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Seeking lockout buzzer recommendations

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Otm Shank:
The easiest out-of-the-box solution is the Buzz controllers with joy2key. And I also used one remote as a clear/score up/score down controller. It been a while, but I think there was a timeout situation if you set them up too early, so a periodic buzzer check is in order. I kept everyone near to avoid a ranging issue.

A little more homebrew wired solution, if that's your game, is to get some arcade buttons that are built for a little abuse...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M7PNCO9

and control unit that converts button presses to joystick actions...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UUROWWK/

I used a square plastic electrical box (what is behind the wall of a dual switch) upside down and drilled a hole in it to mount the button. You can use 24 gauge speaker wire to connect the leads to the control unit.

To give me the distance without the potential wireless issues, I just used telephone line to connect the control unit to an intermediate junction box positioned closer to the contestants. There are 4 wires inside a telephone line, so it's just a matter of connecting 2 to wires coming from each buzzer and matching colors on the other end. (You can get 6- and 8-wire cables if you need more buzzers.) By having the junction box, I didn't have to have an insane amount of wire attached to each buzzer, and I had the ability to adjust the across-the-room run longer or shorter without affecting the buzzers. You just have the one cord to contend with, and it is handy if you need to change a buzzer out. Ideally, this involves a small amount of soldering. I don't know the practical distance that you can get from the contestants to the "producer's console" but it worked for a large living room.

Mike Tennant:
I appreciate the responses that have come in thus far. I will have to take some time to look into them to see what will work for me. Any other suggestions are also welcome.

Joe Mello:

--- Quote from: Otm Shank on April 12, 2025, 03:32:38 PM ---The easiest out-of-the-box solution is the Buzz controllers with joy2key. And I also used one remote as a clear/score up/score down controller. It been a while, but I think there was a timeout situation if you set them up too early, so a periodic buzzer check is in order. I kept everyone near to avoid a ranging issue.
--- End quote ---
The wireless ones have that issue. The wired cable is 6' + 6 more for each individual button. Obviously extension cable are available.

I also have a homebrew similar to Otm. I used metal electrical boxes (2 gang) and got a couple rubber washers to make sure the plastic nuts don't break. I tried to house my USB stick in a plastic junction box for hoses (it even came with a lid) but it cracked when I tried to open where the hoses go. Base cost will be like $20-30 for the USB + $20 per button.

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