Sorry one more photo…I airbrushed a target on the delivery shute to hopefully ensure that the parcel gets detected…
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ABSOLUTELY! I love it. That is what I love about the maker world. We take something and just make it better. Or more functional at least. Better is subjective. Ask my wife… 
You have not gotten to the hardest part of the project yet. That is getting the delivery people to USE it. I didn’t have much of a problem getting integration into their routines mostly because I made sure the gate was closed and, well… it’s orange as hell with big 'ole lettering on it. Ya can’t miss it once you pull up to the gate. Looking forward to pics of it installed and the very first package it receives. “Vault-icipation”… That feeling of joy when you know that there is a package inside your new vault, safe and sound.
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Hi Grant
Yeah i was thinking the delivery guys might not have the gumption to pop the parcel into the parcel box…I have a vinyl cutter so might put something on the delivery door …I bet they leave the parcel on top of it ;-)…
Cheers
Frank
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Hi Guys
Just a little update …Had issues with my main controller code as i wasnt able to get it to detect 1 parcel drop consistently .Because i have 4 breakbeams i would get multiple parcel detects …Tried putting in delays here there and everywhere to no avail…In the end i removed all delays and also the timer i was using to enable the breakbeam board to read the breakbeam sensors…Now what happens is when the delivery door is open the breakbeams are enabled , once the main controller detects the broken beam input is on it sits in a loop and waits until it sees that signal false it then allows the code to fall through which then looks for the delivery door to be closed and then tells the breakbeam controller to stop reading the sensors…This appears to be working consistently…Today i installed some cables between the Parcelbox location and my humble node 0…see pic…
im now playing with the particle photon …I have it working with IFTTT and i get messages if it goes online (not offline reliably ?)…Have loaded a sample flashing led code…What i need to work out now is how to trigger some messages from signaling the photon inputs…So if anyone can share some code for the photon that would be great ,or give some tips on how to do it…
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Ok ,Got some sample code and now have the Particle sending me emails and ifttt messages when i trigger one of its inputs…
I have added another 4way relay board which im using one relay currently to notify my H.A. controller Homevision that a Parcel has been “Dropped”. I may add another signal to Homevision which will notify me when the parcel pickup door is opened…Have added some signage to the pickup door and i think im nearly ready to install…I still need to install the Particle and add some interface relays between it and Homevision, that will happen after the install…
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Hi Guys
Finally installed the Parcelbox ,and today i received my 2nd delivery (more about the first one yesterday in a moment)…I got an IFTTT notification at 09:58 that a parcel was dropped …I was keen to get home and check my Homevision log at what time it actually got delivered as i have noticed long delays on IFTTT with some messages …It was delivered at 09:55 which was a good response i think…Got my leds from Core Electronics ;-)…see pics…
My first delivery was yesterday , i received a book (programming the photon) in a very large stiff envelope…When the wife got home she noticed the buzzer was sounding continuously , the parcel had blocked the last beam so my code in my main controller was sitting looping waiting for the beams to return to unblock mode…So im going to put a timer in the loop for say 30 seconds and if it times out set a parcel fault flag and halt any further parcel processing after the first detection…
Have designed a pcb for my breakbeam controller and will send that of for manufacture soon…
Had some issues with the Particle photon , it was reporting false parcel drops…As shown in the pic attached i have it located near my relay boards as i was wary of long cable runs going to the particle inputs…I suspected it was being triggered by noise via the phone charger which i used, so i connected it to one of those battery packs for phones as had no issues with it…i need to source a decent 5v power pack…
Frank
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That is a super snazzy looking vault, sir! It’s not a big ugly orange box, but hey! The wife ought to be happy with it. Looks really nice and it is clearly obvious as to what it is for. Great job! That is a good inspiration for others to recreate it. Simple and cleverly designed.
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Thank you Sir !!! …Your package vault project inspired me to have a go…Its good not to have to chase around after work picking up packages…Even better being able to geek it up a bit ;-)…
Take Care
Frank
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Have designed a pcb for my Break
Beam controller .Have placed an order , while waiting for the pcb’s I will make a mock up of my break beam setup so I can test once my pcb’s arrive.
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This is a very impressive project. Thanks for all the detailed updates 
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Thanks Jon , Happy to share …Grants @Guru_Of_Nothing parcel vault was the inspiration for this project…Looking forward to seeing your,s and other,s as they progress … Cheers Frank
Yes @FrankMc I too am impressed. It turned out great and is proof that you can take something and with a little creativity, make it “smart”. I hope that our projects can inspire many others to be created as well. Package theft isn’t going to ever become LESS of a problem unless others take matters in their own hands. This is the PERFECT way to do it. Kudos!
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Received my BreakBeam pcb,s and have setup a test rig for it …All appears ok but i will leave it for a while before installing it into my Parcelbox…I only need one relay on the Breakbeam board but i added another 3 and i needed only 2 external inputs but i have 4 inputs…Im hoping this allows me to use the board for other uses if necessary…Later i may remove my master controller mounted in the main box as the Breakbeam board has enough relays and inputs to do the job…
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This afternoon i got some time to installl my Break beam board into my Parcelbox…Happy this project is completed and working great …
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Looks great! Now when all your friends and neighbors see it, they will want you to build one for them!
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I hope not as im having more fun now doing the garden rgbled lighting ;-)…it never ends
Just a little update , The Parcelbox has been working fine so far , but i have noticed a couple of times when i have done a test to make sure all is ok i have issues with the first breakbeam in that i have trouble getting it to trigger…I thought at first i had a bug in my code , checked and all appears ok…Then i came to the conclusion that maybe ambient light was the issue…So i setup my test unit and hooked a cro to it…Picture one shows one pair connected ,theTransmitter is the yellow trace (ch1) and the receiver is the blue trace (ch2). this is exposed to ambient light… The Receiver is constantly high , should follow the Tramnsmitter … Picture 2 shows the same sigals with a piece of cardboard blocking the ambient light…Looks like im going to have to make something to try and block the ambient light when the delivery door is opened…
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I kinda wonder if the first phase of monitoring would be better suited to be a door ajar sensor… the first thing triggered as the door starts to open. That way the system would basically be armed when the door starts to open and then the 2 rear breakbeams are triggered when a package is actually in place and sliding down the door to the cabinet. If the controller saw the right triggers in the right order, it would flag as a package received. Where as if either the ajar or a breakbeam alone was triggered, it would be seen as erroneous. Trigger order of 1(ajar), 2 (breakbeam 1) 3, (breakbeam 2), reset 1 would be the only valid pattern recognized. Or at least 1, 2 || 3, reset, anyway.
Hi Grant
That’s how it works … The break beams are scanned as soon. As the door is opened … it doesn’t matter which beam is broken so long as one has. I’m just trying to catch it ASAP .
Gotcha. I missed that you had put in a door sensor 