Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Other Gear => Topic started by: ilanz_bess on October 28, 2014, 02:28:07 PM
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Hi guys, just wondering if anyone tried to build an electronic scoreboard themselves. It's pretty costly to buy an electronic scoreboard where I live (Trinidad), somewhere in excess of $20,000, so I was considering building it myself....
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Oh good idea! Would be complicated unless you know how to create and program the PCB's though, mind you there are ways around that too...
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Lad at our club did it but he has a degree in electronics, its solar powered so self running even with the severe lack of sun we see over here in the UK!
ball park cost was under £1k but he sourced parts from all over the world with some trial and error in getting there.
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Lad at our club did it but he has a degree in electronics, its solar powered so self running even with the severe lack of sun we see over here in the UK!
ball park cost was under £1k but he sourced parts from all over the world with some trial and error in getting there.
Yeah to make some complicated circuitry would require some pretty technical details, I did electronics at A level and would definitely struggle (especially as that was ten years ago) however if its just a display that isn't connected up to a score box, i.e. just an electronic version of a manual scoreboard then it wouldn't take a lot at all.
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How big we talking?
http://shop.evilmadscientist.com/productsmenu/partsmenu/107-sevensegment (http://shop.evilmadscientist.com/productsmenu/partsmenu/107-sevensegment)
12" 7 segment display :D.
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If it's simply a display unit, you can do it very simply. Lump of MDF with spaces cut out, a set of seven segment displays, wires and a car battery (plus a solar panel for charging/running when sunny) with some appropriate switches and you can display it all electronically.
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Thanks for the input guys. Display will consist of 8" and 12" seven segment displays, using led strips, couple of microprocessors as well. Think I will be using a steel sheet instead of the mdf, as I'm trying to make sure it can withstand a shower or two. Basically I have all the coding I think I might need, thanks to the internet :D the real problem is trying to make the system wireless...but I guess I'm just trying to be too pretty.
Ayrtek, would love too see how you all went about making the scoreboard solar powered.
Will post pics once I'm done. If anyone is interested, once completed, I have no problems in sharing the info...
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Lad at our club did it but he has a degree in electronics, its solar powered so self running even with the severe lack of sun we see over here in the UK!
ball park cost was under £1k but he sourced parts from all over the world with some trial and error in getting there.
Already have most of the parts sourced, and I have a final design in mind. Would love if you could post some pics of your scoreboard. And what sort of control box/system do you use?
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If you juts want to control it within viewing distance would an infa red sensor perhaps not work with a remote? Unless you mean wireless as in from a long distance.
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Basically, this is what the layout should look like
(http://i1302.photobucket.com/albums/ag128/neil_ramdass/Mobile%20Uploads/IMAG1158_zps4c0a5752.jpg) (http://s1302.photobucket.com/user/neil_ramdass/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMAG1158_zps4c0a5752.jpg.html)
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Any rough sense of scale mate :)?
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Here is our scoreboard it runs of a palm or ipad via bluetooth.
(http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e278/ijmorgan/ScreenShot2014-10-28at192417_zps03f63215.png) (http://s41.photobucket.com/user/ijmorgan/media/ScreenShot2014-10-28at192417_zps03f63215.png.html)
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We upgraded our old score board last year to LED running off an iPad and it was £1500 and that was mainly the iPad and the actual LED screens. If you have some one with the know how its a worth while move.
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Any rough sense of scale mate :)?
8' × 4',with the digits for total and wickets being 12" and the rest, 8"
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We upgraded our old score board last year to LED running off an iPad and it was £1500 and that was mainly the iPad and the actual LED screens. If you have some one with the know how its a worth while move.
That's the plan eventually, as we use TCS to score and there is an option to control external electronic scoreboards. Main goal right now, is to get the system up and running.
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Here is our scoreboard it runs of a palm or ipad via bluetooth.
