Automatic golf ball dispenser

[Maclarkson]

Hi there,

I managed to make a manual golf ball dispenser that I now want to automate.

Thing is I am happy with a soldering iron but have no clue about electronics. What can you great folks come up with.

[Benta]

Why are you wasting time posting here?
You should be on the way to the Patent Office at 100 mph!!!

[Maclarkson]

They already manufacture these admittedly at an extortionate price.

I was hoping to attach a solenoid to a vibration sensor pad you can put underneath or within the tee that would trigger the solenoid to open but the solenoid would need to open for at least a second with some ability to adjust this timing. That’s the electronics bit I am not too sure of.

[JustMeHere]

Arduino, some type of button (foot switch), and a servo will do the job, but I don't think it would be much better than your gravity powered solution.  It will need batteries.  Yours doesn't.

[Maclarkson]

Rather than a switch I would like to connect it up to vibration sensor switch. I don’t know what boards id need or how to program the Adrueno, is there something someone might be able to point me to. The reason why I want to move away from the leaver is that it moves the bucket. Gradually over time which means it loses alignment with the tee.

[BTO]

Hi there,

I managed to make a manual golf ball dispenser that I now want to automate.

Thing is I am happy with a soldering iron but have no clue about electronics. What can you great folks come up with.

Why are you posting here, You should be in the microcontroller section.

Ok, so let's think about this
1. You've already built the dispenser part of it

2. and it can manual dispense golf balls without a problem

3. Automation simply means..... Whatever you do right now to release the ball,  You want something else to do that .
   so what is it exactly that you do ? Do you load a ball (i imagine you load 200 at one time right ?) so what happens after that in the manual
   process, i imagine a switch, is it a manual switch, is it an automatic switch.  what is the manual mechanism that needs to be automated ?

4. You're going to be wanting to look at Arduino or.. I would recommend ESP32,   Much cheaper, More Powerful, You won't regret it.
    and.. if you're in a pro shop,  with the ESP32, you can even hook the ESP32 controlling the golf ball machine up to your WiFi and have it
   Release balls while controlled remotely.

5. Next step, you need to figure out how balls are released,  will it be a timer, say 1 ball every 10 seconds or whatever frequency.
   will it be voice activated, will it be a sensor or switch, Perhaps a sensor or switch with a delay, so the player can step on a sensor.
   then have a certain amount of time to line up their shot or whatever.

BREAK IT DOWN INTO STEPS, But this doesn't sound very complicated at all, My guess is you'll be able to do with stock sketches


EDIT : sorry, i didn't see the video.  this is bloody simple.
so you just need a slow moving actuator above that board thingy that the golf club hits.
The actuator is going to be connector to pins on the ESP32  (These pins will receive a HIGH signal under a certain condition)
the code for this is so easy it's not funny,  it's on the same level as blinking an LED at certain points.

Now the condition would be, You setup a sensor, whether it's voice activated or foot activated ,  that sensor will connect to different data
pins on the arduino.
so... the actuator will always have a LOW signal going to it, When the sensor is triggered, the code will detect the change and then send a HIGH signal to the actuator , it hits the timber and voila, golf ball comes out

You could even test this by putting an led in the place of the actuator , if the light lights up, the timber latch was hit and ball dispensed
PIECE OF CAKE

[BTO]

Rather than a switch I would like to connect it up to vibration sensor switch. I don’t know what boards id need or how to program the Adrueno, is there something someone might be able to point me to. The reason why I want to move away from the leaver is that it moves the bucket. Gradually over time which means it loses alignment with the tee.

don't be scared of Arduino mate.    SERIOUSLY it is nowhere near as hard as you think it is.

If you like... email me    support@btotechnicalexperts.com.au
Not even kidding, this is so easy it's not funny.   I can show some arduino basics and believe me you'll be on your way in 1 or 2 lessons.

happy to do a zoom chat or whatever. it seems to be that you are afraid of arduino, and thus looking for something else.
Believe me Arduino and ESP32 is exactly the tool for this job and.. what you don't know from lack of experience is...
Later when you need to tweak stuff, it'll be so much easier with ESP32 or Arduino.

Trust me, Shoot me an email and i'll help you with this.

as for Alignment with the Tee   LOL
well that's what i mean, Arduino sensors can help you keep alignment,  Not hard at all

[xvr]

If you want to dispense ball by pressing a button than you don't need even Arduino. Button + solenoid + buttery. That is all that you need.

