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**SFR** · 12-02-2015, 11:51 PM

That would be an old firmware version.

In general if the flash is working but the ball was not read correctly then what is pictured is a bunch of ---------------lines where the numbers would be posted. You also can turn on the volume with the top button on the right (I think) and then if there was a miss read it will say I did not see the shot. When a flash is going bad, it will the odd time just not do anything when you hit the ball (like you say) but may start to work again after several tries. They say that if 5 or more shots are missed in a row then the flash needs to be changed.

Use the menu button to scroll through things and see what firmware you have and see the shot count. It should be located on the same page that the patent numbers appear. It also shows another number which is the percentage. So you may see the numbers 230 525000 which is 230 percent used and the other is the actual flash count. These can be reset any time so they may not be accurate if they reset them. The percent is not that accurate where the flash count number is what you should watch. If you do install one of the newer versions 3.7 or newer, I think they no longer display the shot count. It is possible to find someone who has an older version in the 3.5 range that will still show the shot count and still plays well with the sim. If you can see it then anything in the 450,000 or more for the flash count it is near end of life. I have seen one at over 575,000 but was missing a lot of shots. Life of a flash is said to be about 40,000 hits so if each hit uses about 10 flashes it puts you in that 400,000 flashes range.

The GC2 does not use the flash to show where to place the ball but just detects the white object. There needs to be a green light before it will register and even a short putt will. You will also hear a bit of a flash noise when it does flash its 10 or so times during the reading of the ball. you also see a bit of the red flash when looking for it.

**Js1010** · 12-03-2015, 12:14 AM

I assume you don't have the foresight software running just the gc2 itself. If thats the case then the gc2 screen should just show you the ball numbers for the last shot. If you look carefully at the gc2 (lights in room are low) you should see a red flash from the gc2 as you hit the ball. You can also try turning up the speaker on the gc2 itself and it should speak out the numbers after you hit.

Did who ever you bought it from tell you it was working?

**FaultyClubs** · 12-03-2015, 02:42 AM

Thanks for the replies. I'm only testing it stand alone at the moment (although I did check that the bluetooth works)..

So, I took it into Golftown where they were kind enough to compare with their GC2s.

It quickly became obvious my flash wasn't firing. So we thought it was the flash. But they were kind enough to swap my flash with their units just to be sure and we discovered my flash is fine! In all we tried three known good flashes in my unit and none would flash. So the problem is in the box itself.

The irony is that my unit looked to be in much better condition than any of theirs (except theirs work and mine doesn't!).

And yes, the seller represented it as "excellent, like new condition" 10/10. Which it certainly looks that way. And if you only turn it on and place a ball it seems fine (green light comes on and says "ready to hit" or something like that). But it won't flash nor register any hits. ;(

I guess I got suckered....

I'll try talk to Foresight and see what can be done. Maybe this is a known issue and fixed by software upgrade or hard reset? Is there even a hard reset of the unit? I couldn't see any but perhaps it is a key sequence. I may take out the battery and see if that resets things. Also wondering if some connector has come loose inside but am reluctant to take apart until talking to Foreseight. Any other ideas or suggestions welcome!

**SFR** · 12-03-2015, 03:07 AM

The only thing I have ever hear about a unit not working and what the reason was in one case one of the buttons stuck. If I recall it was an issue with the menu button.

Try to push all the buttons on the unit just to make sure they all feel like they depress and click back. If the seller does not want to let you return for a refund or another unit, I would say let all know who it was to warn them for a similar problem.

I know there is something to do with holding the power button down for too long as I think I got a warning message about that but can't say what it will actually do.

Foresight should still give you some advice as it is their unit but they may not do much for free.

**Ronsc1985** · 12-03-2015, 03:22 AM

The unit is easy to disassemble. Take out the four screws on the front and the two under the stand. The plastic cover comes right off and allows you to get at the battery. Measure the voltage output of the battery. It should be somewhere north of 8.4 or so volts DC. Your battery is obviously not completely dead since it finds the ball but the flash requires large instantaneous power and if the battery is low or has a large internal resistance it may not provide sufficient power to the flash array to allow the cameras to function. The thing that triggers these units is when the cameras and the vision software recognize the ball has moved about 1 inch. If this doesn't happen then the unit will not measure and display anything.

The processor is not dead since the vision software can recognize a ball in the static position so you may just have a failed flash array driver. You might also try downloading the latest firmware 3.10 (it's available on the Foresight website) in case you have suffered a loss of data in the flash internal memory where the operating programs are stored.

If all this fails then contact Foresight for a return number and send it back for repair. Be aware the shipping is very expensive due to the large value if you specify insurance to cover any loss. This insurance cost is a two way street for both shipping to and back from Foresight.

