CourtPost
One unit on the net post: the score, line-call replays, noise evidence, quiet-gear hours and booked courts nobody turned up for
One solar unit on a tennis or pickleball net post does the jobs of ScorePost and PickleQuiet: it keeps the score on a big e-paper screen and calls the pickleball score, replays a disputed line call or foot fault on CHALLENGE, logs the court's noise and paddle pops for the neighbours, checks quiet-gear hours, and releases a booked court and turns off its lights when nobody comes.
- Who buys it
- Parks departments, HOAs and tennis and pickleball clubs with courts near homes and a booking system, buying per court.
- Why it pays
- $1,290 + $29/month per court instead of $2,074 + $44/month for our two products separately (ScorePost camera head, RallyPair and LetTap; PickleQuiet fence unit with radar and a QuietLight). Courts rent for $10–20 an hour, so each released no-show hour is worth that again (Tualatin Hills, Kino, Boulder, est.).
- Target price
- $1,290 per court + $29/month (target); Court Kit with 2 BaseClips +$300
- First-minute wow
- A player holds the middle key to check in; at 19:20 the screen says 'Quiet gear now: loud pops 34%'; a CHALLENGE 6 seconds later shows 'OUT 14 mm' and the park sees court 3 released because nobody came.
What the research found
And how this design answers it
- Two products, two brains (an ESP32 driver board and an ESP32-S3), a power bank and a solar pack → one ESP32-S3 in the base unit drives the score screen, meters the sound, reads the radar and keeps the bookings; one LiFePO4 pack
- ScorePost needed a weekly power-bank swap → a 3.5 W panel in the new solar cap gives about 8.6 Wh a day against a 4 Wh base load (est.), and the Pi 5 runs only for a challenge
- PickleQuiet hung on a fence post with its own solar bracket and a separate QuietLight puck → the same base unit hangs on the net post under the head, and the head's screen and middle key replace the QuietLight
- Club Wi-Fi rarely reaches the courts → the nRF9151 LTE-M radio from PickleQuiet carries the score, verdicts, noise and bookings
- SmartLine AI was on the shortlist but is a field-striper GPS kit used by grounds crews a few times a season, not at the net → not merged
Use case
An evening session at a park's pickleball courts
PlayersPark recreation officerNeighbour
- 01Trigger: court 3 is booked for 19:00 and quiet-gear hours start at 19:00
- 02Detection: the radar sees nobody on court 3 by 19:10; on court 2 the mic hears loud-pitch pops at 34%
- 03Alert: court 3 goes back on the booking page; court 2's screen shows 'Quiet gear now'; the neighbour's read-only page shows the levels
- 04Action: walk-up players take court 3; at 21:05 the radar sees court 2 empty and the lights switch off
Outcome: An hour of court time not wasted, lights off on time, and a noise record both sides can read (est.)
How it works
Architecture
- 01
Sense: measurement mic on a 1/2 in stalk, LD2450 radar, three keys, and two global-shutter cameras in the head
- 02
Decide: the ESP32-S3 meters sound, judges pop pitch, keeps the score and the bookings; the Pi 5 finds the bounce only on a challenge
- 03
Send: the nRF9151 sends MQTT over LTE-M
- 04
Tell: one app for players (verdicts, score), the club or park (bookings, lights, quiet hours) and neighbours (read-only noise)
Hardware
Real parts, buyable today
Bill of materials: about $485 per court unit at qty 1 (est.); BaseClips $153 each in the Court Kit.
| Block | Part | Why this part |
|---|---|---|
| Brain | Espressif ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N8R8 (PickleQuiet board) | Already runs the sound meter and radar; drives the e-paper over SPI |
| Radio | Nordic nRF9151 LTE-M | No club Wi-Fi needed at the court |
| Replay | Raspberry Pi 5 2GB + 2 Global Shutter Cameras | ScorePost's bounce finder; powered only on CHALLENGE |
| Sound | Infineon IM69D130 on the PickleQuiet stalk | Noise levels and pop pitch from one mic |
| Occupancy | Hi-Link HLK-LD2450 radar | No-show release and lights-off without a camera |
| Power | 2 x IFR32700 LiFePO4 + TI BQ25798 + 3.5 W panel | One battery for everything, charged on the post |
Mechanical
Printable CAD
14 parts, generated from code and checked as closed solids. Pick a part to inspect it, or download the STL files to print.
Loading the CAD…
Real CAD · drag to rotate · scroll to zoomReal CAD · swipe sideways
Bought hardware fitted inside this part (checked in the CAD: nothing collides with the plastic)
- Score head shellhead-shell.stl · ASA, black
- Head back with post saddlehead-back.stl · ASA, black
- Camera pod (2 per head)cam-pod.stl · ASA, black
- Solar cap and screen visorsolar-cap.stl · ASA, white
- BaseClip box (Court Kit)baseclip-box.stl · ASA, white
- BaseClip lidbaseclip-lid.stl · ASA, white
- Base unit body (brain, radio, radar, battery)base-body.stl · ASA, white
- Base unit back platebase-plate.stl · ASA, white
- Base unit gasketbase-gasket.stl · TPU 95A
- Mic stalkmic-stalk.stl · ASA, black
- Mic retainermic-retainer.stl · ASA
- Mic rain hoodrain-hood.stl · ASA, black
- Battery cradlebattery-cradle.stl · ASA
- Net-post clamppole-clamp.stl · ASA, white
Open risks we are working on
- The mic sits on the net post, not at the neighbour's boundary: levels at homes are estimated from distance until checked against a meter at the property line
- Indicative noise monitor only, not a type-approved sound level meter; never a certified compliance result
- Players and leagues may not accept electronic line evidence; CourtPost shows evidence, never overrides a call
- Solar on the head top is shaded by trees at some courts; heavy camera use drains the pack (about 3 matches from full, est.)
- Cameras and a mic on public courts need clear signs and a privacy notice
Design stage only: nothing on this page is for sale. Specifications and prices are targets.