Don't Make Scoreboard Maintenance a Buzzer Beater Play

Off-Season is the Time for Scoreboard Maintenance, and the Clock is Ticking Down for Basketball Season

It's a nightmare that Athletic Directors don't want to imagine. Twenty seconds remain in the opening home basketball game, the score is tied, the arena is packed, and the scoreboard goes blank. The fix could be something simple, but who knows how to check the likely problems at this point?

As Scoreboard Enterprises has been a providing New England Schools with scoreboard installation, parts and service for more than 50 years, we have most clients on a reliable maintenance schedule (usually in the Summer for Fall/Winter sports, and Winter for Spring/Summer sports) to ensure reliable operation through each scoreboard's respective season. However, with change of staff and new technologies, some schools and athletic admins may not have scheduled maintenance.

September/October is Last-Call for Scheduling Basketball Scoreboard Maintenance. Although many schools have already covered routine, preventative maintenance for their combined Basketball/Volleyball scoreboards (with volleyball season underway), some may still need this critical work done prior to basketball season.

What Does Scoreboard Maintenance Cover to Avoid Unexpected Failures?

Now with LED technology quickly replacing bulb-lit digits, preventative maintenance covers a broad array of checks and upgrades:

• Test All Functions Off-Season maintenance needs a test of all settings and functions, with extensive game scenarios, ensuring that all segments of all digits, letters and video panels are fully operable and visible.
  

• Wiring and Contacts / Connectors Thorough review of wiring, contacts and connectors is a more manual review, well worth the time, as the degradation of wiring is a matter of when, not if. Even for newer equipment, environmental issues (i.e., kicking wires when standing near the controller) can dislodge  wiring and contacts.
  

• Power and Grounding Stability of the power source, surge protection and backup power supply needs to be checked, plus proper grounding, as the sensitive electronics of scoreboards and LED systems are vulnerable to power surges and lightning strikes.
  

• And More, as Needed Wear-and-Tear on scoreboards can be unpredictable, given amount of use and the environment. Thorough and experienced technicians are your best defense against unexpected, game-time equipment failure.
  

We can't emphasize enough, the importance of off-season maintenance for scoreboards. Technologies, especially LED, are getting increasingly sophisticated, with more modules to provide more information (and entertainment!) to the audience.

Contact us as Scoreboard Enterprises LLC to discuss your scoreboards. We look forward to providing a schedule, plan, scope and budget for ensuring optimal functioning.