Pointless Electronics · PE-002
The Groaner
A sealed box. No button, no light, no knob. Pick it up and it groans, like an old-school groan tube; put it down and it groans again. The Button asked something of you. The Groaner asks nothing, and gives you its opinion anyway.
- ObjectSealed aluminum box, textured finish
- FunctionGroans when picked up
- PurposeNone
- Inputs1 (gravity)
- Outputs1
- ControlsNone
- InsideISD1820 recorder, 470K pitch resistor, tilt switch, LM386 amp at full volume
- User serviceable partsFour screws
- StatusIn development
Not for sale yet. The box exists; the groan is on the bench.
The pitch
THE BUTTON proved that a device could do one thing. THE GROANER proves it need not be asked. There is no input. There is nothing to press, turn, plug in or hold. It sits where you put it. Pick it up and it groans. Put it down and it groans again.
Some products respond to you. THE GROANER responds to nothing, which frees it to respond to everything.
Build one
There is no circuit board in it, and it has a build guide anyway. The PE-002 build guide, on the circuit-bending shelf, has the parts, the four solder joints, the 470K trick that makes a groan out of a voice, the grille template for the backplate, and the board that turned out not to be needed.
The series
PE-002 is the second of sixteen. The first, PE-001 The Button, is finished and for sale. The rest are on the Pointless Electronics catalogue.