Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Skytrak and lighting?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Skytrak and lighting?

    Is there intelligence out there on what kind of lighting may cause issues with reads? I had an LED bulb spotlighted over the unit and have struggled with no reads lately. Switched to an incandescent bulb and it seemed to improve. Coincidence?

  • #16
    Had something of an epiphany perhaps. Unlike most of you, I do not play in an enclosure. I play in a garage bay. There is no solid wall behind me, it is a car, kids bikes, etc. Lots of a variety of objects and colors. So I put a black cloth over my push cart, and set it behind me. I had the best readings in a long time, including it nailing the spin on the ball a lot whereas a lot of rounds lately have had more than a few misreads. For a camera based system, giving it an easier time to determine the ball from the background can only help it.

    Comment


    • doublebogey
      doublebogey commented
      Editing a comment
      Wow really interesting and makes sense too! Gonna try as well esp if can help pick up short chips and flop shots...

    • SkyTrak_Seth
      SkyTrak_Seth commented
      Editing a comment
      Absolutely! Cars, bikes, etc all have shiny/reflective wheels - these glow like the sun in the images!

  • #17
    Originally posted by st_golfer View Post
    Had something of an epiphany perhaps. Unlike most of you, I do not play in an enclosure. I play in a garage bay. There is no solid wall behind me, it is a car, kids bikes, etc. Lots of a variety of objects and colors. So I put a black cloth over my push cart, and set it behind me. I had the best readings in a long time, including it nailing the spin on the ball a lot whereas a lot of rounds lately have had more than a few misreads. For a camera based system, giving it an easier time to determine the ball from the background can only help it.
    Very interesting, I'm in a garage as well, I'm gonna give this a try soon and see how it works

    Comment


    • #18
      Originally posted by st_golfer View Post
      Had something of an epiphany perhaps. Unlike most of you, I do not play in an enclosure. I play in a garage bay. There is no solid wall behind me, it is a car, kids bikes, etc. Lots of a variety of objects and colors. So I put a black cloth over my push cart, and set it behind me. I had the best readings in a long time, including it nailing the spin on the ball a lot whereas a lot of rounds lately have had more than a few misreads. For a camera based system, giving it an easier time to determine the ball from the background can only help it.
      You may be on to something. When I had a Vector Pro the background was a consideration for proper shot capture. In particular if I was wearing light gray or white pants the image captured would be half screwed up. It was similar to using the unit outdoors when the clouds would block and unblock the sunlight.

      The Vector Pro had a fixed aperture which was adjusted at the start of the session, The image captured would be kind of washed out simply because light would be reflected off the light colored background which wasn't present when the aperture was adjusted. I have no idea how and when the Skytrak adjusts their aperture but if the background changes between adjustment and hitting it will most likely effect the image capture detail.


      Now that I have a GC2 the background does not cause any problems.

      Comment


      • #19
        Interesting. I have black curtains behind (out of site) of the Skytrak I hung about 2 months ago. For grins, I temporarily tried to hang those in front of the skytrak and it didn't seem to make any difference. But, I didn't put too much time into it, so I may try this again. I got those curtains from a local bargainoutlet for 8$ a piece, so this would be a no brainer. Plus it would look cool - currently it's a concrete wall. Thanks for the post!

        Comment


        • #20
          I'm definitely no scientist, but this is an interesting thread. I wonder if some of the misread problems may stem from a heat source behind the golfer (or reflected from behind the golfer) creating a heat bloom in the wrong spot and washing out the ball image. Also, as suggested perhaps lightly colored backgrounds or even white golf pants may not present good enough contrast with the golf ball for clear camera images. No idea if this is possible and would love to hear from our resident engineer davray666.

          Comment


          • SkyTrak_Seth
            SkyTrak_Seth commented
            Editing a comment
            I don't own a pair of white pants, but I would probably avoid using them. Not that I'm saying it causes an issue for sure, but it's just not worth the risk given the fashion police aren't lurking in your garage

        • #21
          Has SkyTrak_Seth ever shared an image of what the device sees? I'd be interested to know if its field of view is large enough for the background to have an impact on being able to pick up the ball.

          Comment


          • st_golfer
            st_golfer commented
            Editing a comment
            What about shoes? I have been getting many more No Reads since the latest update. Both in SkyTrak and TGC. This means the shot registers (R-G-G), waits a few seconds, then goes back to G-G-G and the laser dot shows. I typically wear sneakers on the mat, and they are mainly white. I'll see if I can dig up some colored shoes and try it.

