of temperature, wind, and wind direction on my 7day Bushnell Forecaster for stations in New England. The time is working but is two hours behind (reading right now 1138am instead of 138pm EST).
Bruce Wukovits says
Same in Indiana except time is still working
Donald Coody says
On November 6 in South Carolina our Bushnell FX5 stopped displaying everything except the time, which was for the wrong time zone.
Sam says
Waiting to see if Bushnell will take my Ambient in trade. In the meantime, I made something similar (really superior) with an old Amazon Fire Tablet I bought for $20, running a little program called 1Weather. I added another program called Insomnia to keep the screen on at all times. Note that I used the Google Play versions rather than those from the Amazon Store.
sam says
If this is a duplicate, please delete!
I’ve also queried Bushnell to see if they will take my old Ambient in trade. In the meantime, I’ve created something as good or maybe better with an old $20 Amazon Fire Tablet and an app called 1Weather. Also used app called Insomnia to keep the screen on.
Robert e deckman says
My Ambient Flurry is not getting any data (I unplugged it, and removed the back-up battery, then reinstalled the battery and plugged it in two days ago).
Reason for rebooting it was that it was showing the incorrect time.
CLint says
Monday morning (Nov 4th) when I woke up and looked at my Brookstone (Ambient) 5 day weather clock. I noticed it was running 1 hour slow. I was confused because it had already move one back the previous morning for all time change. Looking closely I noticed a text that said low battery.
So I change the 4 batteries and when the clock lite up, all the data was missing.
Today (three days later) Thursday at noon the clock suddenly started showing the correct time and the 5 day weather forecast – as if nothing had happened!
ed says
My Bushnell 7day Forecaster came back on sometime today around 12pm (EST) and so far is working as intended for now.
NY says
Just adding a data point, New York area, the seven day forecast or is back working again. It was blank since Monday.
RC Mann says
I had the 5 day model and it stopped receiving last week. Thanks for posting the info! The old man would have blamed me forever for “breaking” it. We’ve become so dependent on having it. Loved that it was color coded to the weather. Thanks again for the replacement info.
Jim SMith says
I have a weather fx 950005 that stopped working. I shipped it to Bushnell over 35 days ago for replacement. Has any one actually received a free replacement? There’s lots of posts but no confirmation that this actually is happening.
Txako says
Having withdrawal pains. Need my weather info at-a glance!
Dave says
I own a Brookstone 5-day forecaster which is still working in the San Francisco Bay Area. Time and forecast both look good. I’ll enjoy it while it lasts.
ed says
My Bushnell 7 Day Forecast stopped working at 3pm yesterday. Unplugged it and then plugged it back in nothing happened. At 5pm I did the same thing again and at 6pm it was working again. At 1am today it stopped working. Did the unplug/plug and nothing happened. Tried it again 3pm and it worked only to stop again at 4pm. I think it maybe time to retire the unit from active duty.
Bruce Wukovits says
The replacement I just got today is a La Crosse Wireless Color Weather Station model C85845v3.
Sharp unit that gives indoor and out(via included sensor) temp and humidity and a forecast trend icon.No multiple days forecast as the old models and no wind indicator like the old 7 day.But there is nothing like that available now as I can see.
La Crosse does make a more expensive wifi model that gives wind but still only a day forecast.
Bruce Wukovits says
I forgot to mention the replacement unit they sent me Lacrosse C85845v3 is about $40.00 now on amazon with a list of $60.00.
will be interesting to see if everybody gets it regardless of what they send back.
Coupon Maven says
Bruce, you’re the first to reply with what Bushnell sent back to you. I am still waiting for mine – very interesting. So this is a unit which requires an outdoor sensor to work & likely forecasts via barometric pressure instead of receiving an Accuweather feed.
Bruce Wukovits says
That is correct.No accuweather and just icons for next 6 to 12 hours basically.
They do make a 7 day accuweather forecaster but it is a full weather station with wind instruments and just under $200.00.
jobe says
That’s rotten news. In this day and age it feels like we’re going backwards?
Bruce Wukovits says
Amazon did have a 7 day accuweather forecaster for $87.00 back up to $123.00 now.
Coupon Maven says
The problem is that I’ve read anything using Accuweather is supposed to cease operation in less than a month. Buying one on Amazon now would be throwing money away.
Bruce Wukovits says
That is not correct. The new models Like La Cross use Accuweather that they get across the internet. The ones being discontinued got it wirelessly through the air. It is the wireless like the Bushnells that are being phased out. Lacrosse units are safe to buy.
Coupon Maven says
I received my La Crosse unit from Bushnell. It does not receive any kind of internet signal and simply reports the local outdoor temperature from a wireless sensor that you place outdoors, as well as the current indoor temperature. Its forecasting is solely based on barometric pressure, and is unfortunately not terribly accurate. It shows icons of sun or rain based on what it thinks will happen in the next 12 hours, not five days. There is also no way to view forecasts for other cities and parts of the country.
Gary says
I sent in my weather station October 10th, got confirmation from USPS it was delivered to Bushnell but Bushnell hasn’t sent me anything back and won’t answer my emails, anyone else having this problem?
Coupon Maven says
I too have not yet received mine, and it was delivered to Bushnell. I guess we are all playing the waiting game.
Bruce Wukovits says
That is funny it is taking so long.Mine took exactly 38 days and they promised 30.I have 2 more and am wondering if I should send those back.I sent a e-mail asking if it is only 1 to a customer and got back any auto reply with return info so I may try.
Bruce Wukovits says
Mine looked like it was shipped from La Crosse and even had a repair ticket that said something like replacement for unrepairable item.That might be why it takes longer as Bushnell is at the mercy of La Crosse.La Crosse must have made those for Bushnell.
G18 says
Does anyone know why the service is ending? Who is ending the service? Is there any way to contact them? I know many people with these devices that love them and would be willing to pay a subscription to keep them operational. There are no other weather stations comparable that are currently on the market.
Coupon Maven says
The bandwidth that the weather centers currently use is being sold – from what I read, it is in the same band as what pagers used to use. Those frequencies are more valuable to cell providers and other tech.
Phil says
I was just informed by Bushnell customer service:
“We are being told that the replacement weather FX’s are being shipped during the week of Dec. 16th.”
Mark says
I received my replacement a few weeks ago. Not really happy with it, but the Bushnell lasted for years. I miss the 5 day forecast and the different colors for temperature range. Oh well, they really didn’t have to do anything, technology advances.