([url]http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e278/ijmorgan/ScreenShot2014-10-28at192417_zps03f63215.png[/url]) ([url]http://s41.photobucket.com/user/ijmorgan/media/ScreenShot2014-10-28at192417_zps03f63215.png.html[/url])
Would love to have it built as a permanent, immobile structure bro but unfortunately, vandalism is a very big problem on our ground.
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The thing is Sam, infared works fine if the object is close and there is line of sight, however, in order to have maximum viewing of the scoreboard, it neends to be placed fairly far away from the controller, so wireless may be my only option.
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http://bespokescoreboards.co.uk/ (http://bespokescoreboards.co.uk/) - This seems like it has everything you'd need.
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Thanks Tango, but again the cost will be a major stumbling block....£1000 works out roughly to $11,000 in Trinidad and Tobago currency.
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I am planning to build one this winter and here is a list of component I'm planning to use.
1. Raspberry Pi
2. Arduino cheap ones (knock offs that work can be purchased from Micro Center)
3. electronic Imp for easier way to connect to Wifi without worrying about set up.
4. about 20 7 segment LEDs, I think 7" ones should be enough.
5. Also considering a dot matrix LED board to display current over. (Might not work out)
6. Since we don't have a dedicated cricket ground I am hoping to build something portable that can be folded away and can run on a battery.
I am thinking of building a simple phone scoring app and have an open API that can be called to get scores on the board. I think there would be some delay on the board and it would require internet connectivity so I might end up using Bluetooth.
I am experimenting with Raspberry Pi B+ and a thought of building this as a fun project.
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Tej, sounds cool....I was also considering to use arduino but the no. of I/O would have meant using at least two, and yes I did consider the mega. To go wireless I might use Xbee modules as the seem simple enough to use and multiple xbees can be used in one netwrork.
To control the system I'm using 8051 microprocessors, the coding is fairly simple, just treat each one as an up/down counter.....think it might be cheaper than arduino too.
Also instead of purchasing actual seven segments, ever considered buy the led strips and building it yourself. It maybe a bit more tedious and you'll save a lot more money.
Let me know how it goes and get some pics up when you're done. Best of luck
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How are the projects going?? any updates please.
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Hi @Stumper I've got a prototype up and running. Have some final changes to the design to make, will post it once I'm done...
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Hi @Stumper I've got a prototype up and running. Have some final changes to the design to make, will post it once I'm done...
If it's lies cheaper than buying from retailers then maybe publish some plans? Allow people to also save cash and build their own? Only way to force retailers to lower their price
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If it's lies cheaper than buying from retailers then maybe publish some plans? Allow people to also save cash and build their own? Only way to force retailers to lower their price
That's the plan bro, just want to get the bugs out before I post the design...based on my initial calculations it should save a fair bit in terms of cost...
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That's the plan bro, just want to get the bugs out before I post the design...based on my initial calculations it should save a fair bit in terms of cost...
Sweet, nice one. Clubs should jump at the chance to save cash
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How much do you reckon your costs are so far? My club has just bought a 9 digit portable ones which cost a fortune
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any update on this custom built scoreboard?
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Hi mate, sorry but I've hit an expected road block. The guy that was supposed to help me with the programming part has pulled out, so I'm trying (rather slowly) to do it on my own. I'm making progress but not fast enough I'm afraid. Will post the design when I'm completed but it won't be anytime soon, unfortunately.
Neil
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Neil.. pls PM me your email address... we have about a few hackers/developers at our club and someone that works at Acer (regular to China and Taiwan component industry visitor) and contacts at Samsung ...
maybe we can help you get there ;-)
G
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We upgraded our old score board last year to LED running off an iPad and it was £1500 and that was mainly the iPad and the actual LED screens. If you have some one with the know how its a worth while move.
Where did you source the led screens please? We have a lovely old wooden hut with rope operated numbers so if it could be converted would be great.
