Stop (or Amplify) Rants with This Clever Device

We’ve all experienced it, and admit it, you’ve done it yourself. A small complaint becomes another complaint, and eventually turns in to a full-blown rant. Rather than enduring it silently, or arguing the point, what if there was a way to stop a rant in its tracks with only the flip of a switch or the push of a button? That’s the idea behind the Rant Buddy from Nina Pavlich.

The device is constructed using an Arduino-compatible Pro Micro, and plays the theme song from Curb Your Enthusiasm when a button is pressed — quite appropriate given the show’s content.

The build itself is fairly simple; a small speaker is hooked up to a PWM pin and ground of the Pro Micro, producing this or whatever melody you’d like. The documentation of the project is extremely well done, and would make a good tutorial if you’ve never played with sound output on a board like this before. The device also features a toggle switch in a slightly different version.

On the other hand, depending on the ranter, this gadget could certainly be used to “help amplify” the sound and intensity of the rant that’s going on. Best to practice discretion when using it!