Gleapman says
Disappointing replacement. The Bushnell website says a “comparable replacement weather forecasting device.” This isn’t even close. Five days of professional forecasts vs a 12-hour guess based on change in barometric pressure. I like “old school,” but this is 100+-year-old technology.
Mine took about 60 days to get. The second time I called, the customer service person told me the company didn’t realize how many of the old units were out there and was overwhelmed with the response. They hadn’t ordered enough and were sending them out in batches as they received more inventory.
I appreciate the gesture of providing a “replacement” (although it was likely done, in part, to avoid a class-action lawsuit), But they should have been honest about what we’d receive and maybe offered a choice of cash instead. We used the old product regularly. We already have a couple of indoor/outdoor temp gauges, so this new one is not helpful (and, worse, it needs to be plugged in). Frankly, I don’t need any more of those damn remote sensing units on the back of my house.
chris says
This really ‘blows’…our family has loved ours for years…I am not happy about the replacement. I like the old ipad suggestion, but still not the same. If anyone finds something close, please post. Thank you for all that have shared their feedback, this is very helpful! We are in richmond, va, still works as of today, but I guess this will be short lived…ugh!
Bruce Wukovits says
I ended up getting a la Crosse weather station for $80.00 on amazon. You get a wind speed sensor and rain gage plus temp sensor. It connects by wifi and gets 7 day forecast and 3 other things of your choosing by an app.You must scroll to see each day and also scroll to see each hours forecast.Not axactly the same but the closest out there I could find.Am a weather nut so I think it pretty cool.Must be pluged in to but I analyzed it to only 4 cents a month to operate.
Chad Horton says
Mine is still working as of now. It’s giving the forecast for the rest of the week right into the New Year. Still gives the current temp. I guess I’ll see what happens New Year’s Day.
Gary says
It’s a shame no one has an internet connected device, the only one out there connected to the internet is a 1 day forecast and it doesn’t update very often… I used an old android tablet (can get one for $49) and use an app called “WhatsWeather Pro” that cost $5 and it does fairly well, not quite the same but it has a color screen and 5 day forecast… It has an option in the settings to keep the android tablet from going to screen lock. Then I purchased a bracket off of Amazon to mount it on the wall.
Coupon Maven says
I think this is a good option – thank you for the recommendation of WhatsWeatherPro. :)
Larry says
As a replacement, we purchased Amazon’s echo show 8 that has an option to display 5-day local weather. It works fairly well but it does require you to connect your device to your Amazon account via wifi. If you do not have wifi Internet access, this option may not work for you.
https://amzn.to/2Fd6pmA
Ducksworth says
The only problem with one of those devices is Amazon – they aren’t having a good time with their Ring stuff, and who knows what they’re collecting with their other devices. As a rule, I’ve found Amazon’s house-branded devices are really there to sell you more things from and by Amazon, the other functions come second.
Brian says
It’s January 1 and my 5 day weather forecaster is still working.
Brian says
Still working on January 4.
joe latiolais says
My Bushnell is still up and running as of now, Jan 1, 2020, 8am MST. We will see. I assume in a day or two we will all get the sad “offline” news again.
I did get the replacement about 2 months after sending a unit in. It is a C85845V3 LaCrosse station. It is a nice station but does not give 5 or 7 day forecast. I commend Bushnell for the effort on this. They really did not have to do anything.
ed says
Happy New Year to all and good news my Bushnel 7-day Forecaster did not go off-line at midnight and is working as intended.
Ducksworth says
Mine is still going as well. I did get the replacement for my other 5-day (and partially functional) unit, as expected is was one of the LaCrosse devices that tries to best-guess what’s going to happen based on a pre-programmed model. It has some useful information, so I’ll just take it into work and plop it down in an area where it can be seen by everyone.
If the other ones are truly going to go offline, it may take a few days before everyone gets back to work and the data feeds are cancelled.
ROBBO980 says
My Ambient Devices “flurry” is still giving weather information! Hurray!
Coupon Maven says
All these reports of them still working are making me sad that I sent mine back in! :(
For those of you that kept yours, please do keep posting updates. I really do wonder how long they’ll keep working.
Max says
It’s 2:50pm and my Ambient 7 Day Forecaster is still functioning! Very happy to see it working. Hope it will still keep on running.
Chad Horton says
Everything on mine is still working too. Will keep everyone updated.
Chris says
Mine is working in richmond, Va today as well!
Rufus M. says
wunderground.com, (subsidiary of the weather channel) offers a web based 10 day forecast. The service updates every few minutes, using data from the nearest personal weather station. While not as convenient as my 5 day Bushnell it’s better than nothing, I guess.
Jim says
My 5 day is still working great as of 8pm EST
1-1-20 in Columbus Ohio
Scoot says
My 7 channel Ambient wx unit is still alive and updating as of 01/02 at 10am
Stash says
I have a Brookstone which uses ambient wireless and shows 5 day forecast. I have been in mourning, trying to prepare for its January 1 loss over the last few months. It is still working today. I just can’t bring myself to get rid of it yet. I’ve used it daily for well over a decade. I agree with whomever said It’s demise will be a step backwards. It was so easy to just glance over for a quick read rather than having to open an app. How can there NOT be a replacement!?!
Soprano99 says
My 7 channel Ambient Wx unit is alive and updating as of 01/02 at 10:30AM
ED says
At 759pm on Jan 1 (EST) my 7-day forecaster stopped updating the time, temp, wind direction and speed. This morning after disconnecting and connecting the unit several times it began working again. One thing I noticed was when it was not working is that the Ambient connection icon was not displaying.
Al says
Still working in Cincinnati OH
joseph p daly says
Everyone, I just called customer service and the rep didn’t know that the forecasters were still working (which mine are as of 1/3). She thought the service was terminated already. I plan to hang onto mine as long as it continues to work. I asked whether there was an expiration date to send the units in for a replacement and she said she didn’t know of any………..
ed says
If the Weather Forecaster is discontinuing you would never know it. Today the forecast for Boston MA was updated three separate times as result of changing weather conditions in this area: just after midnight, late morning, and early this evening.
Coupon Maven says
Again, I appreciate the updates. I continue to be irked that I sent mine in!
Jim Heffernan says
My 5 day forecaster is still updating and working fine her in Columbus Ohio
Jam 6 2020
I assume it will go quietly in the night.
Jim
Chad Horton says
Mine is still working. Holding on for now.
