

Ask HN: Build Server Alarm/Siren/Toy - eibrahim

I read somewhere a while back about a wifi product that talks to your build server and sounds an alarm or does something funny when a build fails...  Anyone know what I am talking about or where to find this thing?  I tried googling it but couldn't find it.
======
ChuckMcM
This is trivial to build. Buy an Ardunio [1] and add a WaveShield [2]. Build
them.

Create an SD card with a bunch of interesting alarm sounds. There are lots on-
line, if you're lame you can walk out of an alarmed door with your phone in
'sound recorder' mode.

Now write a 'sketch' (its a program but they call them sketches) which runs a
simple loop that watches the serial port and takes requests to play various
sound files from the SD card. It could have the syntax where it prints

    
    
        Ready>
    

To the serial port in response to a carraige return. And if you send it:

    
    
        p soundfile<cr>
    

It plays that sound file.

Now on your server when the build breaks include this in the script that
watches it.

    
    
        echo '\n\np alarm.wav' > /dev/ttyUSB1
    

when it gets an error.

Oh and you will want to connect the Waveshield to a speaker of some sort.
Simplest is to dig up an unused pair of powered PC speakers but the
Waveshield's amp can drive a simple 8 ohm speaker as well.

Have fun!

[1] <http://www.makershed.com/product_p/mksb013.htm>

[2] <https://www.adafruit.com/products/94>

------
Khao
Where I work we use CruiseControl.net and using their tool CCTray, we have
rigged a red revolving light to a X11 port so that when a build fails, we are
warned that there is an emergency with the light. It's really easy to set up
and I've seen other kind of hacks using CruiseControl.net if you can set it up
(or if you are already using it)

Kind of the same thing built with a pair of lava lamps :
[http://www.pragmaticautomation.com/cgi-
bin/pragauto.cgi/Moni...](http://www.pragmaticautomation.com/cgi-
bin/pragauto.cgi/Monitor/Devices/BubbleBubbleBuildsInTrouble.rdoc)

