College student needs some feedback on a ping pong scorekeeper

[BadgerMadison]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post on Electro Tech. I am a first-year college student in an engineering program, and I was thinking of making a very simple ping pong scorekeeper for extra credit in a class I am taking. I took a look at some other posts, but they all seemed to be much more sophisticated, with a timer, and period indicator, and time-out indicators.

I would like to make a simple two digit score display (up to 21 points) Also, I would like to have a manual switch on each side of the table. When the switch is depressed, the score will increase, on that side, by one point. Finally I would like to make some kind of reset mechanism. It could be a third button, simply pulling a wire to remove the power, or once one side of the table reaches 21 points (button presses), the 22nd button press will bring the counter to zero.

I plan to use:

(2) two digit, seven segment displays, one per side (small, ~1 inch tall)

(2) simple manual switches, one per side

(1) power supply (9 volt battery perhaps?)

Some kind of a circuit board to connect everything to and provide programming necessary for operation. I don't really know what kind of circuit board will be sufficient for this project. Is this something I could ask someone at Radio Shack?

Any tips or pointers would be GREATLY appreciated, I really enjoy tinkering with little projects, but have only done "all-in-one kit projects" before. I want to step up to the big leagues and build my own little gadgets now that I'm in college.

 

[vne147]

Is this something I could ask someone at Radio Shack?

Not if you want to get a useful answer.


Check out this recent thread. It might give you some ideas.

https://www.electro-tech-online.com/threads/scoreboard-circuit.100232/

 

[MrDEB]

check this link out
it has exactly what your looking for
Laurier's Handy Dandy Little Circuits:One digit counter

 

[crutschow]

If you use LED displays, a 9V battery won't last very long. You could an LCD driver to power an LCD display for long battery life, use bigger batteries, (say 6 D-cells in series), or a wall-wort supply.

 

[HarveyH42]

Is this Ping-pong, the table tennis type, or the college beer party type?

 

[BadgerMadison]

Thanks for everyone's help! I am going to purchase everything needed today. I will probably consult back on the board, with any extra help. When I am done, I plan on posting pictures to show everyone the completed project.

Harvey, I am planning to use this project for table tennis only, If my roommate spills beer on it, I'd be really pissed!