Trivia Game Answer Buttons

With this circuit you will be able to run your very own game show. When you press one of the player buttons on either side of the box, its corresponding light turns on and the other button is deactivated in order to show who answered the questions first. To start the game again simply press the reset button. You may also make a simple power light to confirm that the box is being powered if you like.

Step 1: Circuit

Follow this circuit diagram on your bread board. Some problems that I ran into was making this project was putting the diodes the wrong way around. Also, while building the circuit it is helpful to have a way to test if the board is getting power. you can do this by connecting a 330 resistor to ground and then connecting an LED to power and the resistor.

Step 2: Soldering

The nest step is to solder all of the LEDs and buttons. You should solder three buttons and at least 2 LEDs. Make sure that you wrap your solder joints in electrical tape to keep them safe.

Step 3: Making the Lid

To make the lid of the box, measure the diameter of the widest point of the LEDs and the buttons. Drill holes with drill bits of equal diameter in whatever layout you wish. When you have drilled your holes, test and make sure that all the LEDs fit and the buttons are snug. If you need to you can add a small drop of glue to keep them secure, but make sure the glue doesn't contact the metal conductors.

Step 4: Making the Sides

Next you have to decide how tall you want your box to be. This wont have much of an effect on the final project, you just have to make sure that the connectors for the buttons and LEDs are long enough to reach the board. I used a thicker piece of 5 ply wood, but any thicker wood works. Make sure that it is thick because you are going to need room to glue the other sides on. I have found that wood glue works fine for this project.

Step 5: Making a Back

To make the back of the box, just measure the dimensions of the box and trace them on to the same wood you used to make the top. Then just cut it out and glue it onto the back of the box.

Step 6: Create a Door - Optional

If you would like you can create a door for your box by repeating the same process for cutting the back. then attach a hinge to the side wall with two screws and the other side of the hinge to your door. I used a strong epoxy to attack the hinge to the door as it is too thin to screw through. if you don't have a clamp to hold it down, you can use a strong magnet on the other side of the wood to hold it over night. Next, glue a magnet to the end of the door to keep it closed. Just drill a screw into the side wall and presto you have a simple door.

Step 7: Create a Power Supply

If you like you can also create a power supply out of an old USB cable and an AC wall adapter. Cut the end off a USB cable and then strip it with a pair of wire strippers. You will find four cables of varying colors. You are looking for the red and black wires. Cut off the other two. Next, solder the red and black wires to a longer length of wire. Then wrap any solder points in electrical tape. You can then drill a hole in the back of your box to feed the wires through to the board.

Step 8: All Done!

Let the games begin!