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Build Your Team A Professional Sports Scoreboard Pt.3: By JIM ROWE This third and final article on the Electronic Scoreboard details the assembly of the display modules and gives the wiring details. Also described is the check-out procedure and there are some hints on driving the Scoreboard. T HE FOUR DISPLAY boards are all wired up in much the same way, although there are a few minor differences. We suggest that you assemble the “Scoreboard Display 1” (Period) board first, as this has the fewest parts. Fig.10 shows the details. This display uses the BSB-D1 board and there is only one wire link to fit – just to the right of the 26-way DIP header. After fitting the link, add the 92  Silicon Chip 26-way DIL header, with its centrelocating slot on the left. Next, fit the three resistors and the 1000mF electrolytic capacitor. You can then fit transistor Q1 (PN100) and the BD136/140 power transistor (Q2). The latter has its leads bent down by 90° about 6mm from its body, so it mounts flat against the board. Secure it to the board using an M3 x 6mm screw and nut before soldering its leads. This board can now be completed by fitting the 28 high-brightness 10mm yellow LEDs which form the display segments. These all mount with their longer anode lead towards the top of the board. In practice, it’s just a matter of pushing each LED right down onto the PC board and then soldering its leads. Do this 28 times and the Period display board is finished. The two “Scoreboard Display 3” (team score) boards are assembled in a similar manner. However, these both have three sets of digit driver components and 67 LEDs each, instead of only 28. These displays are wired up on two identical PC boards coded BSB-D3 – see Fig.11. However, they are customised so that one functions as the “Home Team” display and the other as the “Away Team” display. This is done simply by fitting the three 4.7kW resistors in different positions – ie, in the “Home Team Display” positions for one board and in the “Away Team Display” positions for the other board. This automatically sets the three digits to become either D2, D3 & D4 or D5, D6 & D7, respectively. Note that both of these boards have an extra 22W resistor, located just to the centre right of the column of “1” LEDs. Note also that these two boards use green high-brightness LEDs for all the digit segments. Once you’ve completed the two Team Score displays, you’re ready to tackle the “monster” Countdown Timer display, with its five digit driver circuits and 120 high-brightness siliconchip.com.au NOW ALSO HANDLES NETBALL ! red LEDs. This uses the largest PC board, coded BSB-D4. Fig.12 shows the assembly details for this board. Again, the construction is similar to the other LED display boards. Just be sure to install all the LEDs with the correct polarity. Fig.10 (left): the assembly details for the Scoreboard 1 (Period) display. Take care with the Installing 120 LED orientation. Note: PC overlay shown 64% of actual size. LEDs certainly is a tedious job but it really shouldn’t take that long if you work push M3 x 15mm screws through two then remove the cable and carefully methodically. Solder in a batch of diagonal corner holes in each module, so crimp on that socket, then plug the four at a time and the job will be done that they enter the mounting holes in the cable back into both headers and repeat before you know it. frame. This secures the modules while the process to find the right position for you make up the cable assembly. the “Away Team Display” socket. 26-way ribbon cable This assembly is made up using five This process is repeated until you There should now be only one small 26-way IDC line sockets and a 1600mm end up fitting the socket at the far end job remaining before testing the unit length of 26-way ribbon cable. The and assembling the modules into the location of each connector is shown in Where To Buy A Kit timber frame. This involves making Fig.13, while the small circular insets and installing the 26-way ribbon cable show their orientation and indicate Jaycar Electronics has sponsored that links all the display boards back how they are attached. the development of this project and to the control board. Fig.13 also shows how the cable is they own the design copyright. This job is straightforward, provided dressed, so that it can be used to link A full kit of parts is available from you tackle it in the following way. all five line sockets in a continuous Jaycar – Cat. KC-5408. This kit First, place the timber frame face up on length – and without obscuring any includes the following: a pre-built a table or workbench. That done, place of the displays. wooden display frame with screeneach of the Scoreboard’s PC boards The easiest way to make up the cable printed lettering and individual temporarily on the front of the board, is by crimping on the end “Home Team Perspex covers for the displays; directly in front of their final positions Display” line socket first, then plugscreen-printed and solder-masked inside. The display boards should ging this into that board and dressing PC boards; all on-board parts; and be directly over their “windows”, the cable up and over until you can a control console case with a prewhile the controller board should be see exactly where the next socket will punched front panel and screened squarely over its mounting holes. be – ie, directly over the header on the lettering. Once the modules are in position, Countdown Timer display board. You siliconchip.com.au May 2005  93 Fig.11: this is the Scoreboard 3 (Team score) display assembly. Two slightly different versions of this board must be built, one with the three 4.7kW resistors at top left in the “Home Team” positions and one with the resistors in the “Away Team” positions – see text. Note: PC overlay shown 64% of actual size. Left: this version of the Scoreboard 3 display has the three 4.7kW resistors in the “Away Team” position. of the cable for the controller board. Your cable should then be finished. Checkout time While the boards are all easily accessible and linked together, this is a good time to apply power to the Scoreboard and give it a quick functional check. First, connect a DC plugpack or 12V battery to the controller’s DC power input socket CON1. If all is well, the Countdown Timer display should spring into life after a second or so and show “9:59” in red digits. At the same time, both team-score displays should show a “0” in green digits. Assuming all is well, apply power to the Control Console. The Scoreboard display should “blink” briefly as the Control Console powers up and sends the game code selection command to the Scoreboard controller. 