At 04:13 PM 12/13/2013, Brooke Clarke wrote: >I live a half mile drive to my rural mailbox and would like to know=20 >when there's mail in it. There's a mountain between my house and=20 >the mailbox so direct radio communication probably will not=20 >work. Is there a product that would accept a switch closure and=20 >place a phone call and deliver a text message using cell phone technology? The expensive method is available from any major burglar alarm supply=20 company. Its a specialized cell-phone brick that has several inputs=20 (typically 3). Depending upon how you have the dip switches set,=20 those inputs will respond to either dry contact or voltage (12V) input. They are intended as a backup to the wired phone lines used by the=20 alarm system. The monitoring company can do pretty much anything=20 that you can imagine with the signal: send the police, or the fire=20 department, or an ambulance. Or they can place a voice call to any number (or numbers) that you designat= e. Upside: incredibly reliable. Downside: monthly subscription cost. For example, they are available off-the-shelf from ADI (owned by=20 Honeywell). I'm positive that they are available for significantly=20 less cost from other suppliers / wholesalers. But the downside is=20 the monthly subscription cost. dwayne --=20 Dwayne Reid Trinity Electronics Systems Ltd Edmonton, AB, CANADA (780) 489-3199 voice (780) 487-6397 fax www.trinity-electronics.com Custom Electronics Design and Manufacturing --=20 http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .