Digital football table score board

Projects General Guidance
1

Hey,
I have a football table game. I want to have an automatic digital score board on it.
I am using a break beam at each goal (one at each end of the field).
I am also using an Arduino. And digit display.
I have the parts but I don't know how to wire them up to the Arduino and I don't know how to program the Arduino.
I know there is a similar topic on here, but it is using different parts.
So I am a beginner. I know I can do this, but I just need some help from the pro's please.
Here are the parts I have already.

  1. Arduino R4 Minima

    Arduino R4 Minima
    Arduino R4 Minima850×850 178 KB

  2. Adafruit break beam sensors x2

    Adafruit breakbeam
    Adafruit breakbeam500×500 28.4 KB

  3. Robojax digital display x2

    Robojax 74HC595 Driving 0.5in Seven Segment Display for Arduino
    Robojax 74HC595 Driving 0.5in Seven Segment Display for Arduino600×526 80.2 KB

    Robojax 74HC595 Driving 0.5in Seven Segment Display for Arduino Compatible with Raspberry Pi (2 Digits) : Amazon.ca: Toys & Games

Any help would be very much appreciated.
Thank you,
Glenn

2

Go to this link wokwi-74hc595 Reference | Wokwi Docs to familiarize yourself with the 74HC595 shift register. It's a simulator so there's no need for breadboard and jumper wires.

There are also lots of 74HC595 libraries so you can offload some of the nitty gritty parts of coding.

3

how to connect the display to arduino:

how to connect the breakbeam to arduino:

or this:

4

Thank you very much. This will certainly help to get me started

5

Thank you. They are very helpful. There is one video I haven’t watched yet.
I am also hoping to get some step by step for dummies. Like Step 1. 5 volt power connects to 5 volt Arduino for example.
Thank you again

6

Question. Why has he used resistors in the circuit in the video please?
Also with the Arduino. Where do I put the break beam sensor wire. I assume it goes into the digital pwm. But which one, for example some are 2, others are ~3 what is this symbol ~ can I use it, or don’t use. Thank you

7

How to use the device is covered on this Adafruit page: Overview | IR Breakbeam Sensors | Adafruit Learning System

8

Thank you!

9

The ~ symbol indicates that the pin has the capability to output a PWM signal, which is useful for controlling motor speeds or dimming LEDs.

For the beam-break sensor, you will be using an Arduino pin as an input, not an output, so you can use pins either with or without the ~ symbol.

10

I think dot matrix will be better because with seven segment displays, you can show numbers only. If you use dot matrix display, you'll be able to show other info like the names of the teams, names of the players who are playing, who score goals etc.

11

It's table football! Same two teams every time and the players don't usually have names.

It's clear that @tangodownnz is very much a beginner, so keeping things simple is a good idea.

12

Oh I see. I know almost nothing about table football. Thanks for clarifying.

13

Thanks very much everyone for all the helpful info!

14

I guess I need to solder pins onto the display board​:flushed_face:

15

Yes, you cannot push pins or wires into the holes, that will not make reliable connections.

You can solder PCB pins to the display and use make-to-female dupont wires, or solder male-to-male wires into the holes.

Right-angle PCB pins might be an advantage.

s-l1600 (88)
s-l1600 (88)800×800 45 KB

Soldering_Results
Soldering_Results474×277 31.9 KB

16

Cool. Thanks

17

Should I get Arduino Uno Rev 3 SMD ATmega328P, 14 digital input/output pins
or
Arduino UNO Rev 4 Minima Development Board 48MHz Arm Cortex-M4 microprocessor with FPU RTC - MPU - DAC - 256 kB Flash Memory - 32 kB SRAM - 8 kB EEPROM

One is a development board. Somebody recommended the Minima one. I don't know why.
Thanks

18

I would suggest a clone of the ATmega328P version of the NANO. It has the same functions as the UNO R3 but with (in my opinion) an easier to use form factor. It has enough capability to do what you want.

19

Look how close that component is to the solder area :flushed_face:

IMG_1912
IMG_19121707×1350 423 KB

20

Are the 2 board terminals next to the component Vcc and GND?

If so, it may not be too much of a problem. That component looks like a bypass capacitor and will be connected across Vcc and GND tracks. So if you accidentally make solder bridges between the cap and the board terminals, no problem. Just don't make a solder bridge across the cap's terminals, or you will get a short circuit!