If you have ever wanted to build your own weather station, then this book is for you. Weather Toys presents the first complete do-it-yourself guide to building a professional-grade weather station. Since you build it, you can customize it to your needs. Want 5 temperature sensors? You can do that. Want to turn on a heater on when it gets below freezing to protect your citrus trees? You can do that too. Each hardware project has a corresponding software project that you also build. Whether you're using Windows or Mac OS X, the included software projects are easy to build and run. Since you write the code, you can hack it to your needs. But don't worry, even if you have never written code before, you can complete these projects and all source code is available for download.

The book contains 18 real-world projects from building the weather sensors to posting weather data on the Internet, to controlling appliances and adding a stand-alone microcontroller. Click the button below to take a quick tour of the projects.

Each of the hardware projects has a complete parts lists and schematic so, in many cases, you can build you project from scratch. Weather Toys has teamed up with Hobby-Boards to offer many of the projects in kit or fully assembled form.

The Software

Weather Toys not only shows you how to build the various weather sensors, it also guides you through the process of creating your own weather station software. Coded in Java, you'll build a software project called SimpleWeather that works in both Windows, Mac OS X, and many versions of Linux. SimpleWeather starts off, well, simple. You'll learn step-by-step how to add the code to read your weather sensors and display it on your computer. Some of the more advanced projects show you how to add a web server so you can share your weather data on the Internet, control appliances based on weather, and build a smart home thermostat.

All software projects are written in Java, an easy to learn object-oriented programming language. Even if you have never written code before, you will be guided step-by-step. All software tools used are available as free downloads. Source code for all the projects, as well as completed version for those who prefer not to write the code, are available for download. Also included is the ExtremeTech™ Weather Server, a complete software application ready to run. Many free, shareware, and commercial software packages are available for your 1-Wire Station too. See the Links page for more info.

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What Readers are saying...

"...I like your book, nice to get a good blend of hardware and software in working projects...thanks for a great book!!!!" - Robert P.

"I have been wanting to learn Java for some time. Your book is a great stepping stone providing a real application. Thanks!" - Jim S.

"Building my own weather station is fun and your book makes it easy." - Greg C.

"I've just about finished reading your book and it is marvelous..." - John C.

"Just a quick note to say how much I am enjoying your book. It's highly readable, very informative, and perfectly laid out to handle the tech side without boring the reader. I've had a Davis system for a few years now and now, with your help, I'm looking forward to supplementing that with a one wire system with additional lightning and irrigation control. Keep up the good work." - Ric P.

Weather Toys: Building and Hacking Your Own 1-Wire Weather Station
Tim Bitson
ISBN: 0-470-04046-7
Paperback 475 pages