**FaultyClubs** · 12-03-2015, 04:04 AM

My battery shows 8.5 volts as I recall (from the GC2 screen). Does it matter though since I've have it plugged in (to power)? In any case, the battery is so weak it won't run the unit if not plugged in.

All the buttons seem to work. Yes the power button warns about holding to long but I have no idea what happens if you ignore the warning!!

Thanks for the input guys. Appreciated.

**Ronsc1985** · 12-03-2015, 05:05 AM

Generally small AC power converters are not capable of supplying the instantaneous power required to run the flash unit properly. Think trickle charger for your car battery.

The way semiconductor flash units usually operate is they are hit with a very high power short pulse. The GC2 produces several pulses of IR light every hit. I'm taking an educated guess on all this since I didn't design the GC2 or talk to the designers. The customer service people you can contact may or may not really know how the unit operates electrically. Unless your problem is common they will probably want you to send it in for repair.

If your battery reads 8.5 volts but won't run the unit stand alone something is wrong with the battery. The way it goes with batteries is they may read a "correct' voltage with no or light load load but have a large internal resistance which really drops the output voltage when under heavy load.

What supposedly kills these batteries is not discharging them completely every month or so. If your unit sat around for awhile with the battery charged it may be kaput.

**FaultyClubs** · 12-03-2015, 05:27 AM

I think the battery is definitely kaput. It won't even hint to run the unit stand alone. I checked...it is showing 8.5 volts on the GC2 display (I haven't taken it apart to check with multimeter).

If the battery is required to operate properly (source some of the energy) then perhaps the problem is simply that. Strange Foresight doesn't mention that as a possible problem (although they do say it needs to be charged for at least 4 hours prior to use). I'll let it charge overnight and also confirm with Foresight tomorrow that it is indeed necessary and if that could be the problem. It would be awesome if that is all it is...

**luv2golf** · 12-03-2015, 06:02 AM

Originally posted by FaultyClubs View Post

I think the battery is definitely kaput. It won't even hint to run the unit stand alone. I checked...it is showing 8.5 volts on the GC2 display (I haven't taken it apart to check with multimeter).

If the battery is required to operate properly (source some of the energy) then perhaps the problem is simply that. Strange Foresight doesn't mention that as a possible problem (although they do say it needs to be charged for at least 4 hours prior to use). I'll let it charge overnight and also confirm with Foresight tomorrow that it is indeed necessary and if that could be the problem. It would be awesome if that is all it is...

Where did you buy it from? Was it 2nd Swing on a random ebay seller?

**wbond** · 12-03-2015, 02:14 PM

Was it a random seller on ebay? If so, did you pay through paypal (non gifted) or CC? You should be protected either way and be able to get your $ back? Have you contacted the seller to see what they say? Hopefully foresight says it's something minor.

**SFR** · 12-03-2015, 04:00 PM

I don't think there is any issue running the GC2 with a battery that is at end of life and won't hold a charge as long as its plugged in. You all can prove that if you discharge your battery by leaving the GC2 on until it won't stay on and automatically turns off. If you try to use it at that point plugged in it will work fine.

I believe in fact the GC2 will show a higher voltage when plugged in and running and slightly lower when on battery. There is a point where on battery they say that the unit should not go below in voltage or it may not read but that is on battery only.

**goatbarn** · 12-03-2015, 04:04 PM

Yeah unit always says 8.5v when plugged in. It will always read lower than that when not plugged in.

**Ronsc1985** · 12-03-2015, 09:13 PM

Originally posted by SFR View Post

I don't think there is any issue running the GC2 with a battery that is at end of life and won't hold a charge as long as its plugged in. You all can prove that if you discharge your battery by leaving the GC2 on until it won't stay on and automatically turns off. If you try to use it at that point plugged in it will work fine.

I believe in fact the GC2 will show a higher voltage when plugged in and running and slightly lower when on battery. There is a point where on battery they say that the unit should not go below in voltage or it may not read but that is on battery only.

That's only true if the battery stack has gone high impedance when failing. In his case he said the battery stack read 1.2 volts which is about 1/6 of the 7.2 volts the stack nominally puts out. He may have one or more shorted cells which then limits the maximum output voltage the battery can provide.

BTW the reason the display reads around 8.5 when plugged in is that is probably the output voltage limit of the battery charger.

**luv2golf** · 12-13-2015, 07:39 AM

FaultyClubs, did you ever get a resolution for your GC2? I hope so, just got mine yesterday and can't stop playing it.

Hope it works out for you.

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Just got my GC2....but doesn't seem to work...advice please!

Just got my GC2....but doesn't seem to work...advice please!

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