DEC Software - Wireless Buzzers

Wireless Buzzers - August 2011

Wow - this is totally cool!

Wireless buzzers for about $100 - $125 and 10 minutes of your time!**

(if you can still find them on Ebay or Amazon)

We've come a long way! We've wanted to offer our clients a better way of playing our games for several years, and this is the next major step in doing that. From keyboard input, to gamepads, to wired buzzers and now wireless buzzers, we've kept pace with the changing industry, without trying to break your bank.

The wireless buzzers that come with the Buzz! series of games for the Playstation 3 provides that avenue for us to get software and hardware into your hands, to make your review games, ice breakers and presentations interesting and fun.

The instructions may look daunting, but we've tried to go into all the details of setting up the buzzers to work on your PC. We believe that you can get the buzzers to work in about 10 minutes, if you have the proper hardware and software. So, without further hesitation, here we go . . . .

How to get the Wireless Buzz! Buzzers working on a PC

You will need a computer running Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7.

You will need to purchase the WIRELESS* buzzers that comes with the PlayStation 3 game (Buzz! Quiz and a variety of other titles).

There are at least two different versions of the wireless buzzers on the market, but the main difference (besides who makes them) is whether they have a blue button on the front. A blue light flashing to confirm button presses is very useful when configuring these buzzers!

Buzzers only, with dongle.

Game with buzzers. Of course, you won't be using the game DVD itself, unless you have a PlayStation 3.

Ask us to email you the SimpleHIDWrite program (this is a free program). Download the program and extract it to your desktop.

Turn on each Wireless Buzzer that you intend to use, holding the on-switch for around four seconds. The red-light at the top of the buzzers should flash and a small blue light at the base of the buzzer will remain lit.

Insert the Wireless Dongle into a USB port on your PC, this should immediately be detected as a game controller called Wbuzz by your system.

Now, press the small button on the dongle marked ‘bind’. The Red button at the top of the buzzer and the blue light at the base should flash briefly to confirm the buzzers are now paired to the system. At this point, all lights on the buzzer will turn off (Don’t worry, it hasn’t died on you, it’s meant to do that!).

Now we have to tell the buzzers they’re in use. We do this using a small piece of free-ware called SimpleHIDwrite. Upon opening this program (SimpleHIDWrite) you should see a list of all the HID (human interface devices) plugged into your system, and Wbuzz should appear among all the HID devices (see diagram below).

Click on Wbuzz in order to highlight the Buzz buzzers

Click on Wbuzz and enter 00 into each of the seven boxes, then click write (see diagram below).The buzzers will flash in response to the signal SimpleHIDwrite is sending. At this point you should notice that whenever you press a button on the buzzers the small blue light at the base will flash.

Enter 00 into all of the boxes and click on <Write>

This is an optional step. But one that tells you that the buzzers are ready to go. Enter 00 in the first box and FF in the remaining boxes. Click write and the red light at the top of each buzzer will come on and remain lit. (Not essential but could come in handy. Plus your participants will like that red button glowing!)

Enter 00 into the first box and the FF in all of rest of the boxes and click on <Write>

That's it. If the red lights are lit, then you can close the SinpleHIDWrite program and start The Ultimate QuizShow, Classroom Feud or Classroom Millionaire.

If the lights are not lit, then you may need to go through the procedure once again. In our experience, about 20% of the time, you must repeat the procedure.

*Make sure that it comes with buzzers. Some distributors sell the game only (some customers may already have the buzzers and don't need another set of buzzers).

**Obviously, we cannot assure the reliability of wireless buzzers that are purchased from sources other than DEC Software.

*History of the Buzz-In methods supported by The Ultimate QuizShow (formerly Classroom Jeopardy)*

	Buzz-In Method	Advantages	Disadvantages	Cost
	Players raise their hands	No additional equipment needed.	Hard to tell who raised their hand first.	No additional cost

	Keyboard	No additional equipment needed.	A little cramped when playing with more than 1 or 2 players.	No additional cost

	Keyboard and Y-Key, Key Dual Keyboard Splitter	Spreads out the players.	Need an additional keyboard.	$50 for Y-Key, Key splitter.

	USB gamepads	Players can be situated whereever the gamepads will reach.	4 USB gamepads, wires and extensions can become tangled.	About $10 per gamepad. About $6 for each USB extension cable. May need to purchase a 4 port USB hub if the computer doesn't have 4 USB ports. (about $15 to $20)

	Buzzer systems	Works great once you figure out how to set them up.	Expensive.	$200 and up.

	Wireless numeric keypads	Look Ma - no wires.	Players can buzz-in for other players. Range can vary greatly.	About $30 per keypad.


	Buzz! Buzzers	Inexpensive, professional look and feel.		About $30 for Buzz! (with remotes)

	Buzz! Wireless Buzzers	Professional look and feel.	A little more expensive.	About $100 to $125 for Buzz! (with wireless remotes)

The Ultimate QuizShow is a Jeopardy style program that is fun for the classroom or business presentation!