If the bobber is up, the door is open. This does not necessarily tell
you if there is mail inside.

When the door closes again, are you saying that the weight of the
washer is enough to hold the bobber high on the back, allowing the cord
between the washer and the door to curl up?? If the washer is heavy
enough, and the bobber light enough, yes. I might go for a 3/8 nut
rater than the washer just to be sure.

Then when you walk out to get the mail, you pull the bobber back down
into place.

RLM wrote:
On Fri, 01 Sep 2006 00:09:40 +0000, Kurt Gavin wrote:


Good idea.


Thank you.

"Everything should be made as simple as possible,
but not one bit simpler."
-- Attributed to Albert Einstein --



"RLM" wrote in message
. ..

On Wed, 30 Aug 2006 17:43:26 +0000, Kurt Gavin wrote:


I'm talking about those standard roadside USPS boxes.

Mine's in front of the house and I'm wondering if there's a gadget
that can
tell you by sight, or maybe electric trip switch, if there's something
in the box.

Thanks

COPY and PASTE to a text editor such as notepad so you can make sense
of the crude drawing.


Mailbox not to proportion.
___________
front k||\ /| rear
|| \ cord/ |\
|| \ / | \
||___\O/___| B fishing bobber


|| = door & front opening of mailbox
k = knot
O = 3/8" flat washer.
B = fishing bobber
Cord = string as found on blinds approx.1/8" dia.

Drill small hole in *door* near top to run cord through and tie knot.

Cord goes inside mailbox with a 3/8" *flat washer* tied in the middle
with a single overhand knot so washer position can be adjusted.

Drill small hole in back of mailbox and thread (pass) cord through and
connect fishing float (bobber) to end of cord so that when door is
opened, the bobber is pulled to top of the rear of the mailbox.

The 3/8" flat washer is enough weight to hold the bobber high on the
back of the box once the door has been opened and mail deposited.

Retrieve mail and pull bobber to the down position.

Debur and smooth hole in rear of mailbox so cord lasts longer.

I used one like this for years. Looked out the window to see if the
bobber was up. Saved walking 100' to the street to check if mailman had
run. I'm now overweight to prove it.