Well, actually, it did register -13, I just didn't recognize it! The minus sign appears in the area for the second digit (-13) so I had this weird T shape instead of a "1" digit, which I assumed meant that it was too cold to operate.
I took the thing completely apart, because there was a protective plastic film left on the glass of the readout. There's a simple circuit, similar to a wristwatch. The display is connected by electrically conductive rubber material, and the housing clamps it all down. The display has a "PM" option, but it doesn't seem to be used.
There are two pegs that can be seen on the front, and those retain the clear cover, along with the aluminium mask. These pegs are retained from behing the front by a screw.
If you want an aluminium finish, you could remove the clear piece.
The temp probes are the flat kind. Very nice. they do have a length of about 23 inches, which is convenient. The temps seem about correct, but the response time can be pretty slow: going from -13 to +20 took 30 seconds.
Putting it all backtogether, the temp display was blinking. I took the battery off, and put it back in, and everything was fine. There are no buttons or controls. There's a missing jumper on the board marked X1, but I don't know what it's for.
What I also don't know is the specs for this thing. Could it read below -19.9 deg C? I don't know! There's no manual included, just a simple (but appropriate) packaging that says "made in China". There's a pic of another model with only one temp readout.
Worth $15? Yeah, it'll do, for now.
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