This isn't really a "which system to buy" question, but I didn't see another subforum that looked more relevant for this question. If there is one, please let me know so I can post there instead.
At the moment, I'm using an Ambient Weather WS-2095, but I'm thinking I'll probably upgrade to better sensor hardware on a WeatherDuino system in the fairly short term. But if I'm going to spend the money for quality hardware, I'd like to site it as well as possible, to get the best data possible. The WS-2095 sensors are mounted on the roof, about 5' above the ridge. I'm afraid the site description is going to be a bit of wall of text, so here goes.
My home is on a large, heavily wooded lot, with a clearing measuring about 200' N-S x 125' E-W where the house is located. Mature trees, roughly 50' tall, surround this clearing on all sides. The house faces north, measures about 70' N-S x 40' E-W, and is located about 50' from the north edge of the clearing. It's roughly centered east-west (about 40' clear on either side), and about 75' from the back of the house to the south side of the clearing. Ground cover on the north side of the clearing is grass; on the south side it's mostly bare dirt with some grass.
The house itself has brick walls and asphalt shingles. The roof ridge runs north-south, and the roof pitch is about 45 degrees. The height of the ridge is 30-35'.
For now, I'm wanting to measure temp, humidity, rainfall, wind speed and direction. It would be convenient if all these could be mounted close to each other to minimize wiring, but some wires can be run if necessary. I can also, if necessary, use separate transmitter units for the wind instruments and everything else, though that would add a bit of extra expense.
As I said, the current sensors are mounted on the roof, near and about 5' above the ridge. This puts them about 60' laterally, and 10-15' below, the nearest trees. I think this is probably the best I can do for wind instruments without installing a large tower (which is out of budget, not to mention low WAF), but I'm honestly not very comfortable doing much up there with the roof pitch as steep as it is. This means I'm probably not going to be as diligent about maintaining it as I should be.
As for temp/humidity and rain, I'm not sure. I understand that the NWS standard for both of those is 5' off the ground, but I'm concerned about either the house or the trees blocking rain if I mount the rain sensor there. On the roof, it's pretty clear, but I understand the higher elevation can cause accuracy problems. For temp/humidity, the heat off the shingles could interfere, but a good FARS should reduce if not eliminate that problem.
