Mine has been running in my wooden mailbox since April in Western PA. No problems so far and battery still reads good.
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Airangle, I asked Google what the operating temperature range of a cr1632 coin battery was. The response was:
Rayovac battery -20C to 60C
Energizer battery -20C to 60C
60C is 140F.
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Thanks, might get to 140°F inside the box. I have a Too Hot For Spot temperature cling on my car window, and it does get past 120 in the vehicle in the sun. Definitely have to check before I leave one in the box for sure.
I went from zero bars to 2-bars by putting a lexan window in the rear of my steel mailbox and attaching the PIR to the center of the aperture. My cam/bridge is 30’ line of sight away. After six months of mail service and flawless triggering of the Driveway Cam, the battery reading is still normal.
Note: with the window painted black, the signal dropped to one bar and was not reliable.
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Nice work - lucky you have a mailbox that allows this kind of customization! Unfortunately mine is inside a brick pillar thing the HOA would not let me touch.
The fact that black paint reduces the signal is indicative of the carbon content of that particular paint. There are black paints out there that do not show the same RF degrading behavior, but I have never shopped for that so I can’t offer specifics.
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It’s the same paint that they put on radomes. I don’t have a source but it is out there.
Here is a quote from a radar support page:
It is the same for all RF transmission /reception. I’m an Amateur Radio Operator and I know others that have repainted radomes on commercial fiberglass antennas.
Question
Is it okay to paint my radar antenna?
Answer
Yes, it is okay to paint your radar antenna. However, the paint MUST be epoxy-based with NO metallic ingredients. Paint with metallic ingredients will cause poor performance and possibly damage to your radar.
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Hello skkyup.
I have painted about 30 V2’s for friends and relatives with Rust-Oleum and Krylon enamel paints.
No complaints from any of them. All of my cameras are painted black and show three bars.
I have had the cameras open. Inside there is an antenna that looks like a short strip of black tape fastened to the inside near the top of the housing.
You may want to try an experiment:
Place a clear piece of plastic over the back window of your mailbox. If signal bars are good, continue.
Paint a clear piece of plastic with enamel paint and tape it over the window. Check signal strength.
If not good dispense with the plastic cover and try black nylon, rayon or felt cloth or tar paper and see if any of those work.
Picture of paints I have used on my cameras.
Victor Maletic
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Thank you Victor,
Before selecting my window material, I have scraps of almost every plastic, I did some quick research on “RF transparent materials”.
https://www.researchgate.net/post/What_are_RF_transparent_materials_you_know
If you Google it, you’ll find a group similar to us here, except they are all research scientists from around the world obsessing over the subject. It’s an informative fun read, not only on the detailed subject, but their credentials as well. Just as danny.benjamin explained above, these scientists also touch on carbon content dissipating RF waves. They also have a material list with their respective RF propagation that may only exist in their conversation.
My laziness helps lend aesthetic beauty to my unpainted aperture 
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Hello skkyup.
You have it covered. I was not aware of this other universe.
Lazy or not you have a nice installation.
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What if you replace the magnetic reed switch with a mercury tilt switch then mount the unit outside on the mail box door? That puts antenna on outside.
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That would put it out in the elements, right? These devices are not water resistant.
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Since you need a way to mount it just put it in a small watertight plastic box mounted to the door
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Hello OOframeOO
I would think replacing the reed switch with anything that generates an on or off pulse would work. As for mounting the modified unit outside, probably not on a directly exposed surface such as the sides.
My sending unit is recessed in a rabbit cutout under and outside the bottom at the back.
Victor Maletic
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Hello again OOframeOO
A plastic sealed box should be fine. When selecting one and mounting it, consider how a battery change would be accomplished.
Victor Maletic
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Can I ask what the purpose is? I tried for years to figure out a way to install a sensor so I’d know when I had mail, but then the USPS came up with Informed Delivery (which isn’t actually always accurate), and now that I found Wyze, I have my front camera positioned so it shows the mailbox. I get a notification when the mail truck approaches, and can go back & see what if anything they’ve put in there, The neighbor’s box is right next to mine, so I do have to actually look, not just listen to hear if it stopped out front. I have talked to my mom about getting a cam since she’s elderly and in an area that gets snow and ice. I don’t want her to take a chance on a slip and fall, especially if there’s no reason to even go out. Now that I’ve seen your set up, I’m curious if there’s something I need to add to my current system. I don’t have your knowledge or skills, but maybe I could rig something if I need to.
Hello TheWatcher
You may want to checkout posts from:
jf0303
Phoffer961
cusas
Under the You’ve got mail topic.
A simple setup is shown by cusas. It could be made more robust by duct-taping over each part of the contact sensor. There are even more robust setups using plastic enclosures and supports.
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The purpose is that you know when the mailbox actually opened, not just when any vehicle approaches. As I mentioned above, I put a Wyze motion sensor in the back of the mailbox. It works flawlessly and is not in a position to get bumped or knocked off by the mail carrier. It is about 100 ft from camera with the bridge, which also takes a video (through the front window) of the event so I can confirm that it was actually the mail carrier that opened the box. This will work with wooden or plastic mailboxes. If your mailbox is metal, you’ll probably have to use one of the tricks listed here to get the sensor antenna visible to the bridge.
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mine dad make a red flag that drops when the door open. With a his Nest cam you can see the red flag,
Download the Ring app Neighbor to see what is going on in the area.
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Yes, I can see where that would be helpful, especially if I were away from home most of the day/time. Mine does happen to be metal. I think it would be nice to have a sensor on the door, too, because sometimes I get small pieces of mail that don’t reach the back of the mailbox. Also, we have occasional issues in the neighborhood (not on my street, mainly where the teens live) where people go through mailboxes and steal mail or take it then dump it in the ditches. I also had a neighbor’s visitor hit my mailbox with his/her vehicle years ago, long before I had my cams. The only damage was to the door, and from looking around, it doesn’t seem to be a rare thing in these parts.
Mailboxes here usually have a red flag that we raise to let the mail carrier know there is mail inside the box to pick up. On the days I’ve done that, I can tell the mail has been delivered because the carrier lowers the flag when s/he picks up the mail, but I still don’t know whether there was mail delivered. That’s where my Wyze event video can show whether or not the carrier actually placed something inside of the box, so I know whether or not to go out & retrieve the mail. I’m glad your dad has found a system that works for him.