1. Bowling Alley Communications Mark Patterson EKU Dept. of Technology, CEN

2. 2 MOTIVATION Cut down on time to fix lanes Eliminate unneeded communications Wanted project that was low budget.

3. 3 INTRODUCTION Blackout communication has always been done the same way. Never had any attempt at improvement. No existing improvement found online. Lot’s of wasted time as is.

4. 4 PROBLEM STATEMENT Too much down time between when a lane messes up and when the mechanic is made aware of the problem. Wasting time finding error code for each lane.

5. 5 PROPOSED SOLUTION List steps taken to solve the problem such as: Brainstorming (gist of ideas tried) Proposed solution with justification Arranging for software/hardware Assembly Testing & troubleshooting Verifying results This might continue on multiple slides

6. Ideas Interface the front display on machines for error codes. Run signal from blackout lights to shop. Hook buzzer up to alert mechanics. Use encoder/decoder to cut down on wire. 6

7. Hardware Lots of wire Breadboards Logic Gates and Chips LEDs or Lamps 24VAC Relays Power Supply 7

8. Assembly Created the circuit in MultiSim. Tested in MultiSim and it worked. Created the Encoder with Logic Gates. Used a different Board for Decoder Chip Tested in the Lab and they were working properly. 8

9. Assembly (Cont) 9

10. Implementation Hooked relays up to 24VAC bulbs on the lanes. Used relays as a switch to close inputs for the encoder. 10

11. Implementation (Cont) Ran communication line from lanes into mechanics area. Hooked communication line to input for decoder. 11

12. Troubleshooting Had to get 6V batteries from the lab. Had to use a wire to connect grounds on both boards. Put a switchboard in to troubleshoot. Causing lanes to mess up just to troubleshoot took too long. 12

13. Results Got the encoder/ decoder to work. Lot of troubleshooting. 13

14. 14 CONCLUSIONS This will be very expensive to implement on all 32 lanes because of Relays. A larger encoder/decoder, such as a 16:4 would work much better as it would save lot of money on wire. Finding the right encoder would be far less troublesome.

15. 15 FUTURE WORK I plan on extending this in some way to all 32 lanes in the future. Questions, or Suggestions? mark.patterson18@gmail.com