How Fun Is This...

**Mekongmike** · 03-02-2018, 02:25 AM

Great list and photos Jeff...! Thanks for taking the time as it really helps us Newbies. My desire is to have my SIM look like yours. It takes a "Village" so many thanks to so many here who have/are posting their suggestions and results.

Mekongmike

**jdgould** · 03-15-2018, 10:23 PM

UPDATE: I removed my 1" EMT piping and upgraded to a 16' automatic Sportscreen. I hung the sportscreen right underneath my garage door supports so that I never had to worry about someone accidentally opening the garage door while the impact screen was down. In other words, I can lift my garage door up and down even if my impact screen is being used.

The automatic sportscreen works very well and rolls up and down just as fast as my garage door opener (~10 seconds).

Instead of installing my impact screen on top of the black "hockey" screen that comes with the sportscreen, I just hung my white impact screen directly on the roller using the velcro that was included with my finished par2pro HQSQ screen. I inserted the metal pipe that comes with the sportscreen at the bottom of the impact screen to try and keep the impact screen tighter for a better picture, but on the right side, the metal pipe fit really tight at the bottom and the screen looks a little bunched up.

In addition, because the sportscreen is 16', it does bow a little bit in the center and causes the impact screen to fold a little on the sides as it rolls up (even with the metal pipes adding weight at the bottom while it is rolling up). After you roll the screen down, the wrinkles go away simply by hitting the screen a couple of times with your hand.

All in all, I'm extremely impressed with how easy it is to setup and take down my simulator in my garage, now that I'm using the sportscreen (Pictures Attached).

**Sramp17** · 03-16-2018, 01:54 PM

Looks good! glad to see it is all working out for you. When I order mine I will probably be ordering a sportscreen that spans 12 feet so hopefully I can avoid the sag in the middle of the screen because that will annoy me I think.

How is the bounce back using just the SQ screen from par2pro without a backing behind it?

**gnomike** · 03-29-2018, 11:27 PM

Just wanted to say thank you for spending the time to put all that detail into a post. Very cool of you and very much appreciated. Gave me a bunch of useful information and ideas. quick question re. the laptop... I almost pulled the trigger on that exact model but held off... unsure whether the laptop version of the gtx 1060 would have enough "oomf".... how has your experience with it been so far? Are you pleased with your choice or do you wish you'd gone for a slightly faster gpu model...?

**jdgould** · 03-29-2018, 11:46 PM

Hey gnomike, thanks for the compliment. I've been completely pleased with my laptop so far, it has plenty of "oomf". I only use it to run SkyTrak and TGC and haven't had any issues related to the laptop itself. In regards to the gtx 1060, I think it's probably overkill for all of the latest simulator requirements. Good luck and let me know if you have any more questions.

BTW... in case you are going down the route of using a sportscreen. I removed by metal pole at the bottom of my screen and replaced it with a fiberglass stick that came with my sportscreen and I'm now able to make the screen tight at the top and bottom by tying the stick to the bungee on both ends. The wave in the bottom of my screen was really bothering me and now it looks much better. I'll try and post an updated picture in the next day or two.

**gnomike** · 03-30-2018, 12:07 AM

I figured that would be the case (wrt laptop). One gets so wrapped up in the research and then the specs' comparisons that it's easy to get carried away. From my reading I was convinced (not really but close) that only a b*llbuster 1080ti would do the trick... which was pretty confusing since I can run JNPG on my notebook that only has a 940MX.

Actually, the sportscreen wasn't on my radar until I read your post, but now it is! I haven't begun my build yet, since I won't move in to the new house for another 20 days. There is a dedicated room that I've earmarked in which I will set up an angle iron mounted screen. It's a tight fit for a sim room, though, so if the finished product ends up being too cramped for a good experience, then I'll be redoing everything out in the garage... with the sportscreen!

