Quiz Show Buzzer System using Staples Easy Button

 My first instructable!

As a college instructor, I often enjoy doing review games - especially using PowerPoint for a Jeopardy! format. However, sometimes it's hard to see students' hands and the commercial buzzer systems are very expensive. I found a very basic game show circuit board at an electronics store, but the buttons were so small that it would never work for a team-style game. So I got the idea to use Staples Easy Buttons from another website that showed how to turn one into your garage door opener. These work great for team jeopardy because the entire team can sit around 1 button.

A few trips to Radio Shack and voila!

This is a lockout system, which means that once one person has pushed their button, it prevents anyone else from triggering their light. There is also a reset button for the moderator to "clear the board."

Total cost for a commercial system: ~$300
Total cost for this homemade option: ~$60

Bonus: I've attached a PowerPoint file that can be used as a Jeopardy template. All $$ on the main board are hyperlinked to the appropriate slide in the presentation. The small outlined arrow in the lower right corner of the home board links to final Jeopardy. I've also attached various Jeopardy .wav sounds for inclusion also.

Disclaimer: I am somewhat inexperienced with electronics parts/soldering - mostly self-taught - so I apologize for any sloppy work in the photos.

Step 1: What You Need

Most of the parts can be purchased at Radio Shack or from other electronics suppliers. I've included links where applicable. Prices and links are accurate as of 12/15/09:

Game show/quiz buzzer circuit kit ~$15
http://www.electronickits.com/kit/complete/game/vemk133.htm
(Note: I also found this at a small electronics store in town)

4 x Staples Easy Buttons - $4.99/ea
http://www.staples.com/Staples-Easy-Button/product_606396

6"x4"x2" Project box - $4.99
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062283&filterName=Category

4 LED lights (I used 10mm ultra bright red ones) - $1.79/2 pk
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3096133

5 LED holders - $1.49/2 pk
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062559

Slide switch, SPST - $2.99/2 pk (I might have used the mini version)
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062488

Small, round adhesive pads (the really thin ones, not the thick rubber)

Single conductor, about 4 ft

2-conductor wire, about 20 ft cut into 5 4-ft segments. These lengths will determine how far your buttons can be placed from the control, so you can adjust the length for your needs.
(Note: I had used wire with many more conductors because I got a good price and I wanted thicker wire so it would be more sturdy)

1-in PVC pipe, about 4 inches

2 x 1-in PVC caps

Momentary switch, SPST, normally open - $3.39/2-pk
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062496

Silver spray paint (optional)

Small bits of heat-shrink tubing (optional)

Soldering iron w/solder
Hot glue gun
Desoldering bulb

Helpful tools:
Wire stripper
Dremel (drill will work, Dremel is better)
Helping hand magnifying stand
Large workspace
Time!

Comments

[yorkshirespud]

Great project! If you want a quick and cheaper alternative however, consider the iPhone/Android phone app 'I Buzzed First!' - it's a smartphone networked gameshow buzzer app - only $1 per contestant.

[Rusty101]

This is a great ible My kids are in 4H and do a Quiz bowl every year that uses a system very much like this but there is not enough access to the unit for all the local groups to practice with. Now I will have to get this made so our club will have their own. thank you very much

[jongscx]

I made a self-contained 8-button version for a quiz/trivia thing for a Filipino Independence day event. This project was harder than I thought.

I'll be making an instructable for mine too, would you mind if I put a link to this one on it?

[edgannon1979]

Need help with how to wire T11A39 easy button. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank You

[freeaxes]

They're definately using a new board. If you want to make it work with the T11A39 board, it's not hard to do, but it does require a delicate hand.

1. Remove all resistors and capacitors from the board. Why? Because we don't trust them. This isn't the delicate part.

2. Take a dremel tool with a cutting disk, and cut through the top layers of the board just to the right of that drop of black resin hiding the chip that's obviously maintaining a closed circuit between the regions of the board that we'd prefer were left open. This also isn't the delicate part.

3. Scratch the non-conductive top green layer off of a small region of the board so that you expose the metal conductive surface and create a new solder point. The place you want to do this is right on the pathway that was connecting the lower part of the button press area with the hidden chip of evil that you dealt with in step 2.

4. Solder one wire to this new exposed area, and the other to either of the 2 available solder points above the other half of the button press area.

[rbennett7]

(removed by author or community request)

[freeaxes]

Those two locations you've connected were in a constantly closed state when I tested them with a multimeter. Don't know why it worked for you. Did you try a new board with no scratching?

[rbennett7]

You're totally right!

I'm an electronics noob.

They're both closed, but when you hit the button, they open. So it's like a backward circuit. Would probably work for some people (me!) but probably not for quiz shows.

