Solar powered bird deterrent project

Community Projects
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Hi. I’m a newbie but mechanically inclined with a rudimentary knowledge of electrical, soldering, wiring and I am a programmer by trade. I need help with double checking a list of parts compatibility for my project and a general sanity check.Thanks in advance for any help.

Use Case:

-Scare away birds when they land on my steel mailbox. I believe my mailbox is their designated toilet in addition to my car.

Restraints:

-Should not be triggered my the mailman

-Heat tolerable, mailbox is all black

-Solar powered

-inexpensive/disposable (in case of theft)

  • compact as possible.

Project:

Build a solar powered mechanism that when triggered by motion, it will activate a vibration motor that is attached to the side of a metal mailbox thereby rattling the mailbox scaring the bird away.

The solution will be placed inside the mailbox with the exception of the motion sensor which will be affixed/mounted externally on the mailbox via magnet. Small holes will be drilled for the wires to pass through.

All exposed boards will be embedded in clear epoxy if and where possible.

The mailbox receives direct sunlight for 4+ hours a day in the summer.

Nice to have capabilities:

-Also powers (4) led lit or EL outline street numbers that are affixed to the sides of the mailbox.(maybe part 2 of this project)

Parts Identified (all sparkfun with the exception of the solar panel)

  • Adruino Nano very

  • PIR motion sensor

  • 4.5v .75w solar panel

  • rechargeable battery?

  • 3.75 - 6 v adjustable lipo charger

  • 3v vibration motor

  1. Do you see any issues with the compatibility of any of the parts or the overall design? Am I missing anything?

  2. I’m unsure of the motion sensor. Ideally, I would like the range to be 10 to 12 inches so the mailman doesn’t trigger it. I’m not sure if this is possible or what kind of sensor I need.

3.How big of a battery would I need to power this thing? …for 1 day on a fully charged battery? for 2 days?

  1. Is the Nano the best board for this project or do I need something else?

I’m really excited to get my first electronics project underway. Thanks again!

Note: I realize there are far more economical ways to arrive at a solution but this is more fun and I learn something new in the process. :smiley:

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The Nano or ProMini should be ok in my opinion.

Personally I think a pellet rifle or the spiky things are probably more direct deterrents, but I know many people would frown on those ideas (PETA for sure wouldn’t endorse them).

I am not sure the PIR motion sensor is optimal in your case. You will have to try it to be sure, but I think the exposure to the sun and the mailman close by may be a bit too much for that. Perhaps some sort of capacitive sensor or force/pressure sensor on top of the mailbox could be more effective.

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languer:
The Nano or ProMini should be ok in my opinion.

Personally I think a pellet rifle or the spiky things are probably more direct deterrents, but I know many people would frown on those ideas (PETA for sure wouldn’t endorse them).

I am not sure the PIR motion sensor is optimal in your case. You will have to try it to be sure, but I think the exposure to the sun and the mailman close by may be a bit too much for that. Perhaps some sort of capacitive sensor or force/pressure sensor on top of the mailbox could be more effective.

Thanks for your feedback. Yeah, I thought of the spikes and I’ll be using them under my deck in the back yard but I’m not loving that idea for the mailbox. I ruled that out at the onset. All I need is a neighborhood kid stabbing himself while playing around with my mailbox. The pressure sensor sounds like a more elegant solution. I could place it under the solar panel for a clean install. Nice! Thanks again.