How to build an electronic dice

 

On this page, I will show you, how to build an electronic dice on your own.

 

But one "warning" in advance: You should have some experience in building electronic devices. At least you should know, what resistors, capacitors, diodes and microchips are, and have some practice in soldering those components. You do not need to know much about electronics - I am anyway going to explain step by step what to do. Anyone who has ever played with "juniors electronic kit", or things like that should not have any problem. Some interest in electronics and some experience in soldering are surely enough.

 

What are the Features of this dice ?
The dice procudes numbers, that are as random, as if they come from a real dice. They will be displayed using light emmiting diods. The display uses using points (like [:]) not numbers (like [2]), just as accustomed by real dices. To "throw" the electronic dice, you have to push a button.
Unlike a real dice, you can change the amount of sides your dice has (the range of the numbers your dice will deliver.) Using switches, you can make your electronic dive a "D2", delivering only 1 or 2, a "D3", "D4", .. up to "D49". (Remark: the usual dice, the "D6" is of course included.)
The dice is driven by a battery.

 

What does it cost ?
Well, it costs you the components, and the time to buy them and stick them together. I provide the instructions to build it for free - as a kind of promotion for one of my hobbies: electronics.
The electronic components will cost you less than 10 Euro or $ (I hope you know a shop where you can buy it). Additional you have to get a box, as a cover for the electronics.
How much time it takes is depending very much on your experience in building such things, and of course on how fast you used to work. I think it might take you 5 - 10 hours (I spent some more time, because I had to develop the construction plans I am providing here on my own - so I cant judge this time very well. The best is YOU write me in an email, how long it took, and if you encountered any problems.)
I am assuming you are a "home mechanic" just like I do, so you should have some tools for soldering, drilling, cutting, ... at home anyway.

 




 

 

I think I should place a photograph of the dice I build here - unfortunately I have no camara and no scanner, so it will take a while until it is here.

 

 

What you need:

To build an electronic dice using my construction plans, you need to buy the following things:

 

Take the plate, and fix the IC Sockets on it. Take the wires of the first color, and the battery clip, and connect them according to the "step one" below. Take wires of the next color and continue with "step two". Continue until "step five". Drill holes in the box, to put the LEDs there. Put the microchips into the sockets. Connect the battery to the clip, and turn the power switch on - everything should work now.

 

Resistors, Capacitors, Switches:

 

 

 

Once you finished building your electronic dice, you can use the switches to configurate it. The maximum value the dice can show is determined by these switches. You can use it, e.g., as W4 (showing 1, 2, 3 or 4), as W6 (usual dice), as W8 (showing 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8), as W10 (showing 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 0) and much more. I hope you enjoy building and using your electronic dice.

 

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