[ebastler]

The reason why I want to move away from the leaver is that it moves the bucket. Gradually over time which means it loses alignment with the tee.

Frankly, I think the design is great as it is, without needing a battery. There are too many gadgets in my life which require regular care and feeding... Can't you tweak the mechanism a bit to require less force, avoid lateral forces, or add some weight or a non-slip rubber base to the bucket?

[BTO]

If you want to dispense ball by pressing a button than you don't need even Arduino. Button + solenoid + buttery. That is all that you need.

this is true, However if he wants to change his mind later it wouldn't be a bad thing to get used to Arduino or ESP32.
These things never remain in the way that they start

[BTO]

The reason why I want to move away from the leaver is that it moves the bucket. Gradually over time which means it loses alignment with the tee.

Frankly, I think the design is great as it is, without needing a battery. There are too many gadgets in my life which require regular care and feeding... Can't you tweak the mechanism a bit to require less force, avoid lateral forces, or add some weight or a non-slip rubber base to the bucket?

I was thinking rubber and shock absorbing springs for the base

[JustMeHere]

If you want to detect the ball, I'd look into a light based solution.  Maybe with one of those fake rubber tees looking up. 

Don't forget an easy kill switch though.  If the thing goes bananas on you, like with all powered devices, you need a way to quickly and safely shut it off. 

Arduino or ESP 32.  Both can be programmed with the "Arduino" language.  If you go ESP32, find a board that will plug directly into your computer for programming.  ESP32 DevKit C for example.  One downside of the ESP32 is that it's 3.3 v and many Arduino components are 5v.  (Though components that are compatible with both voltages seem more available now)

The examples in the Arduino IDE will get you most of the way there.  You're merging the button (or sensor) tutorial with the servo pwm tutorial.

You can find servos at a decent model airplane/car shop.  They will actuate the arm.

[xvr]

One more option is a Raspberry Pi Pico. Very small, cheap and programmed in Python. For beginner this is more simple than Arduino with C++

[Maclarkson]

Hay guys, sorry it took so long to respond, I went out to get some parts.

What there is left to right

Battery pack
Something that I don’t know
Relay switch
A timer
A vibration switch
Solenoid
And an arduino uno
Plus plenty of bits

I think I have enough to create something. But as mentioned about I want the vibration switch to trigger the solenoid. I’d like connect this to the T so that when I swing at the ball it triggers a new ball to load.

[soldar]

The reason why I want to move away from the leaver is that it moves the bucket. Gradually over time which means it loses alignment with the tee.

Make a base that holds the tee and the dispenser in place? Or just secure the dispenser in place?

And I hate it when people come in and propose a microcontroller for something which very clearly does not require a microcontroller at all. It's like someone with a hammer looking for nails to pound.

ETA: If you think the dispenser bucket moves now add a solenoid and you are *really* going to see it move. A solenoid jolt will move that bucket down to the lake. If you really want a solenoid I suggest you add a concrete base for the bucket. About 40 to 50 Kg of reinforced concrete should do it.

[BTO]

Hay guys, sorry it took so long to respond, I went out to get some parts.

What there is left to right

Battery pack
Something that I don’t know
Relay switch
A timer
A vibration switch
Solenoid
And an arduino uno
Plus plenty of bits

I think I have enough to create something. But as mentioned about I want the vibration switch to trigger the solenoid. I’d like connect this to the T so that when I swing at the ball it triggers a new ball to load.

The thing that YOU DON'T KNOW is an "MB102"  POWER INTERFACE MODULE.
Basically i'ts a regulated power supply for your breadboard.
Plut it into your breadboard and it'll stretch from one side to the other all the way.

it has 2 channels so it has the ability to provide one power rail side of your breadboard with a certain voltage
and the ability to provide the other power rail side of the breadboard with the same voltage or another voltage

the way it works is... You'll input , via the jack 6.5V to 12V, most use a 9V Battery here
and it supports a regulated 3.3V or   5V on the output, and the USB can also be used as an output

so yeah.. it's a power supply

[BTO]

The reason why I want to move away from the leaver is that it moves the bucket. Gradually over time which means it loses alignment with the tee.

