I actually like it better than my PACT as it seems less finicky and just as accurate. Dave is right about no wall-wart DC adaptor though. The good news is (as far as the batteries) that it takes a size 2032 coin cellwhich are available most everywhere for about a buckapiece or less (much less in bulk). That happens to be the same size battery as is on most computer motherboards so I have a bunch of them.