Electronic scoreboards for sporting events have been around since the 1960’s and have evolved over the years to be much more sophisticated and less expensive to operate. These modern scoreboards equipment is a much-improved version of the early models that used incandescent bulbs to display statistics about the game, and needed a long wire run for the controls required to update the score. Newer models use state of the art LED technology in several colors that is brighter, and requires less power to operate. Other innovations such as wireless controllers make these technological marvels a pleasure to install and operate.

In years past a scoreboard was a pretty standard item at most schools and was used to keep track of the progress of their sporting events. These early models were usually a large chalkboard that had to be updated by hand. The more sophisticated models at the time were a simple pegboard that scorekeepers would hang numbers on to indicate changes in the game or score. These served their teams well, but required a lot of work to keep the statistics updated.

In the early 1970’s a few companies started developing digital scoreboards equipment that was based on the numbers being created by a series of light bulbs that could be turned on and off to change the digits. These early digital models had a crude control system that allowed operators to switch between numbers as the score of the game changed. These units required quite a bit of power since some of them could contain hundreds of incandescent light bulbs that were needed to represent all of the numbers displayed. Many of these units still required the scorekeepers to update the score on the unit itself and they needed to sit near the display to do this. Some of the more complex models would allow this control unit to be located remotely in the announcer’s booth, but also required a cable be run from the control unit to the scoreboard.

Modern scoreboards equipment has improved tremendously from these early beginnings. The current models offer some of the most sophisticated features available and require far less power to operate as well. The incandescent light bulbs have been replaced with LED (light emitting diode) technology that is more reliable and easier to see. These LED’s are available in several colors with red and orange being the most popular. The control units have also been upgraded and are now available in wireless models. These newer controllers can be moved to various locations as needed and are able to adjust every aspect of the scoreboard in one simple controller. The packaging on these newer scoreboards is also greatly improved with larger outdoor models that will last for years, even in the harshest of environments. They are also bigger and more colorful than earlier units, and can easily be branded for a particular schools colors or logo, and can include sponsors as well. The best part about these newer more sophisticated scoreboards is that they are available in a wide variety of sizes and price ranges, which makes it easy to find the perfect model for any teams need.