Buying a new GC2

[elibott]

Hi everyone,

I have been following this forum for almost an entire year now. I started reading when I was looking at houses. It was always a long term goal of mine to set up a golf simulator in a future garage. I am not all moved into my new house and I am looking to have my golf simulator set up before the new year.

It is quite a daunting process to do all of this on your own. I would not be anywhere without the members of this forum. I have been able to learn so much and I think that I am on the right track. I just want to make sure that all of my assumptions are correct.

I was reviewing both the GC2 and the ST for the past year. Between the delayed rollout of TGC for the ST and the many second delay between striking the shot and it being displayed, I have decided to purchase the GC2.

My question relates to what I need to actually purchase from Foresight.

I am going to purchase a new GC2 and I intend to primarily use TGC to run my simulator. When pricing things out, I noticed that the FSX software is $2500 while TGC is $1000. I do not want to pay $2500 for software that I will not be using. I saw some other posts referring to FS requesting a $1000 SDK fee from users (which seems insane).

Can I just purchase the GC2 from FS and then purchase TGC from SwingSense? Following the guides posted on this forum, I should be able to connect the GC2 to TGC, right? Are there any issues with respect to the firmware found on new GC2?

Thank you for your comments in advance.

[mthunt]

Buy the GC2 from Foresight then TGC from swingsense. It's all you need. The SDK is not necessary. Save the $1000. It's vapourware.

[goatbarn]

Newest firmware worKS just fine with tgc

[Gamble Gamble]

Hi everyone,

I have been following this forum for almost an entire year now. I started reading when I was looking at houses. It was always a long term goal of mine to set up a golf simulator in a future garage. I am not all moved into my new house and I am looking to have my golf simulator set up before the new year.

It is quite a daunting process to do all of this on your own. I would not be anywhere without the members of this forum. I have been able to learn so much and I think that I am on the right track. I just want to make sure that all of my assumptions are correct.

I was reviewing both the GC2 and the ST for the past year. Between the delayed rollout of TGC for the ST and the many second delay between striking the shot and it being displayed, I have decided to purchase the GC2.

My question relates to what I need to actually purchase from Foresight.

I am going to purchase a new GC2 and I intend to primarily use TGC to run my simulator. When pricing things out, I noticed that the FSX software is $2500 while TGC is $1000. I do not want to pay $2500 for software that I will not be using. I saw some other posts referring to FS requesting a $1000 SDK fee from users (which seems insane).

Can I just purchase the GC2 from FS and then purchase TGC from SwingSense? Following the guides posted on this forum, I should be able to connect the GC2 to TGC, right? Are there any issues with respect to the firmware found on new GC2?

Thank you for your comments in advance.

I am in the same exact spot as you. I am going to call foresight on Friday to find out the next steps. My plan was the same, use the iPad app for the driving range and TGC for the sim.

FYI - tigerdirect and a few other online electronics spots generally have really good deals on computers for gaming on cyber Monday. I will let you know what I find.

[SDL]

Newest firmware worKS just fine with tgc

Is there any potential that future firmware might include some type of encryption of data output so that the GC2 would no longer work with sim software from independent developers?

[mthunt]

Let's suppose somehow Foresight comes out with a firmware that no longer works with TGC. Just don't install it on your GC2. Seems simple.

[Gamble Gamble]

How would we know until it is too late? Is there a way to go back to the previous firmware?

[mthunt]

As I see it Theres 3 possibilities:

1. A new firmware stops TGC use and the first person warns everyone (least likely)
2. A new firmware stops TGC use and the few who upgrade have to buy an SDK from foresight (not likely)
3. Nothing will change (most likely)

Bottom line, nothing to worry about. Yes, you can put any firmware you want on the GC2

[Gamble Gamble]

that is reassuring - thank you - Have a good Thanksgiving! (Unless you are not in the USA, then I hope you have an Excellent Thursday 11/26.) : )

edit - smiley face was too feminine on this site.... had to fix

[goatbarn]

Is there a website with all the old firmwares?

