What's a good budget scoring machine setup for a small school club that doesn't have a permanent space?
For most small clubs the best value is still a reliable wired box with reels or a simple bungee cord system, and a wireless set is only worth it if it works well in every weapon you fence. Before you shop, answer three questions. Which weapons? Épée is the easiest to score and sabre is the hardest. Is it for practice only, or for events you might host? And how fast do you need to set up and pack away in a shared gym?
A scoring box is only one piece of a strip. A traditional wired setup also needs two reels (or a cheaper overhead bungee line that keeps the cords off the floor), two floor cords to connect them to the box, and a power supply. Handy clubs build bungee lines anchored to walls, bleachers or heavy weights, with fewer moving parts to wear out. For épée, a grounded strip matters: without one, hits on the floor light up and the referee has to watch for them. For sabre, make sure the box uses current timing, since the lockout changed in 2016 and older boxes may not have been updated.
Cheaper still are app-based or laptop-based boxes, which use a phone or old laptop as the display. They are popular for practice, but plan for power and a little more setup. Fully wireless systems are the fastest to set up in borrowed space, and quality varies a lot. The common experience is that many wireless products are fine for épée, less consistent for foil, and weakest in sabre, where there is no button in the tip to detect a hit. Some need an armband for sabre, which is awkward to share. A box that misses one hit in fifteen starts arguments and teaches bad habits.
Before buying, check how well it handles each of your weapons, not just whether it claims to, and whether épée guard and floor hits are rejected properly. Ask about battery life, spare parts and repair support. Traditional boxes tend to be modular, and a surprising number of dead boxes turn out to have a bad power supply. If you might host sanctioned events, ask your regional organizers what equipment they expect. Finally, call nearby clubs: they often sell old boxes and reels when they upgrade, and many will let you try a system before you commit.