I wasn't sure about the best solution in that regards. I did add a small hollow tube that helps equalize pressure from thermal cycles, to prevent the lid from being popped out. So I guess I did allow a pathway for moisture to move in and out. I'll see how it fairs over a longer period of time.

Sounds fun. Good luck! I wish the ESP32CAM module had more available IO pins. Would make it much more useful.

duck sign, isn't that crazy? :)

tell all your friends ;)

I was aiming for, in my mind, the simplest and most reliable solution. My mailbox gets battered by crazy weather a lot. Particularly, high winds. I hope the solar cell will be able to keep the battery topped up in perpetuity.

the sample sketches for espcam have a few clever tricks that can do facial detection in the video stream; so tasking it to say "that doesn't look empty" should be super simple.

Very true

@@frollard At the moment the ESP isn't holding on to the images, just sends them off. But yes, the processor should definitely have enough grunt to run some sort of simple comparison.

Agreed, with a plastic mailbox I could have just dropped it in there. But I was working with what I had on hand (and I didn't like the plastic mailboxes I could find). Personally, I quite like the solar cell. It makes the entire thing completely autonomous.

I've been eyeing these sensors keenly for some time. Will have to get my hands on a few.

Or you could put a scale in there

@@Max24871 anything is possible.

Thanks and yeah you could do some rudimentary image processing on the esp32 to see if there is something in the box and then send some kind of push notification. You'd have to be carefully rationing your energy demands though. Would be interesting to try out.

You may also need to identify whether the 'you have mail' state has eight legs.

I'm not only interested if there is something in the mail, but also what it is. Don't want to make the trip for circulars but little yellow packages get me excited ;) Yes, I get images after dark since I am using the flash LED during capture.

Yes, many ways to do this. But keep in mind whatever switches and pressure sensors you use need to be highly weather/water proof. And pressure sensors that can react to the weight of a letter would likely also be tripped by to the crazy winds around here.

That's on my todo list :)

Not sure. The esp32 has a limited number of available pins, most of them used. I guess it would boil down to finding a module using a camera that can more effectively sleep via software command rather then relying on an external pin. If you don't run of a battery, or use a larger solar cell, the 6mA sleep current probably won't be an issue.

yes, not a bad idea.

I'm getting ready to build the same thing, except I'm skipping the camera and only sending weather data. Using WiFi, the ESP32 will serve a web page with the data. Solar powered with TP4056, and 2 18650's.

@@johntoe6127 That's great, I haven't started to think about the power side of things. Which weather data are you sending? As I mentioned I am concerned I don't have enough inputs.

@@caetzar My plan is to connect to WiFi. That's cheaper and less complicated than cellular. The ESP32 will then serve a web page with the weather data. I purchased an anemometer, and wind vane sensor from aliexpress $25+shipping. Search: 30m/s Weather Station Outdoor 3 Cup Anemometer Sensor Polycarbon Fiber Wind Speed Wind Direction Sensor Output RS485 4-20MA 0-5V (be sure and get the 0-5V kit). Power will be from a 6"x6" solar panel, into a TP4056 (protected board) and 2 18650 batteries in parallel. Output from TP4056 is to a small boost converter giving 5V that powers everything. I also include an INA219 in the + lead of the battery. This allows battery voltage, and solar charge current to be reported. So, bme280 provides temp, pressure, and humidity. Anemometer and wind vane, solar level, charge current and battery voltage will all be reported over the web page. Pole made from iron pipe, and top made from 2" PVC Pipe, which will provide case for ESP32, boost converter, INA219, TP4056, Batteries, and bme280. Programmed to sleep a lot in the middle of the night when the wind is calm, and there's no solar input.

Thanks John, how will you attach all the inputs to the esp32-cam? I can't see many other than 12,13,14,15.

@@caetzar I'm using a standard ESP32-DEV-KIT , so no problem with the number of inputs. Since you want video (which is really a good idea), I think I'd just add another ESP32 to handle all the weather data and battery/solar data. Dedicate the ESP-CAM to handling and serving the video. You can power both of them off of the solar/battery setup. You could let the ESP-CAM sleep all the time and have the ESP32-DEV-KIT wake it when video was requested (using one of the spare inputs).

Not sure what you mean with running the cam 24/7. The 6mA power consumption stated in the vid was for deep sleep. So only when the board is doing absolutely nothing. As soon as it's awake and processing camera data the consumption goes up. Anyhow, whatever you do it depends on how much energy your solar cell can provide (in the worst weather). Whatever you consume during the day/night will have to be replenished the next time the sun comes up. Otherwise the battery will slowly drain. A 2000mAh battery can (very roughly) supply 2000mA for 1 hour. Or 20mA for 100 hours and so on.

​@@fhuable 24/7 video streaming, I read the power consumption of the esp32 during this state and found it was drawing 240 mA. So I purchased a 9watt - 6volt solar panel along with a 10ah lipo battery. Currently running test to see how well it charges over time. I was able to get 2 days of power with the battery alone and can charge the battery in less than 6 hours. (in max sunlight conditions). But ill probably implement some battery saving features like deep sleep if the battery capacity dips below a certain amount nad have it power back on when the battery is recharged. Not ideal but it helps. Thanks for the help!

Yep, definitely New Zealand :D Btw, love the user name!

@@fhuable Yep. My favourite character, in my favourite TV series. JMS was a genius, when he concepted & produced Babylon 5. Just wish the filming had been mastered in HD/real32mm.

YES! :D (hopefully, the coming reboot will leave the legacy intact)

@@fhuable I guess time will tell. Historically, redos can't capture the original essence, & interaction of the writers, actors & directors (in that order). Hope I'm proven wrong.

of course :D

My neighbours must be particularly nice. To this day it remains unsmashed (fingers crossed).

Is it ? The level seemed alright to me..

I agree, this project is excellent, the volume of the soundtrack is distracting.

My thought was the simpler the design the smaller the chance of something breaking or wearing out over time.

@@fhuable good point. Engineers tend to overcomplicate

Are you asking about the wifi range of the ESP32 module? It is not bad, currently reaching about maybe 15m to my router, through a brick wall and a tree. Although that is probably close to the maximum I can get in my current environment. Lot's of 2Ghz networks present around me.

I don't care if the lid has been opened but rather if there is something worthwile in the mailbox. Newspapers e.g are not worth the trip.

@@fhuable yeah I know, didn't mean that as an insult or anything. Loved the project but just thought about that 😂

@@fhuable Also : weight sensor. But I love what you did with the camera. Way better :)

As this particular incarnation transmits images, LoRa probably doesn't have enough bandwidth.

I admit I had been oblivious to the existence of ESPHome until this very moment.

Thanks. The battery is still going strong even though this yeah has seen the worst weather. The solar cell has gone a bit milky, I suspect the coating was meant for indoors and doesn't hold up too well to the high UV radiation of the outdoors but so far there is no noticable performance degradation.

Yeah I'm sure it's not the most efficient. I can still see the MPPT pumping the battery at lower light levels though which I imagine a non-boost circuit wouldn't be able to do. And yes, 1mA is still a little on the high side. I haven't looked into the SD card too much which is responsible for about half of that when not in use. The camera seems to power down the sensor and memory but I think the processor is still somewhat awake. It has a software command for deep sleep, too, but I read there are problems waking it back up w/o a power cycle so didn't try that.

@@fhuable Excellent, I noticed that there was some reasoning missing in the video, bummer with SD cards!