[Mime] lives on one of the upper levels of an apartment complex. The mailboxes, being located at the ground floor can be somewhat inconvenient to check regularly. [Mime] decided to rig up a device to let him know when his mailbox had been accessed. He started with a wireless doorbell, thinking he could use the door side button inside his mailbox as a trigger with only some slight modification. On the receiver side, he wanted an LED to flash, letting him know that it was time to check his mail. One simple circuit and a self blinking LED later and the whole setup was finished. Great job [Mime]
[mime] or [meme] make up your choice :p
I was thinking about making this for a while, using an optical switch to determine if there is something or not in the mail box.
I like this simple idea with sensing the open lid.
oh man, cant believe i didnt think of this. i was gonna run cables.
gave me a idea
Hmm.. since I go outside almost every day I just peak into the lid.. :)
I like it, I think it would be wise to include a small card inside the mailbox explaining what the device is. Mailmen have a hard enough job without being scared by a unknown triggering mechanism…
Lovely idea!
+1000 for the flip-flop implementation :P
Wouldn’t it be easier to use a light sensor? Mail is usually delivered in day light, so just set to signal when it detects light.
@Madcatzfight I think the switch is even better than the sensor. plsu, the switch has the advantage of not needing any power to operate. a sensor will consume some power, somehow…
Very clever, but shouldn’t it be in a stuffed animal of some sort?
Interesting use of an SR-NOR latch.
I always thought it would be cute if the cluster of apartment mailboxes had a larger red mailbox flag the postman could raise. I like your work and execution mime.
All you really need is a wooden pressure plate, and some redstone. Oh wait real life not minecraft, never mind.
I was going to build one with a light sensor that told me when the mail box door had been opened. That would set it, then when I opened it, that would reset it.
But the problem is, junk mail. It would go off every dang day anyway. So I figured I really don’t need one, I have to empty it out all the time anyway.
It should send an email notification :P
I like it. However my mailbox doest have a slot, the mail man opens up the entire front to expose all boxes. I think this would freak him out to see the entire inside. I think I would have to tell him first, or as mentioned above, a card to explain it.
Actually, a group of friends and I are currently trying to figure out how to implement something like this on my college campus that would send an e-mail when mail is delivered. We have to walk halfway across campus to get our mail, and would love a large scale system like this.
What I would like is maybe a small IR ccd camera so you would have an idea of whats in the mailbox. I don’t want to waste my time getting bank statements and bills but when I get an ebay delivery I’d like to know.
I see they’re getting as lazy in Denmark as we are here in the US. GG Europe.
You could also just replace a transistor in the receiver with an SCR and post a little note asking the mailman to push the button if he/she delivers any mail…
Haha, I wanted to build exactly this type of device for my parent’s mailbox when I was 12 or 13.
I started by salvaging the transmitter and receiver of a radio controlled toy car. But I never got around to finish this project because I got overwhelmed by the complexity of building a reliable switch activated by the mailbox’s lid.
Just train a monkey to fetch mail, and condition it by mailing bananas to yourself.
No uC! Yay. Great work, simple and effective, not over engineered either. Love it.
i did this like 5 years ago for an high school project. Seriously.
This s humorous! How about a little walk by the mailbox now and again?
Just wait til the postperson sees it and calls in the bomb squad!
@ Jacob, you mount the mercury switch behind the flap so they can’t see it. Would be impossible for the postman to see the electronics.
I am designing (on paper) a circuit that would turn on flashing LEDs at our apartment mailbox hut; it serves six large apartment buildings housing mostly elderly residents. The problem is that our mail comes anytime between 11 AM and 6:45 PM (after sundown!), so our older residents walk up to 90 yards to the hut only to find the mail box empty – – was there no mail for them today, or has the mail not come yet?
Here are the design objectives: When the postal employee closes the big doors, an LED on each of the four walls of the hut will begin to flash to indicate “mail is up”. These LEDs must be visible at 100 yards away from the hut. After about four hours of darkness, the circuit turns off the LEDs. In this climate, the circuitry must operate in a temperature range of 20 to 120° F. The circuitry must be low power, battery operated.
You cannot give a person the job of turning off the LEDs because they will forget to do it, or they will turn it off too early and thereby mis-inform other residents. The system will run off of a six-volt alkaline lantern battery and will be designed for low power operation (except for the flashing LEDs). I have designed some of the circuitry, but the wiring is getting a bit complex, so I think I will use a microcontroller such as a Basic Stamp since I don’t know assembly language or C, and since the circuit does not have to be fast. I figure an LED can be seen if it flashes 1/4 second every second; this will save power, and I would probably turn on the LEDs one at a time to even out current drain and minimize voltage fluctuations. I have a “hidden” space in the roof of the hut that would keep the circuitry dry and out of sight. The mailman thinks it is a good idea, but I would put a note behind the big door explaining the switch.
It requires a micro switch, a small solar panel or photo resistor, a timing circuit, etc. I know how to do all this, but if you have any ideas for simplifying or improving on my ideas, please comment. Thanks.
Well like someone said before, don’t care about the bills, but I do want to know when my online ordering comes in. Tracking doesn’t always save U.
So the thing I tried, which worked ok but not perfect, was get a battery operated motion detector door chime thing. purchased for like $20. Just put the motion sensor in the mail box. Cheap and easy solution. But it would go off unexpectedly. Sometimes because of a snail or breeze. Or a ghost rat for all I know. Still working on refining it properly. But I originally wanted a pressure switch, turns out this is much easier. Cool thing is you can choose any tone.