**Pat S.** · 04-03-2018, 06:43 PM

Originally posted by jdgould View Post

Hey gnomike, thanks for the compliment. I've been completely pleased with my laptop so far, it has plenty of "oomf". I only use it to run SkyTrak and TGC and haven't had any issues related to the laptop itself. In regards to the gtx 1060, I think it's probably overkill for all of the latest simulator requirements. Good luck and let me know if you have any more questions.

BTW... in case you are going down the route of using a sportscreen. I removed by metal pole at the bottom of my screen and replaced it with a fiberglass stick that came with my sportscreen and I'm now able to make the screen tight at the top and bottom by tying the stick to the bungee on both ends. The wave in the bottom of my screen was really bothering me and now it looks much better. I'll try and post an updated picture in the next day or two.

I would be really interested in hearing more about what you are doing at the bottom of your screen to cut down the waves. I'm not sure what you mean by "tying the stick to the bungee on both ends." Very cool of you to share all of the details with us. Thanks!

**jdgould** · 04-03-2018, 09:04 PM

Pat S. S. The sportscreen came with a thin 1" X 1/4" fiberglass stick type of thing that is intended to put through the center of the black sportscreen. However, I'm not using the black sportscreen so I decided to put the fiberglass stick through the bottom of my white impact screen to add a little weight. The fiberglass stick has small circles drilled right in the center of the stick so I took a white bungee ball and threaded it through the hole in the stick and connected it to the bottom grommet on my Par2Pro impact screen. The fiberglass stick was a little longer than 16 feet so I had to cut down one of the sides and drill my own hole. If you do it right, connecting the stick to the bottom grommet of your screen should pull the bottom of your impact screen to the sides and remove any waves in the screen. You could also probably pull the bottom of the screen real tight and just velcro it to the stick to make it tight and remove any waves.

Here's the bungee ball I used. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'll try and remember to post a picture when I get home.

I hope that helps.

**jc523** · 04-18-2019, 10:22 PM

nice work, @jdgould!

i'm starting to research my own garage build, and I plan to do something similar, but have a few questions about your setup.

how, exactly, is your sportscreen mounted? is it mounted directly to the garage door rails? it's hard to tell from the pictures.

also, have you noticed any issues with not using the sportscreen mesh behind the impact screen? I was under the impression that the combination of the two would help with the longevity of the impact screen.

do you feel like you need any sort of side curtains, or ceiling protection? I was planning to do something similar to p3eps garage build for drapes and ceiling net.

your component list and comments are very well done! it's been very helpful, so I'll have to do a similar summary once I complete my build.

thanks again!

**jdgould** · 06-01-2019, 07:33 PM

jc523 I still love my setup. I’ve had no issues with my automatic sportscreen or my HQSQ screen. The mesh sport screen is not necessary. I also don’t use side curtains or a ceiling protector. I’ve had maybe 3 wedge shots hit the ceiling after a year of playing, depending on how far back I move the hitting mat.

Ive had a couple of friends shank their shot, but the metal protective case blocks the ball from going sideways, I even have a Mylar mirror on my wall

The sport screen is mounted directly under my garage rails and on one side I have a pole to support the sportscreen from bowing. This was necessary because when I opened the garage door, the sportscreen bowed and it looked like it would dislodge from the brackets holding it in place. I’ll attach some pics.

**Deuce** · 06-02-2019, 01:18 AM

Thanks for the fantastic and very detailed write up! Great stuff for those of us still trying to put together a plan.

**Morini** · 04-04-2020, 08:20 AM

Hi jdgould,

This thread is a bit old right now. I am tempted to follow your example and not use the sportscreen. I figure it looks a bit cleaner (but not sure as I have nothing to compare it to), and reduces bounce back. Is it still working well for you? The most important question for me is how far from the wall you need to be as I am a bit tight for space, and would prefer to leave 12 inches, not 16.

**Aaijala** · 04-27-2020, 02:41 PM

Great write-up and very helpful as I plan out my garage upgrade from Net Return with screen to a more custom build. How did you anchor the EMT temporary pipes to the floor? Did you bolt into the cement? Also- do you have a link to the Sportscreen? I’m a newbie and not familiar.

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