I agree. And that would likely be good enough for most people that "require" this type of thing, you and I included. Problem is...I could presumably sit out there all day long and open and close that box; you'd never actually know if there was mail present. Furthermore the OP specifically states they are not willing to only monitor the door...they want actual proof of new mail. With a pressure sensor or light sensor and in combination with a contact on the door he could not only have the programming go high when there is mail present but track the open/close of the door along with it.

My initial thought would be this:

- Pressure or light sensor monitors the presence of any and all mail.
- A contact monitors the open/close of the door.
- When client places outgoing mail they clear the state on a touch panel.
- If someone opens the door but the pressure/light sensor never changes status...no alert or just a door open alert.
- If mailman opens the door and the pressure/light sensor changes from closed to open then back to closed...mail alert occurs.
- If mailman opens the door and the pressure/light sensor changes from closed to open and remains open...no mail alert occurs or an alert than mail has been picked up but nothing new was delivered.
- Done :-)

Of course this is all silly and unnecessary...but cool; kind of like most of what we do haha!

soooo, can a presure sensor tell the difference between mail, a snake, or a hornets nest?

All in all, its a neat concept, although a camera with anyalitics (sp?) watching for the mailman would be a better bet.
Honostly if the walk to the mailbox is that big a deal perhaps its time to invest in a golf cart as well.

Of course not. That's where the insecticide and rodent misting system come into play. This will be the worlds most expensive mailbox.

dont these types of people just pay other people to go get the mail, open it and throw out the junk?

:)

Yeah but,it would be cool!

I only have to walk about 150ft down the driveway to check the mail and I've already put the plan in motion with photo sensors.

Not because I need to......just because I can!!

The only thing slowing me down is the trench for the conduit run.......it's a lot easier when your getting paid to do it ;-)

LOL, I think it needs a trap door as well to automaticly dispose of the dead vermin.

Get a mailbox at the local UPS store and have their employee text when they have mail and how many envelopes ;)

That thing is ginormous if you see it in person, its about as big as my hand.