Original post:

I started to follow your directions, and turns out this is wrong.

All I ended up doing was soldiering into two holes.

I can read the orange wire from my arduino (in analog mode), when i put the white wire in ground.

Ignore the scratching. Totally unnecessary. (I think.) Just connect to the holes.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4031469/Photo%20Jun%2007%2C%209%2026%2033%20AM.jpg

[tech-tut]

That's a cool idea.

I decided to make my own circuit board for this. I used a tact switch in the center of a single sided pcb. (This was easy for me since I have a CNC router, but I think that a band saw and a few drill bits could accomplish the same thing.)

I was afraid that the high resistance of the "button pad" would be a problem. I've also seen that stuff wear out in car remotes, and I didn't want a high usage device to go bad like that since I expect that it will get roughed up in it's lifetime.

I wanted to use the talking circuit somewhere else, too (to be annoying).

-Robbie

[phunt46]

same here..any luck with that yet?

[edgannon1979]

No help yet, but I teach an EMT program at the local High School that has an electronics program I will see if they can help

[phunt46]

I have that same board that came in the buzzers, T11A39..and the connects don't match up like the other illustration done on board CA68-03C. Did anyone get back to you? Hope i won't need to order different model type buzzer.

Thanks,
Pete

[KRSmith84]

Having same issue. Pic of circuit board in my profile image gallery if anyone cares to have a gander and offer some advice

[jiasso]

I have two of the older easy buttons and the circuit boards in them are different than the ones pictured. anyone know how to wire these?

[bigster]

I have three new easy buttons and I cannot figure out how to wire them. they have T11A39 on the circuit board and the 2011-04-27. Anyone have any idea how to wire these up?

[freeaxes]

Yea, see my above comment about just severing the circuit and adding your own solder point.

[cypher2301]

I have made this.. I did the same thing you did and i put the leds and the Buttons on first to test it... i did burn the board at R1 i cleaned it and kept going. when i finished it didnt work.. so i pulled out my multimeter and the signal dropped at r1... so i scratched of the board a lil and dropped some solder over it and now i have voltages in all the right spots.. but no lights anywhere... no worky... any ideas please email me and comment here.. email is [e-mail]

[jfdonohoe]

I want to see if I can add a buzzer to this project. There's something about an audible "buzzzzzzz" that improves the experience. I just need to figure out:
- Get a loud enough buzzer
- Additional power supply?
- Where to wire it into the board
- Figure out to make the sound only last for a second or two while keeping the LED light persistently on until reset.

[KRSmith84]

So after some more playing around (and getting the system all put together), I have discovered that with the new Easy Buttons, *every* cotact point results in a lit-up light *without* pressing the button. Boo to Staples for changing the Easy button. Might just make hand-held buttons using PVC and momentary contact switches...

[jfdonohoe]

I ran into the same issue. Half my Buttons were the old circuit board and half the new ones. I got it to work by basically cutting the boards to make a visibly understood circuit.

I'll try to take a photo of what I ended up doing and post it.

[ladbg]

I can't quite tell from the pictures where the slide switch wires attach to the circuit board.  You indicate they go to the upper left hand corner and advise to  refer to the circuit board instructions, but I'm still having trouble.  Do you have another picture or more specific instructions?  Thank you.

[rk55]

In case you haven't figured it out yourself or someone else had answered your question, here is the answer. There are are three holes next to the battery where the tiny slide button supplied withe the kit goes. You need to use the two holes closer to the battery connection to connect your larger push button.

[rk55]

I soldered all the components, soldered wires for LEDs and the on/off switch and connected the battery. I also plugged the push buttons that came with the kit to test my connections. I 'turned the system on' buy shorting the wires for the on/off switch. When I press the switch 1, the LED1 wires have a voltage between them as measured by the multimeter. I can reset by pressing the reset push button to reset the voltage to zero. But push button switches SW2 through SW4 have no effect on LED1 through LED5. I checked all the connections and polarities of diodes, they seem to be fine though my soldering is kind of sloppy. Any suggestions on what can be going wrong? I do not want to connect anything till I can make sure the circuit is fine. Thanks

[smrflwr]

This is awesome. I have a question regarding the Jeopardy template. How do you change the exam title on the slides? I know how to do it on the title page, but on the other slides I am unable to change it. I checked the slide master and I can't do it there. I would appreciate the information.

[balloonpilot]

Thanks for the great instructable!!
This should save a whole lot of arguments over who rung in first at my youth group.
And at an affordable price too.

[johnelle]

I built this and it functions but the "super bright" LEDs are not very bright at all. I assume this is because they need more current than the small original LEDs that come in the kit. Has anybody adjusted the resistance so the get more current?

Also the reset button works better with 1/2" PVC rather than 1".

