Basal Digital Thermometer
|
Our Price: $11.30 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy 3rd Party: from $11.00 (click here) Category: Health Care See more product details |
|---|
Customer Reviews of Basal Digital Thermometer
Customer Review: PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
Summary: 5 Stars
First of all, I really love this thermometer and all that it has to offer. The continuous beeps really do help to know that the thermometer is in the proper position. It normally takes me less than 30 seconds to get a reading and its great that it beeps when its done. The memory recall feature is definitely a plus, esp. when I'm still too drowsy to remember the temp, and the back light feature is equally great. I think this is one of the only thermometers with a backlight. I've been using it with success for the FAM for almost two years now. I would definitely recommend it to a friend.
I've been reading the complaints that people have and a lot of them aren't valid or easily solved. Here they are:
PROBLEM 1: This thermometer can't be used as a basal thermometer or to track fertility because it doesn't record to the 1/100th (like 97.39) of a degree.
Answer: FALSE!! Tony Weschler, states in her latest edition "Taking charge of your fertility", a groundbreaking book on the subject of the Fertility Awareness method (and in turn NFP)--just look at the reviews on it here on amazon, on page 76 "Also, it is imperative that it be accurate to within 1/10th degree F. (for example, 97.4), BUT DO NOT USE THOSE THAT MEASURE TO WITHIN 1/100TH of a degree (for example, 97.47) since the latter are unnecessary and confusing." (emphasis added)
-------
PROBLEM 2: The beeps are WAY too loud. They annoy me and wake up my spouse.
Answer: I personally don't find them to be too loud and neither does my husband, but if you do, on the back of the thermometer there is a small hole for the sound. When you're taking your temperature. Simply take your thumb and lay it straight down the back side of the thermometer while it is in your mouth, so that the hole is covered up. I found that this will SIGNIFICANTLY decrease the volume to a quiet, muffled, beep. You can even wrap your index finger around the top part of the thermometer (where it says BD) to give your your thumb some more resistance to press up against, muffling the sound some more.
-------
PROBLEM 3: The back light doesn't come on when it's done taking my temperature.
Answer: When it's done taking your temperature, press the button to turn off the thermometer. The back light will turn on again, revealing your temperature before it shuts off.
-------
PROBLEM 4: For the memory recall feature, the reading doesn't stay on long enough for me to be able to record the reading, and then it is erased.
Answer: When you turn the thermometer on, your last temperature will be displayed for about 4 seconds. If you turn the thermometer off again before it starts taking a new temperature (when it starts to flash), your temperature will actually still be stored on the recall feature. So when you turn it on again next time, it will still be there and continue to be there however many times you do this. Also if the 3 seconds you had before you pushed the off button weren't enough for you to see your temperature, you'll notice that you'll get an extra 5 sec's to read your temp when you press the off button before it finally shuts off.
I hope this helps!
Customer Review: Just OK
Summary: 3 Stars
While this BDT Thermometer works fine as far as taking temperatures, mine doesn't make a sound. It is too cheap of an item to return since the shipping costs to AMAZON would make them lose money on the deal.
It takes temperatures but because the "beeps" don't beep, you have to be careful to take your temperature correctly.
My second complaint is that all of the documentation provided with the product talks exclusively about female ovulation. While that is the major reason people buy this type of thermometer, it isn't the only reason.
Since I am a 61 year old man, I could care less about ovulation unless I had a girlfriend who was young enough to concieve. Even then I wouldn't care since my wife would kill me anyway <G>. What I DO care about are the other usages for a basal thermometer such as checking thyroid functionality or just getting a more accurate temperature reading than regular thermometers give you.
There isn't a single word about how to use this thermommeter for anything but getting ovulation information.
So I rated it at 3 stars because it does work, but not the way it was intended to work since the beeps tell you audibly if the device is operating correctly since when you turn it on it does a self test and beeps to tell you it passed the test. Without the auditory beep, you have to visually verify that it passed the turn on self test.