Jack Bunch says
Why did Bushnell tell me to send in my teo Weather FX units if they are still working today January 6? I sent them in and now want them back if they are going to continue to work. That is just wrong. The 2 little replacement units only tell the outdoor temp and humidity with a 12 hour forecast for the location of the sensor only. This is pathetic! Let me know something please.
Coupon Maven says
I’m in the same boat. I sent mine back, and my parents’ unit was sent back too. Even though the service was slated to end 12/31, I’m assuming that there hasn’t been a hard shut-off like there was when standard TV broadcasts stopped and all switched to digital on the same day.
I too would like mine back if it is going to continue to work..! :(
Linda Cunningham says
its 1/7/20 and my Bushnell 7 day forecaster is still working!!! YAY!!
Bruce Wukovits says
Could be that they are overwhelmed with returns and don’t want to stop service until all units are replaced. If someone gets hurt or worse by a storm and blames the company because they had no service they might sue.Bad publicity to say the least.Service will end at some point.Some other service most likely already owns the bandwidth and frequency.
Wayne says
I sent mind in as well and the replacement only provides the indoor and outside temp using a sensor. It is not comparable. They lied. Now I am trying other options such as a Google hub nest. It only gives the forecast when you say hey google. It is annoying. I have a honeywell wifi thermostat which works good but does not give a forecast. I am trying the amazon fire with an app and a mounting frame from “MakesbyMikeStore” it is a cheap 3d printed frame but will work with the right holes to plug in the micro usb port. Finding the right app is difficult as well. They all have advertisements and spam you for downloading junt apps and don’t look anything like a 7 day forecaster. The apps are made for portrait mode on phones and not landscape for tables. eWeather HD pro works but goes to sleep due to android screen timeout.
ed says
My 7 day Forecaster stopped working last night at 729pm (EST) for Boston MA. Still not working this morning.
Is anyone familiar with the Taylor 4 day weather forecaster model sold through Ace Hardware. Works off WiFi and sells for $69.99. There is also a 5 day model that sells for $119.99 and displays wind speed and direction.
Coupon Maven says
UPDATE: Someone downthread found a review that says the wifi app for this one is discontinued, so it does not get forecasts via wifi anymore. Don’t buy this one and save your money.
“company has discontinued it and nothing on it works except for the indoor and outdoor temperature. They said there was an app on Android that was needed for it to work but the app no longer works and the company no longer supports it. So yeah, I think this is one to avoid.”
Thank you for the update. I have no experience with this one, but it looks interesting. The screen style is similar to the Bushnell one we all grew to like so much.
I actually did buy a Taylor weather forecaster at Ace Hardware last year, but it was under $10 and predicts with barometric pressure, not with wifi. It’s not terribly accurate aside from outdoor temperature, which it uses an outdoor wire lead to capture. This is it:
Chad Horton says
Thank you for bringing that weather station up. Looks like a good alternative. Expensive but very comparable. That might be the way to go for me once mine quits. As of last night, mine was still working.
Robert A Dusel says
This Taylor Device looks like a very close replacement to the smaller Bushnell forecasters. # day forecast via Wifi.
It’s on Amazon for $59.76.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CP85WGJ/ref=as_li_ss_tl?smid=A3TX4YUK2VIRSQ&psc=1&linkCode=ll1&tag=jillcatasupec-20&linkId=1deaefc80610bb8c5c5409622c005ca6&language=en_US
Bruce Wukovits says
Be suspicious of the Taylor. Bad reviews and not even on Taylor web site.Discontinued.?Sounds like not real forecasts but just based on pressure. Only true daily forecast unit I know of are a few La Crosse weather stations. I have the 3100 and it is pretty good.
Coupon Maven says
It would be nice to find the manual for the Taylor online & read exactly what it gets from Wifi – can you select multiple cities, etc? That was one of my favorite features of the Bushnell, looking at weather in other cities where our family lives or where we were traveling.
Chad Horton says
You are right. I found a very bad review from someone on Amazon. They said that the company has discontinued it and nothing on it works except for the indoor and outdoor temperature. They said there was an app on Android that was needed for it to work but the app no longer works and the company no longer supports it. So yeah, I think this is one to avoid.
Coupon Maven says
Thank you for this – I am going to edit my original post so that someone doesn’t buy it from the link.
ed says
My 7 Day Bushnell Forecaster came back on last night after being off-line for 24 hours. Working fine right now with information being updated twice today for Boston – very happy for now.
In regards to the Taylor black and white 4 day forecaster model, I sent them an email about how it works. They replied within one day and said the model is still being sold through Ace Hardware and you need to download the Weather Sense App and complete registration with them once this is done you can connect the base station to WiFi.
I sent a follow up email to Taylor about another similar model that displays all the information in color, but no response as of this date.
Chad Horton says
Thank you for doing that. I was going by feedback someone left. If these do still work, I’ll get one. I went into the play store and can see that app. I want to get the color 5 day forecaster. That’s the one someone left bad feedback for. Maybe they were confused about the app? I don’t know. I guess I could buy it and try it myself and always send it back if I have to.
ED says
I received a response from Taylor last night (owned by a company called Lifetime Brands headquartered in Garden City, New York) in regards to their color 4 day forecast model 6669337 and they said it is no longer manufactured by them. They said the B&W model 1743 is still an active model. However, when I checked the Taylor website no such model listed.
Carolyn C says
I have the Ambiient 7 day forecaster and just like the others, I had the same message that it’s going offline on 12/31/19. Throughout the year myself and my better half were looking at replacements and I kept telling him I like this one the best and no other product compares to the one we have. The unit never let this household down, it’s always been spot on for us. Well today is January 11, 2020 and mine is still working. *Metro Detroit Area) . I’m not ready to give up on our Ambient Weather Station.
Jeffrey Lambert says
Looks like a scam to me because my unit has been working fine. Send it in, they say…why? If its obsolete why send it in? So they can be re sold on ebay of course…because suddenly it’s not so hard to find them any more…odd…I’ll be the first one to come back on here and say I was full of crap, but it’s looking like a real scam to me…what address were they being sent back to?
Bruce Wukovits says
They went to Bushnell but new ones came from La Crosse who I suspect built the Bushnell.May be afraid for legal reasons to shut down until bulk of returns are replaced.
Ducksworth says
That’s probably the reason. Makes me wonder how most people found out about the recall, this is one of the few places I’ve seen any news about it. My two units never showed the “offline” message, unless I just happened to miss it. I only found out because the service going offline was always a possibility, and I looked for that information every so often.
I kept one unit and sent back one that had been acting up. The replacement is most definitely meh, I took it in to work where the “outdoor” sensor sits in the server room as a secondary temperature measurement.
