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Wednesday 23 November 2016

KT-908 Digital Themometer/Hygrometer Review


Price: £1.95  free shipping
Manufacturer: ?
Model: KT-908
Vendor: Ebay seller
Shipped From: UK
Description: Digital Themometer and Hygrometer
Features: Measures indoor and outdoor temperature.
Measures indoor humidity
Clock Inc date
What's in the package?: Themometer, outdoor sensor + cable, instructions



First Impressions
I'm not really sure what compelled me to bid on this item other than the fact that it seemed cheap at the time.
I suppose also it was out of curiosity, wondering how good a two quid Themometer would be.

The item arrived in just a couple of days. Flogged by a firm quite close by in Manchester. (I think they sent it first class?)
Better than waiting weeks on end for China post to show its face.

Inside the padded envelope was this neatly boxed Themometer device. I hadn't been expecting much to be honest, not for a couple of quid anyway. 
Instead I was greeted by a well design retail box, intelligible instructions and a good looking chunk of plastic posing as a measuring instrument.



The KT-908 promises to be both an internal/external Themometer and a Hygrometer in one. Just how good it would be in both disciplines was only a matter of fitting the little battery to find out.
But before any testing it was time to take a quick look around the device to see how well it is made.

This little device is quite small overall. In terms of thickness it is only a couple of centimetres deep. It's small enough to fit in the hand and weighs very little. 
The outer casing is made from a good quality plastic. Not like tough ABS plastic but good enough for the environments that its likely to be used in.
Controlling the device is carried out via the two blue buttons found on the front of the unit. These are made from rubber and feel positive when pressed. 
These blue buttons configure the settings and changes the modes. Simple but effective enough.

A large number LCD display is offered here and takes up much of the front of the unit. 
The contrast and clarity of this display is fantastic. Although it's not back lit in any way the ability to see numbers clearly in daylight from most viewing angles is surprising.  
According to the paperwork this device incorporates a power save feature. Although I'm not sure what the power draw is from the LCD I assume the power saver will help prolong the battery life.
Which leads me conveniently on to what actually powers the Themometer. 
Inside a small plastic cover on the back of the unit is a single button cell battery.  Obviously this thing doesn't have a huge energy requirement only 1.5v which came as a surprise to me. 


The last thing to look at on the main unit is the handy kick stand which tucks away nicely in the body. It's adjustable between two angle settings and has a positive click when shifting into position. Definitely not crap.

The external sensor cable is nothing special in appearance. The cable features a 3mm headphone jack at one end which plugs into the Themometer and a small metal sensor at the other for shoving outside for temperature measurements. 



Testing
This kind of testing doesn't require much involvement really, just popping the unit down on the counter and dangling the sensor cable through the window is enough.

Temperature updates happen every 5 seconds which isn't that bad.  Same with the humidity readings.
I can live with that, I don't think any of my other digital Themometers are any quicker.
Setting this unit along side another Themometer and comparing the readings went better than I had thought.
This cheap unit was just as accurate on both the indoor and outdoor readings. Far from crap

A couple of downsides I noticed during the test was the inability to store or save the max temp and humidity readings, and the annoying mode switching which takes place every five seconds. - basically, the time clock screen is switched with the date screen which is never ending and can't be stopped!

Overall this cheap little device does the business

Rating: ✅✅✅✅✅
This item gets a full five due to the fact that it was dirt cheap and actually works very well indeed.
I wouldn't hesitate in buying another if the need ever arose again
Recommended 👍