94  Silicon Chip siliconchip.com.au Fig.12 (right): the assembly details for the Countdown Timer display board. As with the other display boards, take care with the LED polarity. Note: PC overlay shown 64% of actual size. If you’ve set the code select DIP switches in the Control Console for FIBA rules, the displays won’t actually change after they “blink”. However, if you’ve set the DIP switches for either NBA or NCAA rules, the Timer display should change to either 11:59 or 19:59 respectively, ready for the start of the first game period in those codes. Now try pressing both of the red “Reset Scoreboard for a New Game” buttons on the Control Console. Nothing should happen on the Scoreboard but the Confirm Reset LED should begin glowing on the console itself. If you now press the two Reset buttons together again, the Scoreboard displays should “blink” as the board is reset, while the LED on the console should now go out. Next, try pressing the green “Start Next Game Period” button. Again the displays should “blink” briefly and the “Current Period” display should show a yellow “1” to indicate that the first game period has started. At the same time, the Timer display should begin counting down in seconds, showing the time left for the current period. Now press one of the scoring buttons for either the Home or Away teams. Which ever button you press, the score for that team should change accordingly – increasing by either 3, 2 or 1, or decreasing by 1 according to the button that’s pressed. Each time you change the score, the displays will “blink” briefly as the PIC micro processes the command from the console but the Timer will continue counting down. If it’s all working so far, wait until the Timer counts down until the remaining time is 1:00 minute. Immediately after this, the Timer’s display should change into “last minute” mode, showing “59.9” and continuing to count down in seconds and tenths of a second. When it finally reaches “0.0”, it will stop and the piezo alarm will emit a loud but brief “end of period” sound. If all of the above happens as expected, your Scoreboard and its Control Console are working as they should. siliconchip.com.au May 2005  95 The Timer display board uses 120 high-brightness red LEDs. It’s straightforward (if a little time-consuming) to build. Fig.13 : the 26-way ribbon cable is folded through a series of 90° bends and used to connect the controller board and the various display boards together. Make sure that the red cable edge stripe is positioned as shown. All that remains now is to attach the Scoreboard modules to the timber frame. First disconnect the power, unplug the 26-way cable and remove 96  Silicon Chip the board modules from the front of the frame. That done, you can attach M3 x 25mm-long tapped spacers to all the module mounting points on the timber frame. These are secured using M3 x 15mm countersink-head screws. Now plug the 26-way ribbon cable’s end connector into the DIL header on siliconchip.com.au This rear view of the display unit clearly shows the locations of the various modules. Several strips of adhesive tape are used to secure the 26-way IDC cable to the back of the timber frame. the Home score display board and – with the cable folded upwards – position it on its six spacers behind the viewing window. Fasten it in place using six M3 x 6mm machine screws, then plug the second cable connector into the DIL header on the Timer display board. Attach this board to its six spacers, then repeat the process for the Away score display board and the Period display board. The Control board is fitted last but before this is done, you need to attach the piezo alarm to the front of the Scoreboard. To do this, feed its leads through the central access hole, then secure the unit to the board using four 15mm long countersunk head woodscrews. With the alarm attached, cut its leads to about 150mm long and connect them to the screw terminal block on the side of the Control board. Tighten the screws firmly to ensure reliable connections. That done, attach the end line socket on the ribbon cable to the Control board’s DIP header and carefully posisiliconchip.com.au tion this board on its 25mm spacers, so that the “Carrier Present” LED passes through its matching 6mm hole in the frame. Finally fasten the board using four 6mm x M3 machine screws. Your electronic Scoreboard is now complete. Using the Scoreboard Driving the Scoreboard is fairly self evident, as all of the buttons on the Control Console are clearly marked to show what they’re used for. The only time you need to press the two Reset buttons (together, and then again) is when you want to reset the Scoreboard completely for a new game. To begin each period within a game, you simply press the green “Start Next Game Period” button once. The Scoreboard then automatically increments the Period display each time, moving to the Extra Time display (“E”) when you use up all the main game periods for the rules you’re playing. Note that the Timer automatically assigns “Extra Time” periods of five minutes. If a “Time Out” is declared, you simply press the white “Time Out” button to temporarily stop the timer. Then at the end of the “Time Out”, you press the blue “Time In” button to restart it from where it was stopped. And that’s really all there is to it – apart from updating the scores of the two teams using the two lower sets of buttons. Changing the rules or game Remember that to change the basketball code (or rules) that are being played, you need to open the console case and change the settings of DIP switch S2. The next time the console is powered up, it will send the correct game code to the Scoreboard. Finally, following reader requests from the first article, the firmware has now been modified to also allow for netball games, which usually have a fourth game period. The timer can be set for the usual 15, 12 or 10 minute quarters and can also be set for two 20 minute halves, SC as used by NCAA. May 2005  97