Jim Heffernan says
My 5 day forecaster is still going strong. Columbus Ohio.
Coupon Maven says
Jim, thanks for the continued update. I continue to be irked that I sent mine in!
Chad Horton says
Mine is still working as well in the Pittsburgh area. Who knows what the future holds for these units now. I’ll just keep mine going for as long as it’ll work.
Jeff says
Hi, I’m a little frustrated I bought two Brookstone scorekeepers $49 each I bought the first one because I liked it so much and bought another one for my brother in Denver… Were using it and liking it it was a great device showed all the score was playing on that day everything then I all of a sudden stopped… Back then it was maybe five or six years ago I checked into this but since then I’ve done nothing… I’m just frustrated I paid over $100 for these things and accompanied the flies that just shut it off something is not right about that or I should’ve been compensated and if I remember they wanted to give you a $10 rebate $10 I think that’s a joke…
David says
What was the model?
Bernie says
My 950017 model is still fully working in the San Jose CA area and I can scroll through the data for the 150 other cities as well. No ominous messages like some of you. What’s going on? Or maybe I shouldn’t ask and just be grateful that this hard to beat device has given me such great satisfaction for what seems like 20 years! It would be sad to see it not working anymore.
Coupon Maven says
Bernie, thank you for your detailed update. I’m so irked that I sent ours in! The replacement they sent is -nothing- like my Bushnell :( I am really impressed that it is still working.
James Heffernan says
5 day forecaster still going strong in Columbus Ohio
Steve says
Still working here in Michigan
AbilitySys says
Just died here in Portland. This is the second time I’ve been dumped by Ambient – I still have an “Orb,” even though they dropped that signal many years ago. It was a piece of art that changed colors based on you settings (weather, stock market, etc.) – now it just slowly rolls through the possible colors…
Has anybody found a good replacement for the 5-day?
Coupon Maven says
AbilitySys, thank you for letting me know. I have been wondering if all of the gloom-and-doom was a rumor, or if they would finally phase these out at some point.
ed says
If they are going phase it out you would never know it. I been finding lately the forecast is being updated 2-3 times per day depending on weather conditions. Temp data updates as usual after midnight and then again around 4:30pm – 5pm EST here in Boston.
ed says
My 7-day model here in Boston MA last updated temperature, wind speed and direction at 10pm on Wed 2/12. Since then no-update. The forecast for day 1 has not updated since after midnight on Wed 2/12. The forecast for days 2-7 is working as is the time and I am getting the Ambient signal. Anyone else having the same issues?
Seth says
My 7 day last updated on 2/12 as well. I am in the Boston area as well.
Rob D says
Weds was the last update for my two units here in the nyc area.
End of an era I guess although I am hoping it’s just a glitch as the ambient signal is still there.
I’ll leave them running for a week and see what happens
Bruce Wukovits says
Stopped updating yesterday in Indiana. Still showing ambient signal and in network.
jim says
Hi,
I am out in Brookline, NH with the 5 Day Weather station from Brookstone and have not been receiving weather data since June. Do you know what frequency your device is responding to? It should be 929.6625 but I would like to know for sure.
I am receiving pager data on 929.6125 using a pager receiver, but nothing shows up on 929.6625.
Many thanks
Robert decknman says
I’m in Los Angeles. My Ambient Flurry is still getting a signal and displaying the proper information.
scott says
I have had 4 of these [ 7day] in a display frame ( for years)… it has been a great overview of weather, at a glance, in places I work. Alaska, Puerto Rico, Ohio, Arizona etc.. what a great display of color and info. I turn 3 of the 4 off at night , the other is a night lite. The 3 I turn off have not come ‘back on’ for two days. They are ‘waiting for network’…. the one I do not shut off, has not updated for a couple of days… Looks like it’s all over . What a shame. My Dad loved the one he had, my brother so enjoyed his as well. It would have been nice to have had at least an option to subscribe for the service.
Thank you Ms. Cataldo for providing this ‘forum’…
Jack Bunch says
My 2 Weather FX7 units stopped February 13. I only have days 1 thru 6. Day 7 is blank with dashes. Still shows signal, but that is probably for clock only as it still works. Every other forecast has been the same for almost 2 days. This is pathetic. I would never buy another Bushnell product and plan to post thst on FB and any other social media I can if the issue is not fixed. That pathetic little replacement unit is worthless. The only accurate thing on it is indoor temperature. It only forecasts for 12 hours and is never right. SHAMEFUL!
Mike says
Still rotating dashes in all fields this morning and no clock after resetting by changing batteries. Looks like this is the end old friend. This little 5-Day Brookstone will be missed by the whole family in Philadelphia.
Mike says
My 5-Day Brookstone unit stopped updating on Wednesday (2/12). I changed batteries. I reset it since I was getting a two-bar signal. Now, there’s not even the time. Just the colon. I guess I’ll let it run until there is no more signal. It was nice to get Jersey Shore weather here in Philadelphia, PA.
Alexa ThOrntOn says
I am sick! I have six of theses units and have been relying on them for years. How can there not be a suitable replacement? I don’t want their stupid replacement. I will gladly pay anything if I can find another similar unit. If anyone finds anything, please post.
Brian says
On February 13 I noticed that the current conditions were not being updated, but the forecast seemed correct. Same on February 14. I unplugged it. When I plugged it back in, it went through the normal start-up procedure but then the “in network – please wait 1 hour” message remained for hours. Tried it again and let it go overnight – same thing. I think it’s now dead.
Brian says
February 15 – Plugged it in one more time and then went to run some errands. Came back and it was working again!
Ed says
My 7-day still not working this morning despite a strong signal.
I contacted Accuweather Customer Support this morning as it was always my understanding they provided the forecast feed. They replied back that they have not provided forecasts for any of the Bushnell products since March of 2014 and they do not know who is providing the information. So if Accuweather not the provider who was?
Coupon Maven says
This is fascinating to me. From your post, and others above, no one is apparently “providing” or paying for the feed to these devices, but they’re still receiving data.
RC says
My Cirrus 7-Day Weather Forecaster is back working again after being down for a few days. Not sure who is providing the data as I too thought it was Accuweather. Maybe the rep has invalid info?
Either way, it’s back!
ed says
At about 1150am (EST) my 7-day began displaying time, temp, wind/speed, and today’s forecast. Forecast for day’s 2-7 came back on by 1215pm. How long will it last this time ??????
Alexa T. says
Mine came back starting at 11:15 and the days 6 & 7 a bit later.
