The future of Skytrak?

[SkyTrak_Seth]

You guys leave me no choice but to troll you with super-vague statements like "2019 will be an awesome year with exciting new developments" So many right-on guesses in here, but the one specific one I can comment on is yes, the high ball speed issue is a priority and is in the works and will be addressed in Q1.

I don't know if that helps or hurts

[Michael M.]

I think I'll be waiting until after the January PGA show to purchase (or as stated elsewhere, buy one before the $300 discount ends on 1/15 but be prepared to return within 30 days).

[bballer320xu]

That’s incredible news. I love my skytrak but I’ve found this issue has made me look at look at other, and much more expensive devices. Fingers crossed for this one!

[Ryan_luan@yahoo.com]

How about changes and upgrades to have some sort of “outdoor” mode that can easily pick up shots in all weather including under sunny daylights? It would be HUGE! I love every bit of my SkyTrak, but the inability to use it in sunny days has made me cringe.....

[frankiepap39]

Happy New Year to all... bring on club data!!!!

[apeppin]

Bring on the competition from Uneekor! - Would love to see Foresight take a beating, especially since they haven't touched the GC2/HMT price in over 8 years. From a technological advancement vantage point, that is completely insane.

[JackedUpSwing]

Foresight just seems like an out of touch company. They have no idea how many customers they are alienating with their business practices. I mean, do they really think the GC2 brings over triple the value of a skytrak? Its pretty insane. Also, locking the GCQuad to their shitty FSX software? Charging 3k for that shitty software and paying for courses on top of that? Absolutely insane.... Hopefully we can get some more competition soon.

[Kmurray]

Absolutely agree with JackedUpSwing comment, I moved from Skytrak to GC2/HMT buying in the UK from Foresight and the buying experience was abysmal. I felt that the sales rep used pressure sales techniques to achieve the sale and I was disappointed when they failed to actually honour the sale in a reasonable time frame . We are talking about 12k uk pounds paid upfront then 3 weeks plus before they eventually delivered the hardware minus the software which I then had to hassle them to get .
The FSX software is crap for sure , and their pricing is ridiculous , their business practices for me = once bitten twice shy...
On the other hand look at the engagement from Skytrak, Protee and R motion on this forum , I have had support from all of those companies and their openess and transparency in interacting with their customers sets the benchmark for this market.
Dealing with Foresight leaves me feeling unclean ...like dealing with an unscrupulous double glazing company....

[Ozmodion]

Big things promised by Seth in 2019.....

I hope its not a new Unit and its software upgrades. If it is a new Unit with upgraded USB port/upgraded Wifi etc then we can send our units back for that upgrade at a reduced cost.

I know we are getting TGC 2019 but thats a separate thing.

I want to be able to add names to second, third or forth players and have a permanent league for the challenge games. instead of having "my name" as player 1 and "Player 2" as player 2 etc...

[gkkling]

I wouldn't expect a hardware update in 2019. @SkyTrack_Seth already confirmed their focus will be on software updates (i.e. 3.4 and 4.0) and partner relationships in this thread. https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum...nts#post183678

[penrose]

I like to see a unit you can attatch an ethernet cable too and get rid of this wireless. Every other device offers this...playstation, TiVo, Dvd players., PC, laptops, etc

[Wizard of Coz]

Fewer non reads no delay would be awesome

[Nasdaqsam]

Just reading through some of the old posts on this thread. I am very happy like most to see ST take such an active roll in upgrading an all ready great product seems like they took on a major software upgrade for sure. Definitely looking forward to the upgrade.

With that said I disagree that club head data as an add on is not possible or would not sell. For club head data add on could be similar to what the GC2 does wit the HMT add on. It is a whole separate add on that could run through the wifi/bt the ST all ready has or if that is not possible it could be set up as an addition wifi/bt input or even hardwired if the concern is degraded signal or slowing down older computers with the additional input. All though I would not like to have to run a cable to the new unit I would to get the data it would provide.

I do not believe the cost is even a factor. Once someone has invested the $5k + to put one of these sims together and the initial wallet pain is behind them my bet is for a $1k to $2k it would sell and be in demand. I know I would buy one in a heart beat.

[Nasdaqsam]

Oz, $2k would be a bit steep I agree but if you have ever struggled with fixing a swing having club head data is priceless.

[Morini]

Obtaining the face orientation at impact is photometrically is VERY VERY VERY hard to accomplish.The commercial market for club data is very demanding of precision. I am not sure of the non-commercial market for club data, but I do not believe HMT like accuracy is possible in the price range that would work for consumers.

Here is a compromise that I mentioned in another thread: A wireless top mounted camera. It shouldn't cost more than a few hundred dollars. It just needs one image sensor some optics, wifi/bluetooth, and a microcontroller of sorts. It does NOT needs its own strobe, as it would use the ST strobe for illumination and timing. It would give us the following:
- sub degree HLA accuracy (surpassing GC2). This is very important to me, as the current +/- 2 degrees is not ideal. A 150 yard shot that hits the pin could in reality be 6 yards off.
- second opinion of ball speed and possible spin, leading to higher accuracy.
- it can have a laser alignment tool to aim at target line, and can detect and automatically correct ST alignment, resulting in far easier set up, and additional accuracy improvements.
- AND here is the cherry on top: it might be able to make a reasonably accurate MEASUREMENT of horizontal club path. If we know the club path and HLA, we can calculate a reasonable estimate of face angle (in fact that is what Trackman does, at least the older ones, not sure about Trackman4).
- There are some caveats on the last part. Reading the club path would be difficult, and may require a reflector on the club, which would need to be carefully placed as not to interfere with ST picking up the ball. Second, in order to read the club path accurately, the strobe needs to fire just before impact. Additional hardware may be required to do this, complicating things.

