very cool article, and I did not expect to see what the device was at the end. it wasn't until I noticed the BCD pattern, then I knew what it was.
It was a good read, but as general advice you should start with looking for information about the frequency and device in question. The willpower to avoid the checking for an easy answer was the most impressive part of the writeup. (A week in the lab can save you a day in the library.) Educationally, it is the equivalent of doing something longhand instead of punching it into a calculator. As a volunteer who provides support[1] for some SDR software, the moment anyone mentions "433.9MHz", the immediate reply is "temperature sensor". There is even a neat little program[2] that understands a wide variety of manufactures' formats.
[1] ##rtlsdr [3]
[2] https://github.com/merbanan/rtl_433
[3] Which I'm running a small fundraiser for, http://igg.me/at/rtlsdr