The Vantage Vue arrived. Inside the box was the Integrated Sensor Suite (ISS) and the console. I also ordered a pole mounting kit.
The Integrated Sensor Suite was basically pre-assembled and looked a lot better as a single unit than my previous weather station. There was a brief assembly process to attach the wind cups, wind vane, debris screen, rain collector tipping spoon assembly and the battery. It went together very quickly.
I next added three “C” batteries to the console unit and followed the initial startup procedures. The only thing that I had to look up was my latitude and longitude. Once it was turned on, the console and sensor suite started communicated wirelessly.
I took a look at the pole mounting kit. It was basically two interlocking metal tubes. The manual said it was designed to connect to a wood post. However, I was going to mount next to another metal post that is part of a chain linked fence in my backyard. So, the next day I went to a hardware store to get a longer metal pipe. The requirements were the post needed to be between 1” and 1-3/4”. Their mounting kit was 1-1/4” so I figured that was the best size. I had a slight issue thinking about how to get a 10’ metal pipe into my SUV. But, it fit.
The next day I cut the 10’ pipe into two sections to make it easier to wrap the bottom section around the existing fence pole and secure that with straps. I then used a coupler for the top section. I took the top section and attached the sensor unit. I then took that whole assembly outside and attached it to the bottom section. It looked great!!!
I checked the console unit and date was flowing in. I took a quick glance at the console manual and found the command to reset all the data. My next step is to read the console manual and figure out all the features.