Solder antenna wire on 3326-L Iris motion sensor for mailbox

Mine is one of these jawns, although I think I'll be able to route the reed switch wires through the wall and mount the actual device inside the garage.

Off-the-wall question. Has anyone's mail carrier voiced concerns over devices stuck to mailboxes? I picture the bomb squad in front of my place if I tried to set something up like this.

I have heard of one instance of a mail carrier demanding it be removed since mailboxes are federal property. I think that is a very rare occasion.

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No mine laughed when I pointed it out. That’s the nice thing of putting it below versus use of reed switch as it is less noticeable.

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I ended up going with a 119mm antenna. The calculators I used for 2400mhz all gave me different lengths, ranging from 115mm to 130mm. Most were around 119mm though. I suppose I could have pulled out one of my old antenna design books and done it that way.

In any case, the mailbox is only about 50 feet from the front of the house. I soldered the wire onto the right side of that ANT1 component in the photo I posted. The sensor does work inside the house, but when I put it in the mailbox and run the wire out through a hole, it's not very reliable. I do not get motion alerts, but I do get the occasional temperature alert.

I have a couple of Ikea smart plugs towards the front of the house (still indoors) to act as repeaters, but they don't seem to help. My guess is that since the whole front of the house is stone, the wire mesh underneath is probably causing some issues. I'm going to move one of the smart outlets somewhere where it's not behind stone and see if that might help.

Edit, works now. I didn't factory reset this used sensor before joining it. I removed it, factory reset it, and rejoined it. Seems to be reliable now.

Mailbox is not federal property, a mailbox is your property and you are responsible for maintenance.
If somebody vandalizes or steal from your mailbox, you have to call local police not post office.
However, it is regulated by federal law.
For example, nobody but the post office or resident can open mailbox or deliver anything.
UPS, FEDEX, landscaping company or your friend can't put anything inside.
You can put inside only outgoing mail, not a snack, a stash of dog food or keys.
If you block mailbox with a car, mail will be not delivered and the car should be towed.
The mailbox must be approved by the post office.
So if a postal supervisor is OK with mailbox modification you are good to go.
Generally, if your mailbox is well-maintained and serviceable without letter carrier dismounting or backing his LLV and mailbox does not have sharp edges inside or outside post office doesn't care.

I have been looking for a magnet to work in my mailbox

I have been wanting to go with the same setup as @ritchierich but I couldn't find a magnet strong enough and flat enough to work. The magnets I have been testing with were too big and moved around lot when opening and closing the mailbox.

This was a perfect solution, thanks!

For others looking for the magnet in the hard drive. This video is great:

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