Preferring his tennis games to be of the table-top variety, Dimitri didn't like to repeatedly bend down and pick up balls. It slowed down his play and created wear-and-tear on his back. So he built a microcontroller-based, automatic ball dispenser. A player simply pushes a switch on the four-ball device, releasing one ball at a time. Using an infrared optical detector, the system automatically counts down the ball inventory, updating and displaying the number remaining. When the last ball is released, a buzzer sounds, notifying players to replenish.
For Dimitri Merrill's complete instructions on how to build your own automatic ping pong ball dispenser, click here.
Automatic Ping Pong Ball Dispenser Parts List
Amt
Part Description
Allied Part #
1
H-bridge, 3A, 55V
288-1572
1
Acoustic buzzer
623-1997
1
12V, .42A dc power supply
653-0242
2
10 nF capacitor
881-3322
3
330 Ù resistor
296-5216
2
Normally open button
948-7199
1
Proto board
977-1951
3
1,000 microF capacitor
852-0011
1
Optical detector
263-0909
1
Infrared emitter
980-9991
Additional parts required: 1 Xilinx Spartan-3 Starter Kit (Xilinx part number DO-SPAR3-DK)
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