I happened upon the "Talking Wirless Grill Thermometor ("TWGT")in Lowes $29). Being a gadget guy I could not pass it up. Got it home, put in the batteries and it worked perfectly. It immediately measured room temp within 1 degree of my digital room thermometer.I Cooked "Beercan Chicken" on the patio grill that weekend. Put the probe into the thigh as directed and placed the base unit on my kitchen counter about 40 feet away. Opened a cold beer and watched the info on the base unit as I prepared other food in the kitchen. No need to periodically go out to the grill and check the chicken. Instead I watched football and the unit as it measured temp up and up. When it was time, it told me "It's almost done."Headed to the patio when the unit told me "It's done". The TWGT worked great. I was so impressed I went and bought a second one to give as a gift.
Then I tried to use it a second time. I had steak marinated and ready for the grill. Football on TV. Turned the TWGT on but the base was not getting a signal from the probe. I changed batteries, hit the reset button on the probe, shook it, cursed it, prayed.Nothing made it work. I even opened the one I had bought to give as a gift - it did not work either. Both units and probes were on but not communicating with each other.I gave up and cooked the steak the old way by trying to time it, lifting the grill and testing it. Very dissappointing.
Fortunately for me, I love gadgets and did not give up. Later, I kept experimenting, trying to figure out what was wrong. I went to Amazon.com and read a review saying you have to hit the reset button, but I had already tried that too many times without success. Then I figured it out. When you turn on the units, if they do not talk to each other, you have to press the reset buttons on BOTH THE PROBE AND THE MAIN UNIT. I'd never noticed the main unit also has a reset button.I turned on both units, pressed both reset buttons one after the other and --SUCCESS! Both units and their probes started talking. Again they were within 1 degree of room temp. I cannot wait to grill out this weekend!Maybe on Sat. for the Gators and on Sun. for the Bucs.
Summing it up? Yea. It would be a good idea for OE to put a troubleshooting section in the manual to cover this problem. As it is you need to either figure it out or call OE. I suspect many of these amazingly fun grill gadgets are lying unused in some dissappointed owner's junk drawer. But, if you know the secret (you can probably get the secret if you call OE customer service)this thermometer is fun, and convenient. I won't grill without it. In fact, I will now use both units at the same time for different foods cooked simultaniously (so much for the gift idea). BTW. The unit's voice is female and she speaks multiple languages. My advice - set her for French. I don't speak the language but she sure sounds good. :)
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Oregon Scientific AW131 Grill Right Wireless Talking Oven/Barbeque ThermometerProduct Description: Whether it's a roast for a dinner party or a turkey for the holidays, this handy thermometer ensures meals get cooked to perfection. The unit features a digital LCD screen and a remote wireless probe to identify the temperature of meat. Simply insert the stainless-steel 6-inch probe into the meat, run the 40-inch wire out of the oven or barbeque, and close the door. The sensor will display the current temperature ranging from 32 to 572 degrees F. Choose from eight entree programs including beef, lamb, veal, hamburger, pork, turkey, chicken, and fish, along with four doneness selections, which include rare, medium rare, medium, and well done. Two verbal and three audio alert options indicate the status of food--almost ready, ready, and overcooked. After reaching the selected temperature, an audio alarm will sound. Since the thermometer offers wireless operation, there's no need to miss out on the party in order to constantly check on dinner. In fact, the main unit can receive the probe signal from up to 330 feet away. In addition, the thermometer speaks in five languages (English, Spanish, German, French, and Danish), offers a low-battery indicator, and its probe detaches from the sensor for easy cleaning. Two AA batteries for the main unit and two AAA batteries for the transmitter come included. The main unit measures 5-3/5 by 2-3/4 by 1-1/2 inches, and the remote unit measures 3-2/5 by 3-2/5 by 1-1/5 inches.
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I bought this at Academy Sports and Outdoors near my house and only payed ~ seven dollars. I tested it out by smoke roasting some ribs for 6 hours and it seemed to work fine, maybe a little low but overall a very nice product. Just make sure you shop around. I didn't try it for searing, but as long as you don't go too high you should be fine.