And I hate it when people come in and propose a microcontroller for something which very clearly does not require a microcontroller

LOL...

1. don't HATE, Never hate, it's a bad habit.
One thing i've learned in 50 years is we have so many people in this world and they all have many different personalities and each
have their own psychologies that are associated with them. As humans we can only get along with people who have the same or similar
psychologies as our own, which ultimately means you cannot get along with everyone.. EVER !!!

that being the case, If you hate because someone did something that you didn't agree with (According to your psychology) then you are fighting a losing battle my friend and will do nothing but frustrate yourself and cause yourself health issues later in life.

2. But did it ever occur to you that there were other reasons why people suggest he use a micro ?
YOU ARE CORRECT... It's not necessary. But this person came to us with a very simple problem, but a problem that wasn't simple for him.
as tech people we want to help him AND GIVE HIM IDEAS and even though not necessary now, the introduction
of a dev board now is going to lead him down different paths of possibility that will either help him solve his problem or cause him to think in different directions and help him down the track, or perhaps he has this underlying idea that he didn't bother to mention that does actually require a dev board but now that it was mentioned, becomes a possibility

Mate, it's called  BRAIN STORMING,  it doesn't have to make sense or be necessary at first.
and if he's never used an arduino, and given his curiosity  HE SHOULD LEARN HOW TO USE ONE

Just like a person who has never used a hammer should go out and find nails to pound into timber if for nothing else but the experience.
This project may start as an arduino project, then he'll encounter issues on V 1.0 , then he'll refine it and perhaps on v 6.0 it turns out being
what you said and has nothing to do with arduino.. BUT HE GAINED EXPERIENCE FROM IT that would help him in later projects.

Never hate, it's not productive to anyone

[soldar]

LOL...

1. don't HATE, Never hate, it's a bad habit.
One thing i've learned in 50 years is we have so many people in this world and they all have many different personalities and each
have their own psychologies that are associated with them. As humans we can only get along with people who have the same or similar
psychologies as our own, which ultimately means you cannot get along with everyone.. EVER !!!

that being the case, If you hate because someone did something that you didn't agree with (According to your psychology) then you are fighting a losing battle my friend and will do nothing but frustrate yourself and cause yourself health issues later in life.

2. But did it ever occur to you that there were other reasons why people suggest he use a micro ?
YOU ARE CORRECT... It's not necessary. But this person came to us with a very simple problem, but a problem that wasn't simple for him.
as tech people we want to help him AND GIVE HIM IDEAS and even though not necessary now, the introduction
of a dev board now is going to lead him down different paths of possibility that will either help him solve his problem or cause him to think in different directions and help him down the track, or perhaps he has this underlying idea that he didn't bother to mention that does actually require a dev board but now that it was mentioned, becomes a possibility

Mate, it's called  BRAIN STORMING,  it doesn't have to make sense or be necessary at first.
and if he's never used an arduino, and given his curiosity  HE SHOULD LEARN HOW TO USE ONE

Just like a person who has never used a hammer should go out and find nails to pound into timber if for nothing else but the experience.
This project may start as an arduino project, then he'll encounter issues on V 1.0 , then he'll refine it and perhaps on v 6.0 it turns out being
what you said and has nothing to do with arduino.. BUT HE GAINED EXPERIENCE FROM IT that would help him in later projects.

Never hate, it's not productive to anyone

Are you on some spectrum or something? 

You sound like the kind of person who,  at a social gathering, when someone says "I hate it when the toast falls to the floor with the jam side down" would go on to a speech about how hate is so negative and you should make the toast on the floor a positive experience.

And when, in an attempt to get away, they ask you what the time is, you would try to teach them how to make a clock ... which is always a useful skill.

The OP is interested in playing golf, not in learning Arduino.

Look, I am beginning to learn Arduino myself; I think it is useful and entertaining... for me. I do not try to shove my own things down other people's throats because I do not want golfers telling me how great golf is.  And any golfer who tries to talk me into golf, their religion or any other cult, like Linux or Apple, I am going to walk away from. Microcontroller guys can be as bad as other types of fanatics.

[aliarifat794]

You can use an Arduino. Here is an example: https://www.instructables.com/Golf-ball-dispenser/

[BTO]

You can use an Arduino. Here is an example: https://www.instructables.com/Golf-ball-dispenser/

You can indeed, but i think his point was YOU DON'T NEED TO. Which.. I agree, You don't need to . But i was trying to explain to him
that we were trying to help the O.P. with ideas.
Bottom line is, he seems to have some aggression in him, Maybe he's young, Not sure.

