I’m new to this electronic world, looks like fun. I want to make a wireless buzzer lockout system. I need a system that shows up on my computer as a keyboard. I see many easy ways to do this as a wired system, but I need wireless. I thought I could hack some wireless keyboards, but I’m worried about the range. I’ll be using these in bars and restaurants. Can I use xbee for this? I need 10 lockout buzzers, so something inexpensive would be nice.
Thanks for any help you could give me.
Barneyboop
Not sure what you have in mind - what is a buzzer lockout system and how is it wireless?barneyboop:
I want to make a wireless buzzer lockout system.
How would the system show up as a keyboard on your computer? Some type of keypad?I need a system that shows up on my computer as a keyboard.
How would you hack a wireless keyboard to do this?I thought I could hack some wireless keyboards, but I’m worried about the range.
And how would you use this in a bar or restaurant?I’ll be using these in bars and restaurants.
Worried about the range? Then tell us what range you want.
Inexpensive would be nice? How much can you pay for it?
Off the top of my head, if you want it to look like a keyboard, then it has to be a HID device these days. I don’t know how easy wireless USB HID is going to be. If it has to emulate a keyboard, then the easiest DIY method would be a wireless receiver that is a USB HID and it wirelessly receives a signal from a transmitter.
Cheap to build, not cheap to develop: you could feasibly build each unit for less than $20 in parts but spend dozens/hundreds of hours getting it to work. How much value are you putting on your time? Rule of thumb is you can’t build something cheaper than you can buy it off the shelf.
Most game show programs recognize keys 1 - 9 and 0 as player buzz in’s. What I can do now is hack a wireless keyboard for the circuit board. I figure out which contacts trigger which keyboard key strokes. Then I solder wires on the contacts for key press 1, then wire a push button switch in a box and voila, a wireless lockout buzzer. I repeat this process for key press 2 - 9 and 0. I have seen several boards that I could use the emulate a keyboard for this process, Arduino, makey makey, just to name a few, but I can’t figure out how to make them wireless. The range of a keyboard is at best about 30’. The Xbee’s have a range of over 100’. That would be awesome!
I confess I have never had reason to try this, but will the OS recognize multiple keyboards at once?
I’m told that windows will support several “keyboards”. I thought a better way would be to use a keyboard emulator like I-pac, keywiz, or Arduino, I can set up one of those boards easily enough, but they are a wired system. There must be a way to trigger inputs on one of these emulators wirelessly. That’s where I thought Xbee might help, but I’m a novice at this stuff, and that’s why I’m asking for everyone’s kind help.
In any project, it’s best to investigate the unknowns first so you know if your approach is even viable.
Start by testing if Windows will even support the number of keyboards you need to use. If that works, then you can move on to the next step. Sure, it’s easy to emulate a keyboard with a small controller, but that won’t help you if you find out that there is e.g., a limit of only 2 keyboards allowed.
However it seems that what you want to do can be solved by one keyboard emulator and multiple wireless inputs. So it would be possible with multiple paired XBee or Bluetooth devices. A bit pricy at $50/input but it’s the fastest route to getting something working. XBee devices have a “wire replacement” mode where an input on one is reflected as a corresponding output on the other but without wires connecting them.
I’ll check into the xbee. I appreciate all of your advice.
Thanks