Infrared interruptor for cornhole

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Wu_4_the_kids
 
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Infrared interruptor for cornhole

Post by Wu_4_the_kids »

Hi- I am new to adafruit and any kind of programming or engineering. I have no experience and no training. I am trying to solve a simple problem, for which I am sure a simple and elegant solution already exists, I just don’t know what it is called. So, please remember that I will be lost so quickly if you get into technical specs or coding advice if anything of the sort.

I like to play a game called cornhole - the goal of the game is to throw a beanbag about 30 feet into a hole in a board. Sometimes, when the bag goes straight into the hole (as opposed to hitting the board and sliding in) it is difficult to tell, for sure, that the bag actually went into the hole. This is because sometimes the bag hits the ground below the hole and rolls out from under the board bc of the angle of the throw.

I want to build and install an infrared beam that, when interrupted by the bag going through the hole will trigger an alert of some sort: flashing light, buzzer or siren, or something. Ideally, it would trigger playback or a prerecorded message or one of a series of messages.

Basically, when the bag goes through the hole, a light or message needs to play, indicating that it did, in fact, cross that threshold. It doesn’t need to keep score as that is i more complicated, just a simple alert.

Any help or feedback is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,


Chris

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Infrared interruptor for cornhole

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

A breakbeam sensor is probably what you want: https://www.adafruit.com/product/2168
I'd put 2 or 3 sets around the hole to make sure that you cover all the angles at which the beanbag can go through.

For outdoor use, it is important to shield the receiving side from ambient light. The cornhole board itself should block out any direct sun. It may help to add some additional shielding so that the receiver has only a clear view towards the transmitter beam.

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