Anyone familiar with older electro-mechanical scoreboards?

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TerryBarnhill

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Tyler, Texas
I was asked to possibly make an old basketball one light up. This is one with screw in lamps, clock, home and away score, foul lights, and possession markers. It has a 110 cord end, and two 18 gauge control cables: one two wire and one three wire. Once upon a time, I ran a scoreboard, and the one I ran had on/off toggles for possession, momentary for foul count, and a double momentary setup to start the clock - with one being able to stop it. I never saw the wiring on that one, so have no idea how many control wires there were. I know most of the controlling was inside the control unit at the timekeeper's station. I'm just wondering how they get all the required signals down the two cables. I find no manufacturer label, nor am I able to look inside as it's riveted all around. Owner doesn't want to run a ball game with it, but would like to make up a home/away score, etc ..

I have yet to plug it in, so have no idea what happens when it get's power. Tried google and found nothing about schematics for any of these older units. I'm sure it's full of relays, just hard to figure out how the 5 wires are controlling them correctly.

Anyone ever pried one open?
 
TerryBarnhill said:
..... nor am I able to look inside as it's riveted all around....
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That's what a drill is for, drill out the rivets.

Not BB, but do have an old bowling score machine, lots of ratchet old fashioned step relays. Mostly cleaning contacts and lubing relay ratchet wheels to get that thing to work.
 
junkhound said:
That's what a drill is for, drill out the rivets.

Not BB, but do have an old bowling score machine, lots of ratchet old fashioned step relays. Mostly cleaning contacts and lubing relay ratchet wheels to get that thing to work.
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At a guess, if your unit really is just relays, then the two conductor cable may pulse a stepping relay to determine which function the other cable (common and momentary up or down) is going to affect.
Or, if all three wires are just contact closures to ground you could have as many as four independent momentary switches.
But the combination of two scores, two foul counters, a period indicator and a clock would require at least six circuits.
(The same lead that starts and stops the clock (both momentary) could also reset the clock to the programmed period length when held closed.)
Each score counter could be just two or three ten position stepping relays whose output contacts determine the combination of bulbs that light for that digit. You would not even need diodes for that setup to work, assuming a single pole in the relay for each bulb.
 
just relays

If one has been in a train station in Paris (FR, not IL, g) they have (or at least still had 2 years ago) the neatest old (1950s?)j departure boards.

Must have 300+ stepping relays in that thing, fascination to watch it cycle when a train leaves.
 
junkhound said:
just relays

If one has been in a train station in Paris (FR, not IL, g) they have (or at least still had 2 years ago) the neatest old (1950s?)j departure boards.

Must have 300+ stepping relays in that thing, fascination to watch it cycle when a train leaves.
Click to expand...
If you liked that, you would have loved a Strowger switch based ("step-by-step") electromechanical phone exchange. Between two dimensional stepping relays and every conceivable combination of pull-in and release delay characteristics with DC relays, you would have a hard time figuring out just from the schematics how they actually operated.
 
Thanks for the input. Drilling out the rivets isn't an option, as this is a display unit in a store that he's happy with. Making it light up somehow is just an option he'd like. I've never attempted such an undertaking so hoped someone else might have!
 
What's the brand and model number? I've made repairs on a couple of different brands...even have a schematic or two in my files.

Oh...you said you couldn't find a label. Duh. Can you post some pics? Every board I've worked on has some way to access the guts from the front or side.
 
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Stopped by today and found the access. Didn't look close enough at the front, before. Today I
saw two screws and the almost hidden barrels of two hinges! Will be back next week with my eight foot and open her up!
 
And be aware that depending on the brand and age, not all of the guts are accessible through the hinged panel...

0f5e_1.jpg

On this old boy, the hatch where the period lights are gives access to the clock mechanism, but the cans with the rotary switches for scores are behind the score display panels.
 
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