Recommended Peace of Mind
Written: Nov 12 '06
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Good, quality device that's lasted.
Cons: Two scary false alarms, annoying setup requirement (board)
The Bottom Line: A good quality device. Sorry, I'm guessing at the price.
|
|
|
| sprint_sucks's Full Review: Bebesounds Ac201 Angelcare Baby Movement Sensor Wi... |
Disclaimer: without a photo, I can't guarantee that this is exactly the same model as we have. Ours has a base station, a detachable movement monitor and a parent's station that can plug in or operate off of a 9-volt battery.
After extensive research, my wife decided this was the best option for us. We had a hard time finding a place that had it in stock but BabyCenter.com got some more in stock the day after we had purchased a different one from Target.com. (For the sake of the story, I'll lie and say that we canceled our order with Target.com. Maybe I'll write a review on Target.com and you can learn the real story.)
Motion Sensor
Anyhow, so we got the one from baby-center. First off, in order to use the motion sensor, you need to have a flat surface to place the pad on, underneath the mattress. In most cribs I've seen, there's only springs underneath the mattress. I had a spare piece of wood lying around from an home improvement project so I placed it underneath the device.
The instructions say that the piece of wood should be as large as the mattress. Ours wasn't.
Our daughter never stopped breathing, though plenty of times we left the device on after removing her from the crib. Without fail, the alarm would sound loudly. So, we knew it worked.
On several occasions, the baby rolled into the corner, resting against the bars of the crib. The device no longer detecting her movement, sounded. And we started from sleep, ran in there to find her peacefully sleeping through the racket. That was several unneeded heart attacks, but it was good to know the device was on the job and we wondered if the false alarms were from using a piece of wood less than the recommended size.
The way the alarm sounds is just that it beeps on the base. If you are within range of the base, or if you have the remote listening "angel" turned on, you'll hear the beeping being broadcast along with any noises.
In order to keep the baby from playing with it and to keep the cord from being anywhere where she could get to it, we put the entire base station in the shallow drawer below the crib. It's worked really well.
The motion sensor attaches to the base by a cord with a simple plug that can be removed when you no longer need to use the motion sensor.
Listening Station
The listening station is great. After two and a half years, we still use the sound monitor portion. (We don't still use the movement part, we figure she's beyond the danger of sids.) But we still use the listening station when we're watching TV after she goes to bed since it's a floor and half below her and we wouldn't be able to hear her if she makes noise otherwise.
We've used the monitor in two different houses now (a single-level 1950's stucco, lathe-and-plaster and a 1980's wood-siding, sheetrock-over-wood-frame), both plugged in and on batteries. We've hardly had any interference whatsoever and the sound quality is really good. We haven't experienced any interference with any of our cordless phones, wi-fi devices and it hasn't seemed phased by those devices or nearby microwave ovens or vacuum cleaners.
My only complaint is that after moving it around for over two years and plugging it in and unplugging it, the cord is getting really touchy. You have to wiggle the cord where it connects to the device to get a decent connection. And occasionally it will end up turning back off because the cord has moved enough. A simple replacement adapter from Radio Shack would fix that problem if it got to be annoying enough.
If I were to do anything differently the next time around, I would get two listening stations so there was less moving it around.
The station has a switch for off and two levels of volume and to switch between channels A and B.
Seems to have a decent battery life - uses a single 9V battery. (We mostly use it plugged in, though.)
The Base
The base contains controls to turn the transmitter off, on, and on-with-motion sensor. Another control sets it between A and B.
The base can also server as a base to set the listening station on, but there's no function beyond aesthetics - makes it look like a larger angel - as it doesn't serve to recharge the batteries or anything.
This is a really solid device.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
sprint_sucks
|
|
Location: Seattle, Wash.
Reviews written: 108
Trusted by: 26 members
About Me:
Crikey.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.