Bruce Wukovits says
Back on again in Indiana as well. Accuweather may not control these directly but I still believe it is their data being used by Ambient perhaps.
Alexa T says
Same in PA. Back on around 11:15 and then days 6 and 7 a bit later. Fingers crossed. I have six of these units around the house. I have lived by them for years.
Alexa T says
Back on in PA. Fingers crossed.
Michael-SATX says
Hello and thank you for a great forum in which users can share their Ambient powered WX devices experiences nationwide !
Here in San Antonio, Texas I noticed my Brookstone 5 Day Weather Forecaster (2007) stopped updating Feb 12, 2020 about 10pm.
Then Saturday Feb 15, 2020 sometime between 5am and 9am I was pleasantly surprised to see it had updated forecast/days info.
As mentioned above various users have shared similar periods observed with forecasting outages. So who knows why this time?
After users reporting their Bushnell WeatherFX series units in Jan 2019 began displaying “B Nell (Bushnell) offline 12-31-19”
Nobody seems to know how long this party is going to last. MY old Radio Shack Cat# 63-1085 5 Day Forecasters stopped in 2018?
I can see with Radio Shack 2015 & 2017 bankruptcies their back end WX device service license agreements ending as mine did.
I called Brookstone customer support and their rep told me that they severed their ties with Ambient Devices 5 years ago.
Since my 2 identical old Brookstone 5 Day forecasters are still updating I figured no has deleted their 12 digit device ID’s.
Maybe to our luck that nobody seems to be driving the bus and we just will roll on until the wheels come off and go offline?
I have read other users complaining that they don’t understand why this is all happening ? Let me try to share what I know.
Ambient Devices runs a data network called “Ambient Information Network” that can/did send weather, stock market activity,
sport scores, energy pricing and usage using a paging network that utilizes encoded FM radio stations to send out various
data broadcast signals to many types of ambient powered devices that are made and marketed by many different companies.
Ambient Information Network is a Data-casting service that uses the US Mobility 929.6625 Mhz Nationwide Paging Network
that covers 90% of US population. I read on Ambients’ website that at one time there were over a million + devices using AIN.
Fast forward to 2020 and 4G LTE Smartphones and WiFi access is more common and so consumers have other ways to check WX.
This whole AIN platform got rolled out back in 2005 and Ambient had to sell lots of new devices to keep this profitable.
MSN Direct had a similar data-casting network that ended 1-1-2012 and used RBDS (Radio Broadcast Data System) on FM stations.
ps – I hot swapped the smaller PCB 929.6625 Mhz RX board that contains the 12 digit authorization serial number (Cap Code)
from my working Brookstone 5-day Forecaster to my old dead Radio Shack Cat# 63-1085 and it sprang to life after 2 years !
My Brookstone unit that now had the RS pager board installed no longer updated as it’s 12 digit factory programmed S/N #
had long been deleted from the AIN Datacasting Service due to expired Radio Shack service license agreements for their units.
Cool experiment but I hot swapped back the pager receiver daughter boards so now only the better Brookstone unit works now.
I used a PC program called PDW and connected a discriminator tapped police scanner tuned to 929.6625 Mhz to display and
record the Ambient Information Network datacasting stream. I observed updates in my area every 30 minutes as below examples:
Our towers send out WX data for these 5 cities: Screen#1=El Paso,#2=Austin,#3=San Antonio,#4=Dallas,#5=Albuquerque,NM
On that note that seems a strange mix – why not say Dallas,Houston,Austin,San Antonio & Corpus Christi, all Texas cities ?
Address – Time – Date – Mode – Type – Bitrate – Monitored Messages in PDW v3.12 Software decoding 929.6625 Mhz
010652057 21:50:01 15-02-20 FLEX-C ALPHA 6400 !TR* &R[//”3#B~G(+&aeYe[f[e[aY”!FF”El Paso TX +&`d\h`iae]]Z###&’Austin TX
+&_c]h`iag]^Z###&’San Antonio TX +&_c\d_g]aY\X”!””&Dallas TX
+&]`UaWaW`W_U!!”!#Albuquerque NM . [23]
010652057 22:19:55 15-02-20 FLEX-C ALPHA 6400 !T4* &R[//”4#%~G(+&aeYe[f[e[aY”!FF”El Paso TX +&`d\h`iae]]Z###&’Austi
+&_c]h`iag]^Z###&’San Antonio TX +&_c\d_g]aY\X”!””&Dallas TX
+&]`UaWaW`W_U!!”!#Albuquerque NM . [24]
btw – For those technical oriented folks – check our this website: http://old.ambientdevices.com/datacasting/index.html
Coupon Maven says
Michael, thank you for this extremely detailed info. My dad is an electronics engineer, and having grown up around him constantly building and creating things, I followed this just fine. It’s really making me wish I had kept ours now – I am amazed that every time people call to ask why they are still on, nobody knows and everyone claims there is no feed being “provided” by anyone. Yet clearly, there is.
Dennis says
My RadioShack Ambient bar graph 5 day weather forecaster (Cat #63-1085) that I purchased in 2004 (16 years ago) still works today in the Seattle area. I experienced the same outage from 2/12 to 2/15.
gary says
This is really fantastic information as I have a college degree in electronics I have been looking for this sort of information for years! The only odd thing though is where is the weather data originating? At one time it was accuweather but I understand it was discontinued and was getting data from perhaps Ambient but where they were getting it I don’t know? Over the years during outages I got several answers and then suddenly it would start up again after dropping for a few days. Mine in the Memphis, TN area are still working. Someone has to be inputting the data or the data source has to be coming from a source that is still live. I don’t want to ask too many questions as someone might figure out they left something turned on and then turn it off!
My Brookstone device required a one time subscription to up to 3 cities. The Bushnell was included with the device. Like many people I purchased a bunch of them when Walmart was selling them and at their closeout.
Like everyone else I hate the discontinuation of the service, at least at some point. A smartphone or even a makeshift unit I made from an android tablet just doesn’t do what these devices do. It would be worth a subscription price!
I also had the MSN data device on a GPS back when it was live, it was nice to have as well. Seems there is perhaps some traffic information still transmitted on some carrier for GPS’s still?
John says
After/with some intermittent outages, my Bushnell 5-day [FX5] is still working just fine. Location is in rural South Texas between San Antonio and Corpus Christi.
I’m hoping that these devices will continue to operate indefinitely, they are quite unique and very useful [hinthint Accuweather]. I flipped over these for their features and attractive ‘all-in-one-glance’ utility day and night. They’re usually accurate enough for the basics.
