Narrowed Down to 3

[crashr30]

I'm new here so trying to get a handle on building a sim.

Planning a build here in the next few weeks. I have the OK from the wife and she is actually giving me a hard time because I HAVEN'T ORDERED ANYTHING YET!! I am pretty lucky!!
Here are the questions about the 3 units I am thinking about. I know they have been asked before. I have researched but I am looking for updated opinions.

I will be using this at home only, more so focused on practice then game play but I will want some courses to play for fun when I get board with trying to measure and improve the swing.

1. GC2. I know it is one of the best in the class for home units. A lot of people are not thrilled with the pricing or some of their policies on buying used units from individuals. If I can stomach the price is it really that much better than SkyTrak (2-3 time less than GC2) or GSA? Also I assume that I DO NOT have to buy the FSX software to use the unit with a simulator. I can use E6 or TGC? Correct? All the information starts to run together after awhile.

2. SkyTrak. Bang for the buck. Some interesting deals from Allsports. Delay, putting and chipping appear to be issues. I can deal with the delay but is the chipping and putting not very functional with the unit or is it playable. I also see that they are working on calculated swing information and also you can combine another unit to get swing data.

3. GSA. This is the unit that has me intrigued but I don't find a lot of information on it. Works off of the pad but has the option of the LX Launch monitor. Seems like you will get the best of both worlds with club path measurement plus measured ball information as well. Any opinions? Anyone have one with the LX launch monitor? Their website is very detailed and overwhelming so ultimately it will have to be a phone call to place the order.

I am not to worried about the DIY portion of the bay. That I am comfortable with. Biggest question with the build will be the screen material vs. price. Quite a few options out there but it looks as though a couple of brands are pretty sturdy with decent picture.

Thanks in advance for the help!!

[kalcormier]

I would say it depends on your budget.

If you can afford to go with a GC2 and still setup the rest of your SIM I think that's the way to go.

I am a Skytrak owner and I must say it is an amazing unit for the price. Putting and chipping is playable. Every now and then you may get a crazy chip/putt or sometimes a no read. But overall very solid. I went with the cheaper option because I didn't know if the novelty of having a simulator would wear off and I wouldn't use it as much as I thought. I found that not to be the case and if I'm ever able to upgrade to a GC2 I would jump at the opportunity. However, I haven't dealt with Foresight Customer Service yet. I am happy with the Skytrak.

I know of maybe 2 guys here with GSA products. If you read a little under the GSA section of the forum you will see the issues with some of the past products. I would definitely go with one of the other 2 options.

Screen material - Carl's Premium or Preferred, Par2Pro SQ, or get on the Direct from Mill list.

[HappyGilmore102]

Like others will say, it depends on your budget.

I'm a Skytrak user, and initially I thought I would start with a skytrak and upgrade to a GC2 etc......, but in the space of 1 year I can't believe how much skytrak keeps improving and upgrading.

First i thought I would just use the skytrak to improve my game with the range, which is great, but boy, it quickly wears off and you start looking at simulation add-ons.
This is where prices can really go high for stuff that becomes outdated pretty quickly.
This is also the area where the skytrak in my opinion really adds value to the home user.
There is alot of simulation to choose from, to suit different budgets and pricing for the same software with GC2 is more expensive.

New GC2 purchase = fine
but used GC2 purchase = be careful of, the different models.
Some GC2's do not have bluetooth so they can't be used with 3rd party simulation, i believe.
Hidden transfer costs etc....
According to this forum, a lot of people not too happy with foresight customer service, from what i've read.

Skytrak, delay time keeps reducing as more processing power comes to market.
Chipping and putting - depends on the simulation you go with, WGT they say not so good, I use CG3D for chipping and putting, works well for me. I really enjoy the putting courses and chipping/pitching to pins.

GC2 hardware, the best, no one can argue with that.

[andygg1986]

I agree with everything above except all GC2s have Bluetooth. Newer ones have an A in their serial number and are compatible with apple devices, but any of them can connect to a PC for simulation.

I don't know about the LX launch monitor add on, but one bad thing about GSA is that it is easy to fool yourself. All the setup parameters that you can configure will let you adjust the system to how you think you hit the ball instead of how you actually hit it. Most people are surprised that they hit it much shorter than they thought when they get a skytrak or GC2, then gradually increase their distance as they get comfortable. With GSA you can initially set it longer to match what you think and then after a while you think you are hitting 300 yard drives in simulation. I think it can be calibrated to be accurate but without a reference like a GC2 you are really guessing during setup

[mthunt]

May be better put that some used GC2’s have bluetooth’s that don’t work

[Jwheels9876]

1. If you can afford the GC2 then go for it. Can get them used for probably 4000-4300 around here. Foresight is like 5400 or something refurb with short warranty period and it's registered if you need any service down the road if that piece of mind is worth the extra $$. You do not have to buy FSX nor even register the GC2 with foresight, which they charge you $500 to do (crooks). You can play TGC,JNPG,CG3D,E6, on GC2. I've tried them all and TGC and JNPG are the best and most economical choices for what they include.

2. I have a Skytrak at home right now alongside my GC2 and it is fairly accurate compared to the GC2. The no reads drive me crazy. I had to hit 5 hybrid shots the other day before one finally read. The chipping and putting can be a little off but I know TGC and JNPG have both worked on software fixes to help those areas with skytrak. For the money, it's a great machine IF you want to save or can't afford the GC2 right now.

3.I know nothing about GSA sorry.

