The Game Show Forum > The Big Board
Seeking lockout buzzer recommendations
Mike Tennant:
I've been using Particleman's Feud software on and off for years, and up to now, I've just used a spare wireless keyboard (with stickers on the Z and /) as the faceoff buzzer. I'm planning to host another show at my church in July. The last time I did one of these, in December, the stage was too far from the laptop running the game for the buzzers to work well. This time is likely to be the same scenario. Plus, I'd just like to get away from the keyboard method, which looks tacky and makes it possible for one of the contestants (or a clumsy host) to accidentally press one of the other keys and really mess things up.
I know we've had this discussion before, but finding things on this board isn't the easiest, and technology keeps changing, so: What buzzers do y'all recommend? The best-case scenario is one in which I get wireless ones with a decent range that transmit ASCII characters; but I could also use some generic lockouts that make it clear to host, contestants, and (preferably also) audience who buzzed in first. I can always bypass the faceoff in the software. Cost is also a consideration since it's coming out of my own pocket. Obviously, with so many participants, this is a situation in which a phone app would not be suitable.
Sodboy13:
I would have to go to my home computer to remember the specifics on how to set it up, but if you can get a set of PS3 Buzz controllers off eBay and use joy2key to map keystrokes to the buttons, it works quite nicely. And you can make those big red buttons light up.
parliboy:
Obviously, the buzz solution is still an option if you can pair it with joy2key. And I've used it before; it does work. I have found it to be hit-or-miss at long range, though. But you can probably buy something in the $30-50 range.
If you have a larger budget, and, you want big, meat, slappy buzzers, buy something from affordablebuzzers.com. You might have to use a remapper to make the / key work. But other than that it should be fine.
For your host "console", I'd also suggest buying a 3, 6, or 12 keyboard off Amazon or ebay. Those tend to be completely programmable. Then you can just make your own labels to put on the keys. If you buy two, you can dedicate one to each of the 12 panels, and the other to all of the other game controls. And checking the instructions, there are exactly 24 keys involved, so it's probably worth your time to do those labels to help reduce brain freeze when you're live.
Mike Tennant:
--- Quote from: parliboy on April 10, 2025, 05:19:23 PM ---For your host "console", I'd also suggest buying a 3, 6, or 12 keyboard off Amazon or ebay. Those tend to be completely programmable. Then you can just make your own labels to put on the keys. If you buy two, you can dedicate one to each of the 12 panels, and the other to all of the other game controls. And checking the instructions, there are exactly 24 keys involved, so it's probably worth your time to do those labels to help reduce brain freeze when you're live.
--- End quote ---
That's not a problem. I have someone in the back of the room running the board from my laptop (with stickers on the necessary keys)--hence the need for a long range. All I do is emcee.
dazztardly:
I've used these in the past on many game show builds for clients. Keystroke assignment to the keys are programmable, and they can be physically labelled.
https://www.genovation.com/product-category/programmables/
As for keystroke interfaced buzzers, I usually run with these i-PAC boards from Ultimarc. Keystrokes to the terminals are programmable.
https://www.ultimarc.com/control-interfaces/i-pacs/
This is a wireless buzzer solution, but they are a little spendy. Additional software can be downloaded via their website for the buzzers units to emit keystrokes.
https://digigames.com/product-category/wireless-buzzers/
-Dan
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