Like everyone else here mentions, they are a very neat device, it would be a d’d shame if they were to become just more ‘e-waste’.
After I bought my first FX5 and tried it out, I immediately went back and bought a number more of them [5or6] as gifts, everyone luvs ’em [WM had them on ‘clearance’ years ago, I should have bought the whole stack @~$24/ea, still kicking myself].
I write this as a serious WXnut, sailor, and pilot; first taking a meteorology course in the mid-1960’s; and currently with several full operating weather stations [one whose public data feeds into NOAA, WU, PWS and other weather databases], and other instruments [including several radar units].
Let’s hang in there as long as possible. And thanks to Ms. Cataldo and commenters for this thread. I’ve periodically checked online about these devices for years, and this has been the most useful website for them..
Michael-SATX says
Thanks Dennis,
Both you and a guy now selling one on ebay in Austin confirm the RS 63-1085 5 Day WX Forecasters are working.
I sure wish my 2 Radio Shack 63-1085 (mfg 09A04 / Sept 2004) 5 Day WX Forecasters still worked like yours are.
But mine stopped updating over 2 years ago and I figured they were victims of RS bankruptcies / license expiring?
I can swap the smaller 929.6625 pager receiver boards and then the RS 63-1085 works and Brookstone doesn’t.
Did my 2 units received a turn off or kill command and wrote / stored it in the pager RX board not the display board?
Wow John,
I wish got in on that Walmart clearance of those Bushnell 5 Day Weather Forecasters (m/n=950005) for only $24 !
End of Life or not I want to buy a nice used Bushnell WeatherFX 7 Day Weather Forecasters (m/n=950017C)
These show wind speed & direction, UV & Pollen levels as well as the back light changes color with forecast temp.
With your Texas city choices of Amarillo, Austin, Beaumont, Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Dallas, El Paso, Houston, Laredo, Lubbock, San Antonio and Waco, Do you set and view Corpus Christi or San Antonio weather forecasts ?
John says
Hi Michael-SATX , it turned out to be great deal at ~$24 [the old WM sticker price was ~$100-125ea]. I could look for receipts but seems like it was more than five years ago, maybe 6-8yr.
Assuming that you’re in San Antonio, I used to sometimes stop and shop in the SE Military/I-37 Walmart, where I found them. Noticed a couple of -stacks- of the FX5s in the ‘clearance’ aisle one day, looked one over. As a WXnut it looked real interesting, so bought one.
Got it home,tried it out, wow– gotta get some more. So I made an excuse to trek back up to SA next day and bought an armful as gifts to kids, ex, etc.; and was thinking of getting even more, or the entire stacks of them—, but checked fire till I could figure out what to do with a -whole- bunch of them [had no idea beyond gifts].
Much later I happened to see one for sale on eBay, price was crazee– $$Hundreds! each. Did more looking [over a couple years] and they had greatly increased in value, offered at $300-400+. An item appreciation you very rarely see for anything except classic cars, gold, certain watches, etc; never for a minor electronic gadget.
So I ran some numbers on ‘if I had -known-‘, and had bought the whole pile, and maybe checked other WMs for more. Figured that had I bought a hundred or two of them, and [maybe] sold them at the then [later] market price, could have cleared $20-40,000 reselling them all, maybe. Of course there are many factors.
The ‘scan WX for diff cities’ feature is one of the neatest things about them [and grouped by states too]. I usually have it on SAT//EWX, but check Corpus/CRP often, since I have kids at NAS-CC, and keep a sailboat in a Rockport marina [and do much more detailed WX monitoring online for that, Harvey was a b…., I was there at the beginning…then bailed out into the fiercest rainbands I’ve ever seen and headed home].
The FX5 gives the rdgs/fcst for the ‘official’ NOAA city station of course [SAT airport=EWX, etc] many miles away, but it’s close enough usually. Darn thing is electric blue right now, brrrr, ~48degF up there, 51.5F here.
Alexa T says
I have four FX 7 units and notice none are available for sale. I just found a new FX 3 with my pile of units that I forgot I had. I just kept buying and buying them. I have seven of them going in my house right now.
Bruce Wukovits says
The My ambient website at one time used to have a signal map you could pull up to see if your area was covered by their signal. I know my location had many holes. I remember at the name a lot of negative reviews online about these devices. People bought and gave them as gifts only to find out later that their area was not covered and they had a useless device. Later ambient pulled that map and you had to call in to find out if you had coverage or not. Seems the real downfall of these devices were that they never achieved the level of penetration that was hoped for in order for the economic model to exist. A service like this for free cannot and will not continue indefinitely. Especially with the valuable limited radio frequency spectrum.
GARY says
I had a couple of days where mine stopped working but I have 4 of them and they all started working again. I only sent one in to Bushnell to get the replacement (very basic). I will keep mine for as long as the continue to operate as there isn’t anything that replaces what these do. I have been successful in building a replacement using WIFI and the internet. I buy a cheap RCA tablet running Android OS, use WHATSWEATHERPRO app which will run continually and has an option to keep the screen alive. It’s not as good as the Bushnell but gives much of the same data and a 5 day forecast and has some pretty colors but not color changing… I’ve built 3 so far. Found the tablets on ebay for about $40. I also use an app that will auto launch the weather app when the device boots up. I have passcodes on the device though so I have to enter a passcode but once up it runs. I use one at work, I just take it in every day, run it at my desk, take it home at night. One at home has been running so far continuously for 5 days without a reboot. I’m sure at some point it will require a reboot or if the app crashes it will require a reboot.
john says
GARY, I do the same thing with low-end tablets and semi-obsolete smartphones, re-purpose them as basically just ‘monitoring screens’. I use a couple for weather, and several more as home and boat alarm/surveillance monitors with the alarm system hub.
Such devices can be used/reused for many such purposes for quite a while beyond their original purpose, rather than just scrapped. I’ve even replaced failing batteries in several, just to keep them going.
They are after all still quite powerful little computer systems [comparing to the huge systems I worked with from the 1960s on, with ‘big’ ol’ 8K & 32K ram memory units onward; yeesh, my Redmi phone has 6G/128G/256G storage with a 48MP cam, and was superseded in six months by a later model w/64MP cam, faster procs, etc]
Joe says
Still working in northern va. I wonder if they were threatened with a class action lawsuit? People did pay good money for these things after all….
Coupon Maven says
Thanks for the update. Again, I’m really irked that my family all sent our units back..!
