DIY Mailbox Blinking LED Indicator with Beeping Buzzer

I want to share my DIY Mailbox Indicator project. It is a type of indicator

which blinks and beeps whenever someone drops a mail or even a
chicken bone (sort of; people drop weird things in there) in the mailbox.

I made this project because we tend to forget to check our mailbox, not
until it is already the end of the month when it is time to pay our bills
and sometimes there are some important notices from the post office
about registered mails that I failed to retrieve on time. This project is
perfect for those who do not want to miss any mail or waste their time in
walking a long way just to check their mailbox, only to find nothing.

The circuit is pretty straight forward. It just involves several transistors

(mixed NPN and PNP) type, resistors, a couple of capacitors and a diode.
The idea is to make it simple and low cost. The circuit is built in two
stages, first is the latch circuit and the second is the blinker and beeper
circuit. These two circuits are separated by a lone diode, D1 which acts as
a one way valve for the positive supply between the two circuits but they
both have a common ground.

To activate the circuit you have to press S1 trigger which will turn on the
transistor Q1 by delivering positive supply to its base. Transistor Q1 will
then turn on transistor Q2 by connecting its base to the ground. Since
the base of Q2 is connected to ground, positive supply will now flow
through it and connects the base of Q1 to positive supply thru R4. This
forms a latch because even if you depress S1, positive supply will still be
provided by transistor Q2 to the base of Q1, keeping the latter on.

While transistor Q2 is on, it will also provide positive supply to the

second circuit through D1. Transistors Q3 and Q4 creates a pulse signal
which makes the LED L1 to blink. You can change the interval of blinking
by replacing the value of capacitor C3, putting a higher value C3 will
make the interval of blinking longer. Transistor Q5 and Q6 forms a
darlington pair which amplifies the signal from Q3 and Q4 and enables
the buzzer to produce a loud beep.
Now, to turn off the circuit you just press S2 reset. This action will
connect the base of transistor Q1 to ground, which will turn it off. Since
Q1 is turned off, Q2 will be also turned off and cut the positive supply to
the second circuit. D1 and R5 plays an important role in resetting the
circuit because without them Q1 will return into an on state even if you
keep pressing and depressing S2. Without D1, Q1 will be turned on by
C2 by discharging its current thru R4, it acts as a one way valve which
prevents the capacitor C2 from discharging its current to the latch
circuit. R5 in turn will reduce the sensitivity of Q1 by connecting its base
to its emitter. These two components ensures that Q1 remains off after
pressing S2.

The blinking and beeping sound is similar to that of a low battery

indicator of a smoke alarm although the rate is around 5 seconds, unlike
in smoke detectors where you hear its beeping in every 30 seconds. Its
pretty much loud but not annoying and I can hear it even from inside the
house. If you have a big real estate and your mailbox is located far away
from your house, you can just install S1 and S2 in the mailbox then lay a
wiring from it to your house to connect to the main circuit. In my case, I
just placed the whole circuit inside the mailbox and installed S1 to the lid
of the mailbox so that whenever someone pushes the lid to drop a letter
or something, the circuit will be activated.

Current consumption is very minimal. It only consumes 0.5 milliamps

when activated and zero current when in off state. I expect that my 4
series AA battery will last for a long time with this rate of consumption.

So there it is, I hope this post helps you in implementing your ideas in
making a mailbox indicator.