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]

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.

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

[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]

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.

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.