For the screen, jump on the Par2pro SQ screen deal if its still going on. I grabbed a 11x10 for $to 200. Cant beat that price for a qaulity screen. I have a Carl's Preferred screen up now and it's done ite job for a almost 2 years although I've never been overly impressed with the image quality paired with my Optoma GT1080 projector.

skytrak has alot of options for yearly subscriptions for software which I like because you try a few out at a time for way less than purchasing something like E6 which is $1800 to buy.

good luck with your build, I'm sure you'll never be happy and keep upgrading and upgrading like everyone else here lol

[Dax]

I can add to the above comment on the no read frustration. When I first bought my TM, I had issues of getting a lot of no reads as my metal garage door really interferes with the radar and I actually found that it began to affect my swing as I few frustrated with not getting reads. I think this is an important thing to consider as it does get frustrating.

In in terms of my set-up now, as soon as I set up in a different area without the garage door interference I rarely (almost to the point now of saying never) get any no reads and it does make things much more enjoyable.

[HappyGilmore102]

HI

I stand corrected with regards to GC2's and bluetooth,
but as you can see from the Trackman user above that set-up or interference of some sort can affect any system, yes even TRackman.

I honestly have no problems with no reads when using my Skytrak.
I use it outdoors with a wifi signal from my router which is located inside the house.

If you've got the cash, go with a GC2.

[crashr30]

Thanks for all the input. I went with Skytrak. Overall I think it to be the best starting point. If things go well maybe I will consider the GC2 later on but for now I am going this route. Everything is on order so I am just waiting for arrival of it all. I'll have to be a bit patient as some of it is going to take 3 weeks.

[SlipperyPete]

As others have said, go with not only what you can afford but what you're comfortable with spending. It came down to is the GC2 really going to offer me that much more vs the SkyTrak and how much am I really going to use this. Then if I went with either and decided to sell, what was I going to lose, looks like 500-1000 either way I went. So I went ST and so far no regrets. I would really like to see what comes out in the next couple years as there is so much potential with high speed cameras (ie the new samsung phone) maybe something else comes out in the under 5k arena that would make me upgrade. Either way you go, if you like to golf, I think you'll be happy and if not, you sell it and you're out a couple rounds.

[gnomike]

I agonised about the same decision… (Like so many of us)… I ended up leaning the other way… I bought a secondhand GC2.
SlipperyPete is spot on, IMO, either way you go you will have an excellent experience, and if you decide to sell either one, you will get good resale value and be out not that much money... It’s a no-lose decision!

[crashr30]

So, enough of my simulator set up came in for me to start playing some golf. Still waiting on the curtains and overhead mount for the projector.

I barely got the set up in the room. I underestimated the size of the screen and cage but when I got finished it does all fit and I have enough room to comfortably swing my clubs.

The Skytrak has been very impressive. I tried yellow and black Callaway balls and got quite a few unrecorded shots. I just wanted to try. I switched over to white Wilson Duos and I have had very shots that the Skytrak did not read. It has even been good even when putting. As of today I am glad that I saved the money.

I am playing TGC and it seems to be very reliable. Right now I am just playing off of my computer screen. If TGC has a fault it is that the shadows are way too dark. I even noticed this when i play on my PS4 when crashing on the couch.

In reference to the above, does anyone know how to improve the lighting of TGC. I would love to just drop shadowing completely.

Hopefully the rest of my set up shows up soon. Once it does I'll let you know how it looks with the projector. I purchased an Optoma projector and I hope it works as expected.

[crashr30]

Well, everything came in weeks ago and i have been playing a lot of golf. Very pleased with the Skytrak. I understand why people appreciate GC2 a little more but overall I am happy with my decision especially for the money.

My screen setup from Allsports is very nice and I have the HD screen. The problem I do have is that there are waves in the screen that I cannot get out. I would say that I think the screen should be an inch or two higher off the ground. I have just run out of room to stretch the screen any further. I believe this to be the issue vs. any quality issue with the screen. There are two ways to get that extra inch or 2 of heighth. First you can pay attention the the corners for the cage. There orientation will dictate whether the frame ends up be taller or not. It has to do with how the pieces are welded together to for the canopy connectors. Play with it and you will figure it out. This would apply to really any application you used. The frame did measure out to be exactly 10ft high. Other selection is just cut the conduit a little longer. Once again corner orientation needs to be paid attention.

The HD screen is nice and heavy in weight. I have nothing to compare to but it is high quality in my opinion. The black out curtains are a very heavy material and very effective. Very nice product. The netting is nothing special but I don't believe any of it really is for any of these set ups. Also I like the configuration so that you have screen, two layers of netting behind the screen, along with the black out curtain. Works very well. I reduced the distance between the screen and the blackout curtain from what was put in the directions. I needed every inch in my room to achieve the distance from the screen which is right at 10ft. That reduction in distance has not created any issues for me. My enclosure is about 8 inches from the wall and I have had no issues with the ball impacting the wall behind the enclosure.

The only item I am not overly wild about is the canopy projector mount. It is not terrible and more than functional. However it is made of milled plastic. Getting everything tight enough to keep from moving causes the bolts to sink into the plastic. The plastic is very slippery. Probably nylon. Only real issue with that. The other item is that the projector mount hooks under an additional cross piece in the frame. The conduit flexes a lot with the projector in place making adjustment difficult for the projector. I would consider using a piece of plumbing pipe vs. conduit. It will make the projector set up more stable as it would be so much more rigid.

It did take quite some time to get all of it. Almost 8 weeks. In all fairness they had a supplier issue that created the delay. I will say they were nothing but polite the whole time and I was very pleased with the personal interactions with the company.

I would not hesitate to work with them again.