Path: utzoo!attcan!telly!problem!compus!lethe!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!infonode!palmerc
From: palmerc@infonode.ingr.com (Chris Palmer)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: Game Arbitration Circuit
Message-ID: <1990Dec6.164647.26505@infonode.ingr.com>
Date: 6 Dec 90 16:46:47 GMT
References: <1310039@hpcilzb.HP.COM>
Reply-To: palmerc@infonode.UUCP (Chris Palmer)
Organization: Intergraph Corp. Huntsville, AL
Lines: 35

In article <1310039@hpcilzb.HP.COM> denny@hpcilzb.HP.COM (Trueman Denny) writes:
>I have a friend who wants to build a arbitration circuit as part of a high
>school project.  Basically all it does is determine who presses a button 
>first just like in Jeopardy.  Does a commodity IC exist that performs this
>function?
>
>Any comments or circuit suggestions are welcomed.  Please post to this
>notes group are to me directly.
>
>Thanks in Advance!!!

I know I'll get flamed for this, but I'm a computer engineer with a minimal
electronics knowledge -- that is, I know which end of a soldering iron to
hold.  I started working on the exact same type of project about a year ago
for my wife who is a teacher and an academic team sponsor.  I drew many
pages of circuit diagrams and breadboarded some sample circuits before finally
deciding that I just didn't have what it took.  (The circuits worked, that
was simple, the problem was timing (double ring-ins, etc.).)  The circuit
got way too complicated for such a simple project so I dropped back and 
punted.  I took my old Commodore 64 out of the closet, built a box with
4 red LEDs, 4 green LEDs, and 8 subminature sockets then went to the 
workshop and built 8 handheld buttons with momentary contact push-buttons.
Then I did what any self-respecting computer engineer would do -- I did
all of the processing and decision making in software!  I wrote a program
that polled the switches and then lit the appropriate LED when someone rang
in.  (The box plugs in the parallel port of the computer).  I felt a little
guilty because I had wanted to do a hardware design, but this was actually
quite nice because I was able to add score-keeping, sound-effects, team
roster lists, and timers into my control software.  If you're interested
in any further details, let me know.
-- 
|  Christopher M. Palmer                     #                                |
/  Intergraph Corporation                    #                                \
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