[Maclarkson]

Ok so moving on to the problem. I managed to get something working. I connected up a sound sensor module the Arduino, power, and a relay module. What’s the best way to connect the solenoid to the same battery via the other side of the relay. See pictures. Problem is the solenoid obviously drains too mush current. Because the leds on the Arduino take a dive. How should I best connect up the solenoid?

[BTO]

Are you on some spectrum or something? 

You sound like the kind of person who,  at a social gathering, when someone says "I hate it when the toast falls to the floor with the jam side down" would go on to a speech about how hate is so negative and you should make the toast on the floor a positive experience.

And when, in an attempt to get away, they ask you what the time is, you would try to teach them how to make a clock ... which is always a useful skill.

The OP is interested in playing golf, not in learning Arduino.

Look, I am beginning to learn Arduino myself; I think it is useful and entertaining... for me. I do not try to shove my own things down other people's throats because I do not want golfers telling me how great golf is.  And any golfer who tries to talk me into golf, their religion or any other cult, like Linux or Apple, I am going to walk away from. Microcontroller guys can be as bad as other types of fanatics.
[/quote]

Are you on some spectrum or something?

- I don't know what you mean by this.

You sound like the kind of person who,  at a social gathering, when someone says "I hate it when the toast falls to the floor with the jam side down" would go on to a speech about how hate is so negative and you should make the toast on the floor a positive experience.

-Hmm, OK,   No, i'm the kind of person at parties that if that happened, i would say "don't worry about it, Just get another one".
However what you said is hardly toast,
YOU SAID :
"And I hate it when people come in and propose a microcontroller for something which very clearly does not require a microcontroller"

You also said you are new to Arduino programming.
well mate, you then lack the experience to know what is VERY CLEARLY required or not. You see what is clear to you now about Arduino will not be
the same thing 2 years from now.

but you do seem to have a degree of hate within you, Even your comment back to me shows that. My comment was not one of HATE, but of ADVICE.
My comment to you was not hateful but more so a comment of explanation. and let's be honest, you really should have picked up on that.

Your reply was not toast on the floor, Your reply was an expression that you don't seem to like when people do things that you don't agree with. There also seems to be a them with "Cults" for you.
Let me ask you something , Re this

And I hate it when people come in and propose a microcontroller for something which very clearly does not require a microcontroller

- But Why ? ,  Why can't someone just come in and say "Use Arduino for that, it's so cool" ?
Say they are a newb and know little to nothing.  why can't they put forward the idea ?  Why does that upset you ?
Ideas, lead to other ideas.  THAT'S LITERALLY WHAT WE ARE DOING ON THIS FORUM. To stop people from doing that is to defeat the purpose of this forum.
I know a guy at Rigol who has said to me multiple times , regarding Dave on a scope review
"I hate it when dave picks on the fonts of the scope being different"
But Why ?  Dave is expressing his opinion , and IT'S A VALID POINT
I remember when dave was tearing down (i think) MSO5000 , he gets to the PCB and it says "Innovation or nothing" and dave says
"Nothing with a LOWER CASE N"  LOL.    That's an opinion , and i agree "nothing" should be Uppercase N for the record.

But mate, even stupid ideas can lead to smart ideas down the track, but in this case an arduino is not a stupid idea, it's not necessarily necessary for his application, but it doesn't hurt to recommend it
Also the world is not binary , RE this comment

The OP is interested in playing golf, not in learning Arduino.

- No the O.P. is interested in electronics, Arduino is part of electronics.
The choices are not.. GOLF or  NO GOLF, People are not binary nor is life. and CLEARLY he is a guy who thinks outside of the box.
CLEARLY he is a guy who is interested in the finer detail, you can see this by the way he pays attention to the dispenser falling out
of alignment with the "T" after a few dispenses. Basically, he is asking for ideas to be thrown out and that's what the forum did

so.. some of say Arduino
You and other say.. You don't need that.
Fine... Throw the ideas out, Let him play with the ideas and pick which one he likes, because thats' what he asked off us.

