Best Wireless Remote Temp Gauge...

[darita]

I have an Oregon Scientific Grill Right and like it. It has good range, anywhere in my two story house, however I really want to be able to see the grill's internal temp remotely, as well. I have tried the Maverick ET73, but the range really sucks...20 feet through 1 wall...and I don't want to do the mod that many have done to increase their Maverick's range.
So, are there any other alternatives in a similar price range? Can I safely use another Grill Right to monitor grill temp?

[ddward]

Good question. I have the same therm and it sucks. Is there a good remote thermoter?

[caliking]

The extended range mod for the et-73 is beyond awesome. Takes 15-20 mins to do, and not a lot of $ for the parts needed. After the mod, the et-73 really can't be beat.

[Red Valley BBQ]

I have an Acu-Rite wireless thermometer. I've been using it for about 3 years. If I remember right, the package said it had a 100' range, but I know I've been at 200' in an open field and still didn't lose the signal. You can find them on ebay...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Acu-Rite-Wireles...05179350156264

[Bacon_99]

Originally Posted by Red Valley BBQ

I have an Acu-Rite wireless thermometer. I've been using it for about 3 years. If I remember right, the package said it had a 100' range, but I know I've been at 200' in an open field and still didn't lose the signal. You can find them on ebay...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Acu-Rite-Wireles...05179350156264

Too bad the pager doesn't show temp though - only let's you know when its reached the target.... I have the ET-71 - works great but range won't let it work in the bedroom, which is only 30' from the deck and there's windows to go through

[Red Valley BBQ]

Sorry, that was the wrong product. The Acu-Rite I have displays the temp. I will try to track down a link and pass it along.

[Bacon_99]

Cool - sorry about that - the ebay link has a section at the bottom saying the temp is not displayed like the picture - the pager only sounds..... Good to know temp is displayed - wish I had knew this before buying a et-71 - the acu-rite seems like a much better deal....

[darita]

Well, I was hoping there was someone experienced with antennas on this forum, but I guess there isn't. I went ahead and tried the fix and this is what I found...
First I did the receiver and noticed only a few feet improvement. Next, I did the transmitter and this made a much bigger difference. With both transmitter and receiver done, signal reception improved greatly. Now I'm able to go about 40 to 50 feet away. With the transmitter in the backyard, I am able to go inside, to the front of the house and upstairs and still get a signal. Best reception seems to be at about 40 feet, thru one wall. Still no comparison to my Oregon Scientific Grill Right, but it helps.
One thing I did find out is that it is essential that you have a 90 degree angle on the new antenna before it exits the device on the receiver. Antenna engineering is a field in itself and I'm sure someone with experience in this area could really shed some light on what's going on and what we could do to maximize reception. That said, these two mods did help quite a bit.

[samiam]

http://www.instructables.com/id/Incr...Q-Thermometer/

Here is a pretty detailed step by step for the mod. The most interesting part to me was the length of the antenna. This guy figured out that 6.7" is the perfect length based on the frequency.

"Why such an exact length? Because antenna length is directly tied to the operating frequency (433.92Mhz) in which the device was designed for. There is a specific formula used to calculate the length which is what I used to derive 6.7". You still may get improved performance with a longer or even shorter antenna, but it won't be maximum efficiency."

^^From the instructions.

[caliking]

Originally Posted by darita

Well, I was hoping there was someone experienced with antennas on this forum, but I guess there isn't. I went ahead and tried the fix and this is what I found...
First I did the receiver and noticed only a few feet improvement. Next, I did the transmitter and this made a much bigger difference. With both transmitter and receiver done, signal reception improved greatly. Now I'm able to go about 40 to 50 feet away. With the transmitter in the backyard, I am able to go inside, to the front of the house and upstairs and still get a signal. Best reception seems to be at about 40 feet, thru one wall. Still no comparison to my Oregon Scientific Grill Right, but it helps.
One thing I did find out is that it is essential that you have a 90 degree angle on the new antenna before it exits the device on the receiver. Antenna engineering is a field in itself and I'm sure someone with experience in this area could really shed some light on what's going on and what we could do to maximize reception. That said, these two mods did help quite a bit.

When you soldered on the the right angled part, did you cover all three points or just the one hole? This mod has been posted before, and the OP found that you have to cover all three points for max range ( he got 400+ ft I believe). What I like best about the et-73 is that it lets you set an alarm for a minimum temp, which I have not seen in another similarly priced themo yet.

[igolf2]

I have the ET-73 - Smoker on deck outside second floor kitchen door back of house - signal is perfect all the way out in front yard - maybe I got a good one?

[darita]

Originally Posted by caliking

When you soldered on the the right angled part, did you cover all three points or just the one hole? This mod has been posted before, and the OP found that you have to cover all three points for max range ( he got 400+ ft I believe). What I like best about the et-73 is that it lets you set an alarm for a minimum temp, which I have not seen in another similarly priced themo yet.

Yes, I sure did solder to all three terminals. Maybe I could get 400 ft across an open area, but thru my walls, not that good. It might have to do with all the wireless equipment I have in the house, printer, router, laptop, etc. That said, many, many others have the same problem, so I'm not alone.

[Theboz1419]

i have a non moded unit and im also able to go from backyard thru kitchen, upstairs and down the hall to bedroom, with few walls inbetween without issue. i guess i too got lucky and got a good one

[Dovid]

Hi. I'm looking at the PCB on the Instructables mod but I don't see the three holes referred to above. Can you help me please? I just had a failure on a couple of probes on my heretofore ok polder units and I'm itching to go wireless! Thanks!

[colonel00]

Originally Posted by Dovid

Hi. I'm looking at the PCB on the Instructables mod but I don't see the three holes referred to above. Can you help me please? I just had a failure on a couple of probes on my heretofore ok polder units and I'm itching to go wireless! Thanks!

Its not three holes per se but three pads.

Edit, the link in this thread is actually for the transmitter and that is not what is being referred to. Below is the link for the receiver mod that shows soldering to the three pads.

http://www.susanminor.org/forums/sho...fication&p=909