Robert deckman says
My Ambient Devices Flurry is still working in the Los Angeles area, but its clock is running about a minute fast (compared to just 5 seconds fast for all the years I’ve owned it).
Michael-SATX says
My Brookstone 5 Day Weather Forecasters and Radio Shack 5 Day Weather Forecaster (63-1085) are still
updating every 30 min here in San Antonio,TX. These units receive 2 different group data pages on 929.6625 Mhz
Questions for the Forum:
1) Did the Ambient Stock Market Maven service end a while back ? Is anybody’s Market Maven still updating ?
2) Did anyone visit myambient and pay to subscribe to a “Premium 6th city” and do you still get it and get billed etc ?
3) Who had a Bushnell Weather FXi 7 Day Golf Course Forecaster that updated via USB receiver on PC via internet
Does anyone know if these used that now offline Weather Direct service ? How long have these been offline ?
By the way Weather Direct Forecasting Service to all WA & WD series devices ended effective August 31st, 2017.
4) Lastly on the Bushnell Weather FX series units that can display the pre-programmed 150 cities of WX forecasts,
I am still stumped how exactly these units get all that data delivered after the first initial 5 cities of data are sent ?
When I analyze the groups pages sent out on the USA Mobility 929.6625 Mhz Nationwide paging network that
Ambient Devices uses for their Ambient Information Network data casting service I DO NOT see 150 cities period.
What I DO SEE in the pager message body is 2 diff flavors of the 5 cities broadcast on the San Antonio,TX tower.
My 2 Brookstone 5 Day Weather Forecasters (2007) populate and get their updates from these pages 30 min apart ( :04 & :34 times)
Notice in SATX this CAP codes group page sends weather data for 5 cities by using only 3 digit description codes: ELP, AUS, SAT, DAL & ABQ
These Brookstone units ONLY display these same 3 letter codes and not the full spelling: So examples AUS=Austin and SAT=San Antonio, TX
Address – Time – Date – Mode – Type – Bitrate – Monitored Messages (in PDW v3.12 Software decoding 929.6625 Mhz at IF RX stage)
011061271 01:04:02 25-02-20 FLEX-C ALPHA 6400 !T%*
&R[/8″7#”~<!00"TF_U]UbXdZf]!!F##ELPPEdX_SaWeYeZ"!!!!AUSRFeX`UbWeZf["!!!!SATQF`W\UaWcYc["
!!!!DALNAZR[S_U`VaX"!!""ABQ [28]
011061271 01:34:22 25-02-20 FLEX-C ALPHA 6400 !TC*
&R[/8"7#@~#2#”Providence RI +”W\WYWZSWQVO#++””Portland ME +”X]WZX [TWRWQ#++#”Manchester NH +”Z\Y[X]TYTXR’#0″”Chatham MA
This guy has a Bushnell Weather FX5 (950005) and after performing a reset clear so none of the 150 cites show any
data just dashes. As soon as he gets this exact page above at :19 & :49 minutes after the hour only those 5 cities
will show weather forecast data. Now he can park his unit on say San Antonio, TX and check back later in an hour +
and presto gone are the blank dashes and he then will show my exact San Antonio forecast that my unit here shows!
Further after a while he can scroll through all 150 cities and they all populate eventually like his first 5 cities do etc..
So how are the other 145 cities of “invisible weather data” getting to these very cool Bushnell Weather FX units ?
Michael-SATX says
Update – I have a new discovery and info to share that might explain why some cities are reporting no service !
Ambient Devices uses 2 different frequencies for their 2 flavors of various retail branded of weather forecasters.
I now have my Question #4 above answered now – here is was I just learned …
I just bought a used Brookstone Ambient 5 Day Weather Forecaster (2009 Executive Woodgrain front bezel)
I got it cheap because the seller said it did not work and had a rattle like something loose inside it ($19 as is)
I knew by the sellers picture of the “Low Batt” message also occurs when the receiver pager board comes loose.
I opened the unit and was shocked to see the RX boards white label say 929.6125 and not 929.6625 like my others.
I plugged back in the pager board that came completely loose inside unit after factory tape and glue failed over time
So the mystery solved now for why I was NOT seeing data streams to match 150 cities of WX forecast data pages.
The Weather Forecasters that ONLY have screens for 5 cities use the USA Mobility 929.6625 Mhz Paging Network.
Like both the Ambient and Radio Shack (63-1085) and many of the older Brookstone 5 Day Weather Forecasters.
The Weather Forecasters that can toggle through all 150 cities use the USA Mobility 929.6125 Mhz Paging Network.
Like Bushnell Weather FX series, Ambient 5 & 7 Day, Cirrus 7 Day, my Brookstone 5 Day woodgrain with 152 cities !
I analyzed the pager traffic on 929.6125 and saw 4 large groups pages at :14 / :30 / :43 & :59 minutes that feed the
various fields of data. With my Brookstone’s memory cleared blank I just sat back and observed what made it tick.
So at the top of the hour I saw say just a quarter of the 150 cities screens populated and the rest just blank dashes.
In between these group periods I would toggle through all 152 cities just to observe progress and gain some insight.
I saw the :43 minute group of at least a half dozen data pages do nothing but populate only all Real Feel temps etc.
Another groups did special area scrolling messages like “Partly sunny and cooler” and “Mostly sunny and milder” etc
All messages used the same 9 digit pager CAP Code – and no cities are in clear text it is all just Java code strings :)
So mystery solved and below are 2 examples of the pages on freq 929.6125 Mhz I did not know Ambient also used !
003291502 02:00:04 07-03-20 FLEX-A ALPHA 6400 !T *(-R[/’#'”L~A)V[^W`\d_h`e\eZb[dD ‘ @$!( ,”,PzV\W]]d `eZbYaZ`[bB [ @$R!R “!@dX]W_[d_g\e\cZb[bCP ‘ @$!( ,” P0W^V\\b^f\cYaX`YbBP + @$!( 8! P*hninimilimimininLP $! 0V!@0″$PBW`W^\b]e^dZcZ_ZaB S,@$” P,$ PXZfZc]eahbhbjbjbiE R 0$” P,# @% [09]
003291502 02:30:17 07-03-20 FLEX-C ALPHA 6400 !T>*(-R[/’#’#*~J-^Partly sunny and cooler 0Mostly sunny and milder 5Mostly sunny and milder 5Windy and warmer LTurning sunny (Winds gradually subsiding)
Coupon Maven says
Michael, I really enjoy your posts, and I appreciate all of your updates on this. I had no idea it was using two frequencies either.
