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tenderlove/analog-terminal-bell

★ 491 · OpenSCAD · MIT · updated Apr 2021

A bell for your terminal that is analog

A USB device that physically strikes a desk bell whenever your terminal receives a BEL character. Built around the MCP2221A chip (no custom firmware needed — pure USB HID), with a custom PCB, 3D-printed case, and a small C driver. This is a hardware project, not a library.

The MCP2221A choice is smart — you get USB HID out of the box without writing or flashing firmware, which cuts the build complexity significantly. The PCB uses through-hole components deliberately, making hand-soldering accessible to anyone with basic skills. The repo ships everything: KiCad schematics, gerbers, OpenSCAD case files, and the C software in one place. And it actually works — the demo video is real, not a mockup.

Abandoned since April 2021 with no activity since. The iTerm2 integration requires a custom fork of iTerm2 that you have to build yourself, which is a real barrier for the most obvious use case. The software folder is a single C file with no build instructions beyond a Makefile and no mention of platform support — Linux presumably, Windows unclear. Stars are high for what it is, which tells you more about Aaron Patterson's following than about adoption.

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