[kbedell1]

The website that sells the kit also sells a power adapter that could work for higher voltage requirements.

[Phoghat]

My GF and watch Jeopardy together. Sometime there's another friend or two.
1. I'm assuming that if less that 4 people are playing it will still work?
2 I don't like the Easy button and will make this with the hand held button in #5?
3. I'll just use some other kind of momentary switch for the reset button.
Can sound be added?

[10lombara]

i have a question regarding the circuit, i built the circuit exactly as you said but it seems like no electricity is running through the circuit because my LED lights are not going on. What are some of the possible problems that i could have? i was thinking it was my soldering but im not sure.

[Madrias357]

LED's might be backwards, power might be backwards, buttons might not be functioning. Test with a multimeter in DC volts mode.

[Phoghat]

Not to mention a cold joint or two

[bartman1966]

An alternative solution could be to use QuizXpress (http://www.quizxpress.com). This is software for Windows that allows you to design quizzes graphical with all sorts of game formats and works with the commonly available wireless and wired Sony Buzz buzzers.

[Xombee]

Thanks for the Instructable! The kit has another product number "MK133", that can be found at http://www.apogeekits.com/quiz_table_mk133.htm for under $9.

If you are a soldering newbie, be sure you follow the correct soldering procedures (there's several videos on Youtube), or you'll mess up the board. One thing that happened to me is that I failed to put some hot glue on the wire connecting points to extend the LED reach and a couple of them snapped the solder connecting points.

Also, don't be lazy about tinning and cleaning your soldering iron of excess solder, or you'll have trouble.

[jatala]

Great build! Thanks for sharing. Perfectly explained! Just finished tonight and lights 3 and 4 are not working. I am going to have to trouble shoot!

[jatala]

Found the problems and system works flawlessly. Thanks for posting this instructable. I used the system at a company party and it was a huge hit! Couldn't have built it in time without your easy instructions. I knew I wanted to use easy buttons as buzzers, but it wasn't sure how to integrate it into a locl out system until I found your instructable. Thanks again!

[Waren-Neutron]

what is content of mini kit mk133

[kmagic4]

this could be really cool if you made the buttons out of those similarly shaped stick up push button lights and it would probably be easier to connect them to the wire

[db_speakers]

Great instructable, I built something really similar about a year ago without realizing this was out here. I'm an electrical engineer and my dad, who's still involved with scouts as an organizer, wanted something like this for 8 teams. I didn't realize that radio shack made a kit so I designed a control circuit myself. I first thought to use staples buttons for controllers because one was sitting on my bosses desk. Then I started looking into it and it was the cheapest assembly I could find. Individual buttons without housing are really cheap, but the stylish plastic housing and tactile response of the button really did it for me. Plus, the "EASY" button makes perfect sense for a quiz game. My version of the easy button is identical to how you put it together. I added hot glue to the wire pass through on the easy button plastic collar, just to make sure the solder didn't take the stress if somebody kicked the wire. I like your reset button; mine was just a button next to the indicators on the box. I made my controllers detachable; one of my design requirements was to make at least 30 ft chords for the controllers (8 teams spread out in a big area). I bought speaker wire at bulk price and used RC battery connectors. They're really cheap, have simple locking mechanisms and are 2 pin, so they did the trick. Any connectors (like 3.5mm audio coax mentioned above) would work fine, but my cord lengths would have made a pre-assembled cable too expensive. All told, the most expensive part of the project were the 8 controllers. They cost $5 each to make, so they ate most of what turned out to be a $60 project. The actual circuit I built with the LED's and project board was maybe $10 tops and accomodates 8 players. It also fit on one of those little 2x3.5 inch radio shack project boards using a pretty tight layout. In response to a lot of these comments: I think it would make the most sense to switch to a micro controller and 3 wire controllers if sounds and controller lighting were desired. Plus, most microcontrollers have atleast 16 I/O; which means up to 16 players could be supported with only a $30 complete micro board. If you really wanted a brief buzzer followed by a timer, it could be designed and built with 555 timers, but it would only take 5 lines of code in a micro. You have to ask yourself if it's worth it when the code is that simple to implement.

[sci5]

I am a student that attempted this project for physics. Instead of using the easy button, I used LED lights from Radioshack for about $5. I found it diffcult to go to Staples when I live an hour away. For novice solderers, you need to practice before you start on the board or you will ruin it. It was a great idea, but it was very hard. The circuit board is the hardest part. I enjoyed making this. Thanks for the idea.
                                                  The Chick

[Davecarp]

im a little disappointed that you didn't design the circuitry yourself, but you used a kit instead. ive seen plans for a similar jeopardy style buzzer system made with a load of 555 timers, that would have been cool to see in instructable form.