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Ok guys, it's long overdue, but I've managed to finish the scoreboard. After tonnes of research I stumbled across a website: buildyourownscoreboard.com where a group of club mates from the Westbury-on-Severn Cricket club managed to build their own electronic scoreboard and were so kind as to put online for all to be able to replicate. With designs in hand I started late last year and only just managed to finish the project early April. I altered the original design a bit where I added additional displays for "partnership" and "runs required/target" as well as a LED matrix panel to display scrolling messages (e.g. Sponsor info, run rate info, batsman/bowler stats, etc). It was a real struggle filled with a lot of ups and downs (at various points I actually contemplated scraping the project entirely and just goving up). But I'm quite glad I saw it out, and I'm really proud the way it turned out. If anyone wants details feel free to contact me or you can check out the website. I haven't really tallied the money spent but if I had to guess I would say I spent around TT$7000 to TT$8000 (Trinidad dollars) which is £700 to £800. Please see pics below:
(http://i1302.photobucket.com/albums/ag128/neil_ramdass/IMG_2111_zpswquwoaoz.jpg) (http://s1302.photobucket.com/user/neil_ramdass/media/IMG_2111_zpswquwoaoz.jpg.html)
(http://i1302.photobucket.com/albums/ag128/neil_ramdass/IMG_1768_zpsryz8ghvk.jpg) (http://s1302.photobucket.com/user/neil_ramdass/media/IMG_1768_zpsryz8ghvk.jpg.html)
(http://i1302.photobucket.com/albums/ag128/neil_ramdass/IMG_1921_zpsvzlo6bom.jpg) (http://s1302.photobucket.com/user/neil_ramdass/media/IMG_1921_zpsvzlo6bom.jpg.html)
(http://i1302.photobucket.com/albums/ag128/neil_ramdass/IMG_1960_zpsuxl5aacf.jpg) (http://s1302.photobucket.com/user/neil_ramdass/media/IMG_1960_zpsuxl5aacf.jpg.html)
(http://i1302.photobucket.com/albums/ag128/neil_ramdass/IMG_1959_zpsfeydczlc.jpg) (http://s1302.photobucket.com/user/neil_ramdass/media/IMG_1959_zpsfeydczlc.jpg.html)
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Well done that's a great effort and good on you for seeing it through to completion.
Question... If you were to build an identical board how long to complete from start to finish?
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Wow. Awesome result. Well Done Lad!
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Looks great. We've just had a one installed by Durant, we were lucky as we managed to get a grant for it.
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Thanks guys!!!
Well done that's a great effort and good on you for seeing it through to completion.
Question... If you were to build an identical board how long to complete from start to finish?
With assistance, and only working on it on weekends it may around two months...providing you don't have much troubleshooting to do. The reason I took so long was due to the fact I worked on this project by myself, had little to no help from any of my teammates...
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Thanks guys!!!
With assistance, and only working on it on weekends it may around two months...providing you don't have much troubleshooting to do. The reason I took so long was due to the fact I worked on this project by myself, had little to no help from any of my teammates...
How many man hours would you say?
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Brilliant job! Looks professionally made. You should be really proud for persevering!
I'd have orange numbers, would be great if you could set it up so you could change the colour?
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It wpuld be possible depends how the segments would need wiring. With white segments and coloured plastic like what was used on the website you can have any colour really. Orange, gren and red are probably best visable though
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How many man hours would you say?
Can't really say how many man hours it would take but....if you're familiar with soldering it should take around a week and a half to solder all the circuit boards. A day or two to do the programming (half that if you know your way around arduinos and raspberry pis). A next week for the actual build and a couple of days for troubleshooting (provided nothing major pops up). So it can be done in a couple of weeks time provided you have help.
Brilliant job! Looks professionally made. You should be really proud for persevering!
I'd have orange numbers, would be great if you could set it up so you could change the colour?
You could use any colour you want to be honest...either by using tinted acrylic like the website suggests or by using different colored LEDs. In my case I went either later. I eliminated the use of the acrylic and instead taped off and painted the segments on the polycarbonate sheets. It's a bit more time consuming but I eliminated the cost of having to get the acrylic. I'm not sure if you can use the RGB LEDs that way you can switch colours while the scoreboard is in use.
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looks awesome...well done mate