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“Back Side” Mailbox Alert
“I thought your readers might be interested in how I modified the flag on my mailbox to tell me when the mail has arrived. It saves me from walking out twice a day to the mailbox, only to find out there’s no mail in it,” says Mike Peterson, Bellingham, Wash.
Peterson’s mailbox is located about 80 ft. from his house. “Four different mail carriers come by our house every day, but I never know if I’ve got mail unless I see them stop,” he says. “So when my mailbox recently got damaged I kept the flag, bought a new mailbox, and mounted the flag upside down on the back side of it. The flag came mounted on a shaft that runs through a plastic mounting bracket that attaches to the mailbox.”
Peterson drilled a small hole through one corner of the flag and through the back side of the mailbox, and also through the door. A short length of fishing line is attached to the flag and runs inside the mailbox up to the door. He also installed a pair of washers on the flag’s shaft to create friction on the line.
“When the door is opened, the flag automatically raises to a horizontal position so I know the mail has arrived,” says Peterson. “The flag remains horizontal after the door is closed because of the friction on the shaft. After I remove the mail I shut the door and manually push the flag back down. A bracket inside the mailbox keeps the line on one side of the mailbox so it’s not in the way.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mike Peterson, 2112 Yew St. Rd., Bellingham, Wash. 98229 (ph 360 676-0971; jyllybean54@gmail.com).    


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2020 - Volume #44, Issue #6