[Nasdaqsam]

Morini,

Great explanation. For orientation purposes would a redesign of the current hard case for the ST to mount the new sensor take care of this issue? At a reasonable cost?

[Morini]

Hi Nasdaqsam, I am not sure I fully understand the question. If you are talking about the alignment benefit of an overhead camera, it is that three reflectors be placed on top of the ST (or whatever case surrounds the ST). The overhead camera would have an alignment laser that produces a line on the floor (the target line). During setup,the ST is placed so that the laser "dot" falls on this line. The top camera could use the three reflectors on the ST to determine the alignment of the ST to the target line, and can digitally compensate for any misalignment (within reason).

[Nasdaqsam]

I miss understood what you were saying previously. I get it now. That seems feasible.

[trumb1mj]

You guys leave me no choice but to troll you with super-vague statements like "2019 will be an awesome year with exciting new developments"

The next 2 months are going to be insane!

[968Cab]

🙄

*Which* Q1 for the ball speed patch?

[frankiepap39]

so far you would say 2019 was a non event.... possible new firmware / upgrade unit coming at the PGA show 2020??

[trumb1mj]

Maybe SkyTrak had a hand in some of these latest integrations dropping? Could that have been what SkyTrak_Seth was referring to with this post? I'm still hoping that something drops before the end of the year--I'd love to be able to justify re-upping my software subscription.

[sheptunes]

Hasn't there been integration with R-Motion&SkyTrak? I spotted a couple of posts or maybe a random youtube video of R-Motion being used in conjunction with ST... kind of as Skypro was intended; sort of answers the OP's question on adding club data.

[Gresh12]

Integration works through TGC but not SkyTrak range or TGC 2019.

I have both and would really prefer to use them together in the SkyTrak range than original TGC (the only reason the original TGC gets loaded).

[wbond]

There was a beta version of TGC that allowed integration of the two.

https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum/golf-simulator-brands-and-types/r-motion-golf/130470-r-motion-for-skytrak-interface-1-46b

Hasn't there been integration with R-Motion&SkyTrak? I spotted a couple of posts or maybe a random youtube video of R-Motion being used in conjunction with ST... kind of as Skypro was intended; sort of answers the OP's question on adding club data.

[Ryno]

Seeing if anyone has any new thoughts on the future of skytrak, or launch monitors in general, a couple years later?

Finally convinced my wife to let me use our bedroom (only room with high ceiling) to set up/break down a net to hit balls. Thinking about getting a skytrak since it is reasonably priced compared to other units that provide side spin. I’ve wanted to get a launch monitor for a long time and would be willing to wait longer if there is a possibility of something new in the next couple years. Beginning of thread made it seem like it was unlikely but maybe something has changed the last couple years.

Also, what was the big rollout for Skytrak announced earlier in the thread?

[calebm1001]

Used GC2 is an extra 2-2.5K

[Celeras]

I was comparing the new prices when they're both in stock from their respective companies. $1,695 vs $6,500. $1,995 at worst for SkyTrak. That never changes, unlike the crazy fluctuating used prices atm (and its definitely more than a $2,500 difference currently, ask Wiz lol).

But hey if you want to laugh all the way to the bank in 2041 instead of 2071, I won't stop you. As if that makes a difference to my point

[Gresh12]

I’ve owned both a SkyTrak and now Mevo+. I’ve written a fair bit in the Mevo+ forum so I’ll keep this short.

If you have 17’ of space I think the Mevo+ is better for everything except the base “free” range software (the included E6 would be nice but I owned TGC so I had sim software). The more I test and use mine the more I believe the improved HLA accuracy more than makes up for bigger error on spin axis. I don’t shape the ball a ton and SkyTrak HLA was wrong a lot for me and showed big draws/fades that were over exaggerated. Mevo+ the HLA just works and I think it’s pretty good with spin axis at 9-10’ ball flight. If you have the minimum ball flight or curve the ball a lot maybe it won’t feel as good though.

Without enough room for Mevo+ I would have stuck with SkyTrak and it is a good system but to me just felt a bit too far off on direction. You mentioned temporary setup which excludes Uneekor and personally I feel over doubling the cost is a pretty big leap for a GC2 (personally I’m only paying $5k if I get reliable ball and club data but everyone has their own price points).

I think SkyTrak has better base software. I personally don’t mind a nominal fee if it keeps updates coming (a year gap was a bit much). Folks give SkyTrak a tough time on the fee but to me a static purchase gives you a static product (particularly this day in age). I’ve never owned a Foresight product but it seems you either stick with old software or pay an arm and a leg to upgrade periodically. I’d rather get constant updates for a small fee personally but others hate the ongoing fee model.