usps8266

ESP8266-based snailmail alert system

Receiver BOM

1. Project enclosure (1)
2. Veroboard, stripboard, etc. (1)
3. LED (1)
4. Resistor for aforementioned LED (1)
5. ENC28J60 Ethernet Module (1)
6. ATmega328p-based device -- whatever has enough GPIO pins to talk to a ENC28J60 (1)
7. 2.1mm center-positive DC jack (1)
8. M/F DuPont wires (1)
9. Hookup wire for the DC jack (1)
10. Wall wart with enough juice to power both the ENC28J60 & the dev board and not fry either. You probably want a 9V 1A (1)
11. And whatever glue, tape, screws or chewing gum to secure the boards in the enclosure

Monitor BOM

1. ESP8266 module. I used an ESP-07 w/ adapter plate (1)
2. USB-to-TTL module (CP2102 works best; YMMV) Probably not a PL2303 if you're using a Mac. (1)
3. Reed Switch Pair (like this) (1)
4. 10kΩ resistors (5)
5. Handful of hookup/breadboard/dupont wire
6. "OFF (ON)" momentary switch; one for "mailbox reset" functionality, the other for resetting the ESP8266 (2)
7. Solar panel
8. Rechargeable AA batteries (2)
9. Appropriate enclosure (1)
10. (Optional) External WiFi antenna (1)