Dave says
In the San Francisco Bay Area, on March 9 I noticed that my Brookstone 5-day forecaster failed to adjust its time after the DST switch. I removed the batteries for a few minutes and reinserted them. The weather forecast displays fine, but the clock will not sync. I just get a flashing colon. For all I know the time may not have been updating for days or weeks.
Coupon Maven says
Interesting, Dave. Please keep us posted.
Michael-SATX says
Dave, both my Brookstone 5 Day Weather Forecasters (2007) that use 929.6625 Mhz did the same as yours.
I had to remove the battery cover and insert a pin to manually adjust an hour ahead for daylight saving time.
On my moms same model I re-inserted the 4xAA batteries and noticed after it received several weather updates
the time display just had a flashing colon. I came back over to see her in a few days and it had the time once again.
My other Brookstone 5 Day Forecasters (2009 Executive Wood Grain Bezel with proximity touch back light feature)
that use 929.6125 Mhz that receive and can toggle through and display all 152 cities from anywhere covered in the USA adjusted automatically on Sunday March 8th afer 2am. However I did notice they were wrong again and had to
press through the time zone button on the back on unit back to Central TZ earlier this week strange quirk right :)
Note the Ambient, Cirrus and Bushnell Weather FX series units all use this same version of this data casting stream.
Brian says
It took a little over a day for my 5-day forecaster to adjust the time for DST. I didn’t have to do anything but wait. All is well now.
ronnie says
weather forecaster has survived through covid 19
Coupon Maven says
Ronnie, thank you for the update – I have been wondering if they’re still alive and kicking! Stay safe & keep us posted :)
ed says
I have noticed over the past few months that the Bushnell 7day Wx Forecaster here in Boston has been updating the forecast and temperature information several times a day: just after midnight for Day 1 and the forecast/temp info at 1am for Days 2-7. Another update comes at 1030am for Day 1 if there is active weather and sometime a few changes for days 2-7 at 11am. At 430pm another update for Day 1 if the weather has been active. Forecast and temp for days 2-7 see the most changes coming in at 5pm.
Coupon Maven says
All of this continues to make me upset that I sent mine in. Incredible! I appreciate the updates – please keep them coming :)
JOE says
My (four) units are still working in Northern VA. This is just bizarre. They announce termination of the service, provide for a replacement of some nature but then the service continues now four months past the supposed termination date. On the one hand, I am grateful for the continued service because they are great items. On the other hand, if they eventually do die and Bushnell tells me they no longer have the replacements available , I am going to be very p.o.ed……………
ed says
For the 2nd time in three days my Bushnell 7-Dayforecaster stopped working last night at 6:30pm (EST). I didn’t notice it until 6am this morning. I unplugged/plugged back in several times and nothing happened. With the very dry air in the house, I was able to zap the device with static electricity and it began working again immediately with full data displayed within 30 mins.
Michael-SATX says
Hello again, I recently picked up an Ambient Devices Cirrus 7 Day Weather Forecaster (Model # WF7D09)
These 7 Day models do show additional data such as Wind Speed & Direction, UV Levels, Hi Pollen Info Etc.
You don’t see many of these models for sale and they also don’t command high prices like Bushnell’s (yet) ;)
These Cirrus units lack any battery backup but after a power failure all 152 cities are re-populated in 1 hour.
You can toggle 4 diff brightness levels, 5 favorite cities, and just Ambient logo changes color with diff temps.
The mail envelope icon button was for displaying a now disco feature called “In-Touch Personal Text Messages”.
I really enjoy the city specific weather conditions text line messages from AccuWeather like the Bushnell’s show.
Lastly, these units receive the AIN – data casting via the USA Mobility 929.6125 Mhz nationwide paging network.
Michael-SATX says
Also, my question for anyone that has owned and used a Bushnell Golf FXi 7 Day Weather Forecaster (960071C)
I just picked up a NIP sealed unit for kicks knowing several user reviews indicated that these were no longer usable.
Unlike the various WX forecasters that receive their AccuWeather data over the AIN – USA Mobility paging network
this Bushnell Golf FXi (i=Internet) this model pairs via a USB sender attached to a WIn PC connected to the Internet
to download the AccuWeather forecast weather data as well as current WX conditions for over 16,000 US golf courses.
I did lQQk inside the unit to examine the main pcb so I could rule out plugging in an OTA (over the air) pager board etc
but only see test solder pads for TX,RX & Gnd but I will explore interfacing the output from a 929.6125 RX board later.
My problem is the CD Rom contains only a small launcher file that tries to download the program from Bushnell.com
Of course I get an error message that it can’t find the file “NIS01_INSTALL.EXE” to unzip to start the installation etc.
All I can find on the Bushnell site is the 2009 PDF file instruction manual I already have so no luck from manufacture.
So it would have been cool if this CD had the complete application program for me to at least maybe see WX data ?
So chime in if you had one of these and if it quit updating and about when do you remember these going offline :-)
Hmm, someone must have some first hand working knowledge of the Bushnell Golf FXi / PC program / updates etc.
ps How does one attach a picture to these forum posts as many others have done up above ?
Coupon Maven says
Michael, thanks for your post. If you want to email an image to me at jill@supercouponing.com, I’m happy to add it to your post or comment. The forum is currently set up only for the admin (myself) to post images.
James says
My 5 day forcaster is still going strong in Columbus, Ohio
Coupon Maven says
James, thank you for the update! I’ve been curious and hadn’t heard anything for a few months.
chris says
Mine is still working in Richmond, VA on 7/14/2020…Crazy!
ron says
i accidentally disconnected my 7 day here in new york and it wont reconnect ….m,y 5 day is still on
scott says
I shut off 3 of my 4 7 day Ambient every night, the 4th stays on all the time …. In the morning I restart the other 3 (w/ remote )…
I am happy each day to see them all still working… It makes me wonder who is funding the network…
In any case it is much appreciated and the presentation of the data is very much enjoyed.
thanks to the Coupon Maven for keeping this topic open.
July 18
Joe says
Yes the ability to be updated on this is appreciated. I find this entire thing pretty bizarre. Since my units are still working, I have not sent in for any type of replacement and I won’t unless and until it stops working. Joe in northern VA
Andrew says
My 5 Day unit has been just a clock since 1/19. And then yesterday, 7/28/20, it started functioning again for now reason I can determine. I live in Los Angeles, CA
Coupon Maven says
Andrew – wow! Thank you for the update. That’s just wild!