As for this (Just quickly),

And when, in an attempt to get away, they ask you what the time is, you would try to teach them how to make a clock ... which is always a useful skill.

- You're being stupid, and .. You know you are.
But the sarcasm also shows the hate that you have .   Mate, Are you young ? How old are you approx. (to the closest 5 years).
You sound young and when you are young you tend to have hate for everything, Things tend to bug you all the time if they are not in alignment with what you want them to be.  LEARN TO ACCEPT THAT LIFE AND PEOPLE ARE THE WAY THEY ARE.

Moving forward from that dumb comment

Look, I am beginning to learn Arduino myself;

- GREAT, and as such your job should be  TO LEARN AND LISTEN.  I myself am not new to it.
But especially if you are new you need to recognize you don't have enough experience yet and have not consumed enough of the topic
to perhaps know what we are doing here.
As i said, You were technically correct, but.. there are also reasons why me and others are saying what we are saying and you need to recognize that, but irrespective of if you know or not, HATING the fact that someone i saying shows a serious flaw with you.

I do not try to shove my own things down other people's throats

- And, no one is shoving anything down his throat, They are SUGGESTIONS AND IDEAS.

because I do not want golfers telling me how great golf is.

- But even if they were to do it, You shouldn't have them.  it just means they are passionate.
Mate, i have Jehovah's witnesses coming to my door telling me how great god is,  I just understand they are passionate about god,
i don't hate them nor am i rude to them.
This problem of hate seems to lie with you, but it's also not productive to this discussion.
I'm not being rude, but in my first reply to you, i just said, don't hate , it's not a good thing. You could have just taken that as advice,
but somehow .. you couldn't.

And any golfer who tries to talk me into golf, their religion or any other cult, like Linux or Apple, I am going to walk away from. Microcontroller guys can be as bad as other types of fanatics.

Yeah mate... there seems to be a thing with you,  You make illogical jumps.
there are no cults here, no one is sacrificing virgins and putting goat heads on a pike
Comments like yours do not arise for no reason and this part

I am going to walk away from. Microcontroller guys can be as bad as other types of fanatics.

- This comment has me curious
I mean, have you been burned my electronics guys being toxic ?
Mate, i've been on forums like Stack and Arduino and so on and i've dealt with the rudest guys who have the biggest chip on their shoulder
and they are not necessarily interested in discussion but instead they just want everyone to accept their point.
Me, i don't worry about it, I just accept that this person is the way they are.

If you enjoy electronics , My advice is dont let others kill your buzz.  But i also suspect that part of the problem is with you.
You can't be so rigid to say that the O.P. cannot use Arduino or should not use Arduino for his project.
it's about experimentation, it's about learning , LET HIM BE FREE TO DO WHAT HE LIKES

but the concept is
THE MORE IDEAS THE O.P. HAS , THE MORE LIKELY THE O.P. IS TO HAVE A BETTER OUTCOME
But don't hate it for any reason. as it's not going to contribute to your as a person in any positive way.

does that make sense ?

[BTO]

Ok so moving on to the problem. I managed to get something working. I connected up a sound sensor module the Arduino, power, and a relay module. What’s the best way to connect the solenoid to the same battery via the other side of the relay. See pictures. Problem is the solenoid obviously drains too mush current. Because the leds on the Arduino take a dive. How should I best connect up the solenoid?

Ok so moving on to the problem

Yes, Lets get back to Golf and Electronics 

What’s the best way to connect the solenoid to the same battery via the other side of the relay. See pictures. Problem is the solenoid obviously drains too mush current. Because the leds on the Arduino take a dive. How should I best connect up the solenoid?

- This is a very commonly experienced problem, Your idea is to use the main power source for everything. it won't work very well.
THE SOLUTION IS...  The Solenoid needs it's own power supply which has to go through a relay and that relay will receive a signal from the Arduino,  No doubt the condition that has to be met for the relay to get the signal to be energized is that the sound sensor has to experience
a certain condition or state
DOES THAT HELP ?

[Maclarkson]

Ok so I simple need to power sources

[BTO]

Ok so I simple need to power sources

No.. you SIMPLY need TWO power sources 
Yes that's correct, You're very close, Throw in a dedicated power source for the solenoid and test it.
Let me know how it goes

Again this is where you can try using that dual power supply board (MB102) that you bought, (Depending on the requirements of the Solenoid)