We already have temp monitoring devices specifically made with PC systems in mind, be it hardware or software. There’s the Compunurse, which is a digital thermometer to monitor temps from a single source. There’s the Digidoc, which is basically a digital thermometer, yet with other features such as Case fan control and multiple temp readings. There’s Motherboard Monitor, which is a software based monitoring system that uses your mobo’s internal temperature monitoring capabilities. And also, there’s the LCD/VFD setup, which can display temperatures, but depends on MBM to be able to do this. Today, we will explore the wonders Radio Shack has to offer (admit it. You hate the shack, and yet you still go back).

   We shall take advantage of Radio Shack’s Indoor/Outdoor dual display digital thermometer. First off, why use this? One, it’s on sale at $9.99, which is much cheaper than a Compunurse. It displays two temps at the same time, compared to a Compunurse with only one. What else? It’s readily available, just go in a local Radio Shack and get one. It’s cheap, so a modding disaster won’t hurt (well, not that much). And also, hopefully, nobody has done this before, so that makes this very special :o). And of course, it’s a good excuse to mod. I guess that’s the only thing all of you are waiting to here. So with that explained, let’s move on.

   This is how it looks like untouched by the modding hands. It has a MAX temp, MIN temp and RESET button. The MAX and MIN buttons are used to set the max and min temps. I don’t see any use for this to be honest. The RESET button just resets or refreshes the temps. It refreshes every 10 seconds. A bit long, unless you want to press the RESET button every 5 seconds, it’s up to you (Hmm. A 555 timer, a transistor, variable resistors… wink wink). As you can see, the temps are displayed in Celsius/Centigrade. It can be set to display temps in Fahrenheit with just a flick of a slide switch over the battery holder. The long white wire is for the temperature sensor for the OUTSIDE temps. If you read the manual, it is recommended not to lengthen or shorten the wire for it will affect the reading. I may be wrong but with my understanding of temperature sensor, this seems to be fallacious. The INSIDE temp temperature sensor is located inside (no pun intended).