Then the three rapid beeps it is supposed to give out when you have had the thermometer in place long enough or have put properly in place to get an accurate reading being absent will lead to some number of false readings. Since the places you take your temperature don't allow you to visually check the process you just have to guess you have it propperly seated and have it in place for the correct amount of time.
Customer Review: Easy and basic to use
Summary: 4 Stars
I did a lot of reviewing before buying my BD Basal Digital Thermometer. I wanted something that most of the people liked, that they found it to be easy to use and very basic. I didn't need a lot of bells and whistles. And I am very pleased with this thermometer.
The Good: I like that it is basic. You press a button, it lights up, it beeps to let you know it is ready. You place it under your tongue and wait. It will beep to let you know that it is still working (and for me, keeps me from falling asleep with the thing in my mouth) then it beeps in a different sequence to let you know it is done. When you turn on the thermometer, it has the last temperature taken lit up on the screen. Which is handy if you have fallen back into your coma and failed to write down your temp for the morning.
The Bad: I wake up at 6:15am every morning to do this and my only complaint with it is that it does not light up to give you your temp rating. When it is finished taking your temp, it will beep to let you know, but doesn't light itself up, I usually have to turn my phone on or move my alarm over so I can read it to record the temp.
Some people said the beeping has woken up their partners. And while the beeping is a bit loud, it is not too loud to be distracting. In fact my husband woke the first morning I started using the thermometer, having had a nightmare about a bomb, but now, he tells me, he hardly hears it, if at all.
I would recommend this little guy. It is easy to use, hard to screw up and there is that nice little `fail safe' in case you do forget to write down your temp. With the only problem being the light up screen that doesn't happen, I'm satisfied with the product....until the BD Basal Digital Thermometer 2.0 comes out ;)
Customer Review: Not Great
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought this thermometer for ovulation charting because it was supposed to be the "best". I had been using a CVS brand thermometer that was accurate but took FOREVER to get a reading. So I was really looking forward to the quick readings this one promised. Alas - here's the breakdown:
The Good: It beeps every 4 seconds so long as you have it in the right spot in your mouth. If the consistent beeping stops, you've opened your mouth or moved it so you know you need to turn it off and start over. I like this feature at 6AM when I'm half asleep and have the tendency to fall asleep and move the thermometer. The beeps don't bother my husband, but he is a hard sleeper. It also has an amazingly quick read-out time. It takes under a minute if you have it in the right spot.
The Bad: The accuracy is poor. It only has a readout to 1 decimal place (most basal thermometers have 2). It has also been giving me wildly erratic readings. I've been charting for years so I'm pretty diligent about doing it first thing in the morning, at the same time, without moving. There's nothing that should be causing such erratic temperatures, especially when the beeps are indicating that I'm holding it correctly. I don't know if I just got a defective one or what.
Summary: If it's not accurate, it's worthless, so I'm going back to my old SLOW thermometer :-( I was so excited about this too.
Customer Review: Still on the fence
Summary: 4 Stars
I got this thermometer last week and I'm still not sure how I like it. It does do the beeping thing as stated but what I don't like is its easy to delete the last temperature reading. After it beeps that its done, it doesn't light up so I have to turn it on again to look at the temp. Then later, if I didn't write it down, I'm screwed because its now deleted since I had to turn it on to view it the first time. It seems to only hold the last temp until you turn it on again. Problem is....you have to turn it on to view it the first time! Also, as with all digital thermometers, I really don't like how its designed. Hard to keep a top-heavy thermometer in place without holding it. Kind of annoying, but like I said, thats with all digital therm's. Overall, I suppose this one is equal to any other therm. I've used so I've rated it 4 stars. Nothing special but I did like the free shipping...
UPDATE: Now that I've used it for a week I'm deciding I don't like this one. Concept is great but it doesn't stay lighted long enough to read it. Also, I'm wondering if it is truly working correctly because no matter what time it is...my temp is always the same--97.3. I think it must be broken. Will be trying a different brand. I'm really disappointed in this item!!