The La CROSSE WS-2317 Professional Weather Center with RS-232 computer interface was installed because it cost only $99 and included the computer interface. It also seemed attractive because it offered wired or wireless connection between the sensors and the console unit.
The package is worth the $99 but would not be worth the list price of $279. The wind, rain and temperature sensors are individual units so a location for each must be determined. The sensors must be wired together and the package includes about 30 feet of wire for each sensor. This can result in a lot of wire to deal with. It was decided to build a weather pole similar to more expensive units and mount the wind, rain and temperature sensors together. The wires (standard flat telephone cord) were cut and new RJ-6 telephone plugs were installed. The wires are soldered to the sensors so if an RJ-6 plug crimp tool is not available it might be possible to re-solder the wires in the sensor units. Sometimes it is very difficult to solder the tiny flat telephone cord wires however.
An aluminum sign was bent 90 degrees to create a platform for the rain sensor and a shaded backplate for the temperature sensor. See picture above for details. The aluminum was fastened to schedule 4 PVC pipe. The wind sensor was mounted above the rain sensor. This would not qualify for a professional weather station. Since the anemometer is below the wind vane, there will be turbulence from the mounting pole and rain sensor. The shield over the temperature sensor is not a quality solar radiation shield and the instructions say to mount the temperature sensor out of direct sun. It will make a fine residential weather station, especially when coupled with wview software. See this related post about installing wview
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