[Js1010]

Not that i have seen. I have a bunch saved on my computer. What are you looking for?

Goat, thought you had a flightscope?

[Mickey]

Wish I had read all this before i bought st. Would have bought gc2. Saw all the ads for st on YouTube and various websites and fell for it.

[doublebogey]

Welcome to the club Mario.

[aja]

Some of us bought ProTee ignoring the conflab about ST and have absolutely no regrets!

[elibott]

I just want to thank everyone that contributed to this thread.

I purchased my projector and screen now. I just need to pull the trigger on my LM.

I just have a final set of questions.

The retailers really seem to be pushing the FSX software. It is touted as being more accurate than the simulator software out there. If I intend to use the GC2 for practice as well as for simulator play, is there any truth to this? I really don't want to spend another $2500 unless there is actual value in it. Unfortunately, from everything that I have read, it seems like the FSX software does not deliver. Would I be missing anything if I did not get the FSX software?

It is my understanding that range features, etc. will be available in simulator software (PG or TGC).

Also, I want to get a protector for my unit. I have the a Real Feel CCE mat and I was planning on having the GC2 rest off of the mat. Would the elevated protected cradle for the GC2 work for me?

Thanks in advance.

[ks-man]

I'll be honest (and probably will get blasted for saying this) but I haven't been as impressed with the TGC calculations as others have been. TGC is often very light in terms of the carry distance as compared to my GC2 readout. This is assuming a flat elevation change and no wind. Depending on how well I struck my shot it could be only a few yards for cleanly hit balls to as much as 12-20 yards if I hit the ball a little thin or fat. I continually see iron shots that come up so far short in TGC. I haven't yet boosted my settings and maybe that is what I need to do but I thought the numbers would be much closer.

When I'm working on my swing I will continue to do it in FSX. It is a lot of money to have both but considering the total cost of my buildout it seems worthwhile. TGC is great for all the courses and is a lot of fun. It gets very frustrating though seeing how short most of my shots end up. I will say I notice this most on my mid irons.

[mthunt]

What firmware are you using? Didn't I send you 3.5? In the other thread it was determined that something must be wrong with the balls because you were getting back spin that would be considered low for a driver let alone a wedge. did you try good balls with firmware 3.5?

[ks-man]

I did switch to 3.5.1.1 (thanks for sending it) but I haven't really noticed much of a difference in TGC. I don't think all the issues I'm experiencing are related to the balls I'm using. Even with better balls (Pro V1) I see my carry distances in TGC as far below what I get from the GC2 readout. I do feel the issue is exacerbated on low spin shots. When I have a chance I'm going to do a full test on FSX about what numbers I get on 5, 7, 9 and SW with multiple different balls.

At this point though the main thing I experience regardless of what ball I'm using is that for level shots I got shorter carries. My initial guess is that I naturally hit the ball with very low spin and this doesn't translate well to TGC. In my mind that tells me that TGC isn't as accurate as FSX or Optimal Flight and the algorithm needs to be improved by ProTee.

[fortysixandtwo]

I got a recent quote of 6195 for gc2, 120.00 for poly shield and around 2095 for the fsx software with a couple courses and driving range. All I really want to use is a driving range and target practice. Shame for 6K that don't include a basic range software...oh well. Looks like with fsx they are also going to rent courses out paying by the month/year fees..

[Gamble Gamble]

Where did you get that quote?

[wbond]

You can search for threads on FSX. It does not have a good track record at all. You would be hard pressed to find someone who says it is worth the cost they are charging.

I got a recent quote of 6100 for gc2 and around 2100 for the fsx software with a couple courses and driving range. All I really want to use is a driving range and target practice. Shame for 6K that don't include a basic range software...oh well. Looks like with fsx they are also going to rent courses out paying by the month/year fees..