          • SkyTrak_Seth
            SkyTrak_Seth commented
            Editing a comment
            I think it would be safe to say it sees around a 6x6 area of that wall (that's just off the top of my head). Most stuff will be dark though unless there is something reflective/metal on the wall.

          • SkyTrak_Seth
            SkyTrak_Seth commented
            Editing a comment
            As for shoes, again, I'd recommend 'not white'. Be interested to see your results.

        • #22
          The SkyTrak does not seem to need an external light source. I used no more lighting than I needed to be able to hit the ball, which was the indirect lighting from a nearby closet. Next experiment will be to use a roughly foot tall black board between my feet and the SkyTrak. Thanks for that idea st.

          Comment


          • #23
            Has anyone had any mis read problems using balls that are scuffed from wedge grooves? I switched from a Pro v1x to a bridgestone b330 and have had okay results minimizing scuff marks caused from wedges, still in search for the perfect ball that's soft and durable. I lost appox. 1000 revs on a wedge from the balls switch.

            Comment


            • #24
              Would an unfinished garage wall(drywall and spackle) cause issues with the camera?

              Comment


              • #25
                I am very new to the Skytrak/TGC world and loving it so far. Absolutely love this forum. I have noticed in nearly all the demo videos that the rooms are pretty dark. How do you see the hitting area?? I have my room pretty well lit when swinging but it really fades out the image on the screen. Do you have any advice on spot lights or particular lighting to get a great image but still see the ball?? Thanks.

                Comment


                • #26
                  Originally posted by shivabirdi View Post
                  I am very new to the Skytrak/TGC world and loving it so far. Absolutely love this forum. I have noticed in nearly all the demo videos that the rooms are pretty dark. How do you see the hitting area?? I have my room pretty well lit when swinging but it really fades out the image on the screen. Do you have any advice on spot lights or particular lighting to get a great image but still see the ball?? Thanks.
                  I have a row of track lighting just behind me on the ceiling with 3 spotlights, one facing each wall behind the mat and one facing right on the mat. I have a couple videos out there and always thought everyones set ups looked so dark as well (like they were hitting with no lights on). But after video taping myself with my phone, it came out looking like I was hitting in the dark as well where in reality I feel like I have a decent amount of light. Think it's just a camera illusion.

                  The track lighting has worked the best for me (especially with a dimmer switch as I have), as long as you avoid having one of the spotlights hitting on the screen, you'll have the best mixture of a bright screen and good lighting on and behind you.

                  Comment


                  • #27
                    Originally posted by Ironstrokes View Post

                    I have a row of track lighting just behind me on the ceiling with 3 spotlights, one facing each wall behind the mat and one facing right on the mat. I have a couple videos out there and always thought everyones set ups looked so dark as well (like they were hitting with no lights on). But after video taping myself with my phone, it came out looking like I was hitting in the dark as well where in reality I feel like I have a decent amount of light. Think it's just a camera illusion.

                    The track lighting has worked the best for me (especially with a dimmer switch as I have), as long as you avoid having one of the spotlights hitting on the screen, you'll have the best mixture of a bright screen and good lighting on and behind you.

                    Thanks. Would you be able to post a picture of your setup?

                    Comment


                    • #28
                      Originally posted by shivabirdi View Post


                      Thanks. Would you be able to post a picture of your setup?
                      Sure, the lighting I have is pretty simple but works very well I feel. Forgot to take a picture with the projector turned on, but think you can see pretty well in the mat picture how dark it stays around the screen while the mat is nice and lit. Feel like these pictures do a decent job in showing how well lit the mat and the back of the garage stay while I'm playing. And can even make this about twice as bright if I turn the dimmer switch all the way up.

                      Comment


                      • #29
                        Originally posted by Ironstrokes View Post

                        Sure, the lighting I have is pretty simple but works very well I feel. Forgot to take a picture with the projector turned on, but think you can see pretty well in the mat picture how dark it stays around the screen while the mat is nice and lit. Feel like these pictures do a decent job in showing how well lit the mat and the back of the garage stay while I'm playing. And can even make this about twice as bright if I turn the dimmer switch all the way up.
                        Where did you get that cool s-turn ball dispenser?

                        Comment


                        • #30
                          Originally posted by awisnia View Post

                          Where did you get that cool s-turn ball dispenser?


                          They have it on ebay as well but I think I got free shipping on that site when I got it last year. Works great for holding my ipad too with a cheap 15 dollar holder from amazon. So made spending the 100 bucks worth it to me compared to some of the cheaper ones out there. Looks nice too

                          Comment


                          • awisnia
                            awisnia commented
                            Editing a comment
                            cheers, very cool!
                        Working...
                        X