This weekend I set up Bios Home Weather Station:

Which has the following specs:

• Temperature range: -40ºF to 120ºC
• Wireless technology (60 meters)
• Wind Chill calculator (ºF to ºC)
• Indoor relative humidity RH%
• Digital Rain Sensor (cm/in)
• Barometric pressure (in Hg/mb)
• Wind speed direction (mph/km)
• Barometric trend
• 12 Hour Forecast
• Indoor & Outdoor temperature (ºC to ºF)

The kit was on sale for $79, regularly $99, so I though I would take a low-risk plunge in meteorology. It takes awhile to setup the kid. Figuring out where to put your anemometer+weather vane (i.e., wind speed direction sensor) so it catches the wind in an unbiased manner is challenging. Couldn't find a spot on the top of the house (didn't want to drill into the roof peak) and one good spot I found (mounted vertically on a 12 foot 2x4 on our elevated deck) was not aesthetically pleasing to my wife. In the end, we agreed to set it up at the back of our garage (mostly used to hold bikes, tools, and stuff we don't want in the house). On the top of a 12 foot 2x4, I placed a small 2x4 perpendicular to the vertical 12 foot 2x4. The top of this squished T structure is where I mounted the wind speed direction sensor and the rain sensor. From here I ran the telephone wire across the inside of the garage to another side and out again though the soffits. I did this so that the wireless transmitter was closer, and faced fewer obstructions, to the home weather station receiver. I can see the wind and rain sensors and the transmitter from my dining room window where the Home Weather Station unit resides.

Where I screwed up is I didn't sight the vane to the north so my wind direction readings (0 degrees to 359 degrees) are not comprehensible without knowing what the correction should be. I guess I goofed up, or else my goof up reflects an area where the Bios weather kit might be improved; namely, in making it irrelevant in what direction you sight the sensor; the sensor in conjuction with the software (gps software?) should be able to figure out the relevant adjustments to make. On the other hand, I've gotten my money's worth out of the learning process so far. I need to buy a compass, so that I can reset the direction of the weather vane to the north.

In the late afternoon I will have a day's worth of data and some of the other functions of the Home Weather system should start working; namely, the display of barometric pressure levels over the last 24 hours and the weather forecast component (predicts 4 possible types of weather).