Mail Has Arrived

[@127001er]

Good idea and a great finish to the video with a live demonstration at the end.

[@gerardchiusano2869]

What a great, yet simple, design. After racking my brain and scouring the internet, you have the best idea! I'm going to make one for myself! Thank you!

[@AgglomeratedIdeas]

Go for it! Mine is still working just fine after all these years. After all, gravity is pretty dependable. Thanks for commenting.

[@jimbohnenkamp5082]

If only I could see the side of my mailbox instead of the back.

[@gerardchiusano2869]

I just made mine but I believe I made an improvement. I'm happy with it, maybe you'll like it too! I used no magnet, no glue, no steel stock that will eventually rust. I installed a piece of aluminum bar stock horizontally on the door. It extends about 1" over the left edge of the door. Another piece of aluminum bar stock is attached on the left side of the box with a bolt at the far end of the bar (away from the door) so that it can pivot. This "side bar" rests horizontally on top of the front bar that's on the door. When the door is opened, the bar on the side simply pivots and drops down. That's your signal that the mail has been delivered....the bar now being in the vertical position. Simple and durable....aluminum bar stock, stainless screws.... no magnets, no gluing magnets, no steel to rust. I painted my aluminum bar stock black after fabrication but prior to installation to match the mailbox. The whole thing cost me about 12" of 1" aluminum bar stock ($2.25), 3 stainless steel bolts (#10 x 24), a few stainless washers, a few stainless nuts and a bit of spray paint....all in all about $3-$4 bucks.

[@AgglomeratedIdeas]

Awesome! That sounds like that should would great. Thanks for sharing.

[@gizzyguzzi]

I like your solution. It's not what I'm here for, but it's brilliant!

[@MaxPowersHedgehog]

Thank you, this is the easiest DIY system I have seen. Great!

[@timotb1]

Gets an "A" in my book for simplicity.

[@AgglomeratedIdeas]

Thanks for commenting Timothy. Gravity is pretty reliable and my indicator is still working after 6 years. Cheers!

[@AgglomeratedIdeas]

Thanks for the heads-up on that Arduino project. Very interesting! It looks like overkill for my mailbox, but I may give that a try on my garage door. I wanted something simple on my mailbox that didn’t require batteries, etc. This solution is powered by gravity and I have found that to be fairly dependable…at least I don’t recall an instance where gravity was not working. :-)

[@pudgybastard]

Brilliant in it's simplicity.

[@WinAtLottery]

If you're handy enough to open up a hard drive, you may want to look into an arduino board to send you a message to your phone when your mail has arrived so you will know even in Hawaii if your mail has been delivered. Do a google search and check out "My Door Opener" (should be the first hit) and read some of the documentation there. That web site is for checking and opening a garage door with an iPhone but a mailbox would be easier since you don't have to wire it to switch a garage opener.

[@GereDJ2]

Function all depends on visibility angle of indicator arrow.

[@duubtuub3071]

Love it. Thinking now to do same thing with a "yard flag" like what is used to mark locations of utility lines. Imagining two small-diam 360 degree bends in the wire part, one at the end opposite the flag, and one for a pivot a few inches away. Bolt it on at the pivot hole, and attach a weight at the bend in the end and--with your genius magnet--voi la.

[@AgglomeratedIdeas]

Sounds good. There are many ways to do this sort of thing and if the video gets you thinking creatively, then it is serving its purpose. Cheers.

[@mikelowry1493]

@@AgglomeratedIdeas ii

[@jitterdude]

like it very much - smart. i also came across a door hinge idea also on youtube. look it up no holes or glue. i think this would be more visible. thank you

[@sailyn55]

What a clever design. I'm mashing one tomorrow. Thanks!

[@SirNC89]

Simple and helpful

[@rmhutchins7]

I enjoyed your video. Ingenious! It was very helpful. Thank you!

[@kareno8634]

THE Best! Cheers ~ *

[@stevebaker590]

Thanks for the idea, I am mocking it up as well. I a using 1" x 3/8" strong magnet from Menard's for $1.59 in their hardware dept.

[@carolschedler3832]

🎉🎉

[@aramiaidear]

Genius!

[@dentalslj]

I thought the same thing. GENIUS!

[@escapefromny2012]

This is a great idea, but that's what the mail box flag is for. It's been part of the mail box design for decades. The mail carrier is suppose to put the flag up when they deliver the mail.

[@AgglomeratedIdeas]

Thanks for commenting, but they don’t do that here. The flags were originally designed only for incoming mail delivery to signal the mailman to pick up outgoing mail. Later, the flag was raised not only by the resident to signal the mailman of outgoing mail, but also by the mailman to inform the recipient that incoming mail had been delivered which is/was a convenience to all during periods of inclement weather. The practice of raising to the flag to notify the recipient of incoming mail is still practiced in a few areas - mostly rural. However, even if the mailman did raise the flag for incoming mail, it would not necessarily help. If I have outgoing mail and raise the flag, and then the mailman makes a delivery (leaving the flag up as a notification) it would not serve the purpose I need. If I looked out at the mailbox I would not know if I had a delivery or not.

[@SirNC89]

No, the flag is to notify a letter being SENT.