Kitchen Light Says “You Have Mail”

Kitchen Light Says “You Have Mail” FARM HOME Kitchen Arnold Truitt says that setting up an electric mailbox indicator to let you know when the mail has arrived makes sense if you have unpredictable delivery times and a 400-ft walk to the mailbox For 16 years a small light under a kitchen shelf has let Truitt know when the mail has been delivered “I buried a line to the mailbox using inside telephone wiring 4-wire insulated in a shallow trench next to the driveway The system uses a micro-switch inside the mailbox with a lever that releases when the box is opened The micro-switch sends a short through the wiring to operate a self-locking 12-volt relay when the door is opened ” he explains The indicator console that connects to the lamp has a transformer that reduces the relay and lamp circuit to about 12-volt DC Truitt can toggle the switch to off when on vacation and he added a test feature to simulate the box opening “It was a little complicated to set up ” says the telephone company employee “but it’s very reliable It saves me a lot of unnecessary trips to the mailbox and was a lot of fun to build ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Arnold Truitt 21333 Marsh Rd Georgetown Delaware 19947 ph 302 856-7820

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