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

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.

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 :)

Is it ? The level seemed alright to me..

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.

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.

Ultimately, the alghorithm is color blind. It just tries to maximize the best next connection, currently using the 'brighness' of the thread as an idicator. If you want black thread on white bg you could just invert the image you're feeding it. Alternatively, I vagely remember an option to invert the colors in the code/json config.

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

but I'm judging the picture of Einstein)

That's a cool idea!

You can find the code on github.

yes, not a bad idea.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

If you can get data to FTP server in your network, then you can do anything from there with other means. IMHO these small devices should be as stupid as possible, for not just security reasons, but as well for the stability reasons, as too much can go wrong with everything trying to be "smart". So let the home server be the one requiring maintenance, where small devices does just the minimal amount of tasks as possible.

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!

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).