Skytrak USB Issues

[Reginald]

Starting a Golf SIM business on our compound in the Middle East. Managed to get a Squash Court and just finishing the painting, flooring, lighting etc. Really looking good!

In the trials with our two Skytrak units, we can not get either unit to operate in USB Mode. They both work in Direct and Network modes albeit with occasional wifi disconnects.

In my forum readings and internet research it appears that unstable or inconsistent Voltage could cause our USB problems. The units will link to the Skytrak software but the laser will turn on and off intermittently and will never allow a registered shot.

The power here is 220V. The computers, projectors, etc all work fine.

Would adding a Voltage Regulator fix the USB issue? Would a UPS work?

I'd really like to solve this as I view the USB connection as being the most stable/reliable once I get this issue sorted.

@Skytrak_Seth

Thanks very much in advance for any relevant insight.

Scott in Saudi

[Alphaseekr]

I’ve seen people indicate that WiFi is conflicting with the USB connection.

1) Might want to give the unit a hard reset first to forget the WiFi and force it to USB mode.

2)The other suggestion that people post is the USB cable itself being “cheap” or “faulty”, so if the hard reset doesn’t work, next would be to trouble shoot the cable. Invest in a “good cable”. I use this https://www.anker.com/products/varia...o-usb/A8134011 from Amazon. I personally believe Anker makes quality products.

Beyond that, don’t know. My USB has always worked just fine, but I don’t have the same geographic considerations.

[frodaddy00]

If you want to run in USB mode make sure it is plugged in before you turn on the SkyTrak. It gets confused otherwise. Ideally you should perform the factory reset noted above to erase knowledge of WIFI unless you plan to swap back and forth for some reason.

What really solved the issue for me was buying a decent power strip that seemed to get rid of the signal noise that I believe was the root cause. I'm not sure what impact, if any, the 220V has since everything here in the states is 110.

I wrote a long forum post about it of the many USB changes I tested.. have a read if you wish.

[skytrakali]

Yes - order of connection does seem to matter. I always do

(1) Plug USB cable in to ST and computer

(2) Open ST app, make sure it's logged in and let it search for a connection

(3) Push the button to turn your ST on then wait for the connection to be found

This works for me but other orderings of (1), (2) and (3) above do not.

[pennypepper]

I have been having the same issue with USB. There are a few other threads that seem to show some data points with no reads with USB. Here are the most interesting causes and solutions:

1. Excessive Static - SkyTrak_Seth has mentioned that increased static electricity, especially during dry winter months, could be causing interference with USB. Some posters have found that plugging the skytrack into a good quality power strip with line conditioner helped their issues. Making sure your host PC is connected to a clean power source seems to have an effect. I have gone to the extremes however to get rid of static and i continue to not be able to use my USB.

2. Full Metal Jacket - Is your Skytrak in a protective case? There also are some posts which claim that taking the Skytrak out of the metal case can fix issues with no USB. Apparently the metal screws in the bottom that secure the unit to the metal case is causing problems.

3. HDMI/Graphics Card - Another recent thread discovered an issue with Skytrak and some PCs connecting to projectors or monitors using HDMI. I believe SkyTrak_Seth was looking into it.

There definitely seems to be some correlation to electrical interference. I have been using Skytrak on only USB mode for years. Recently, my USB stopped working even when I have the USB cable connected to a charger and not the PC. Its a shame as for me it was the most reliable connection with the fewest miss reads.

Hope one of these helps.

[Rob Arnold]

Related to point number 2 above, I experienced an issue that appeared related to the 3 leveling screws that come with the full metal jacket . I installed them to try and level the unit and could not connect via network or direct mode. It somehow interfered with the wireless. I removed the 3 leveling screws an was able to connect via network mode.

[Reginald]

I've now tried both of our Skytrak units with two different computers, two different USB extensions, two different power sources, different lighting, a Voltage Regulator....and still both will connect in the Skytrak software in USB mode....BUT, then the top light and the laser dot flash on and off intermittently. Units will not register shots.

Both units work fine in Direct Mode.

Network mode is strange as sometimes the units pick up the Wifi network and other times they do not.

My plan is to Ethernet connect our computers to our router and then Direct Mode connect each Skytrak to each respective computer.

It's a shame as I'm sure that if I could get the USB connection working that it would be the most stable for TGC. Right now both units seem to work great with Direct mode in the Skytrak native software. I have not been able to test out the Ethernet to Computer with Wifi Direct to Skytrak for TGC yet. Tonight hopefully.

[frodaddy00]

Here is what I would recommend in case you haven't tried these:

Did you do the factory reset to wipe out WIFI settings on SkyTrak unit?
Did you make sure the USB is connected to computer *before* turning on SkyTrak?
Did you connect your power to a power strip that says it reduces electronic noise? "EMI electromagnetic noise reduction"
Did you check these computers for any power saving modes that impact USB?

You said you were on a compound.. is the power grid there stable? I'm just wondering if there is some inherent jitter that may be the culprit.

[silverado101980]

One thing to look at would be the power management settings on your computer Iv'e been pretty lucky with not having the issues most people have been talking about. My setup is Windows 10 desktop and I changed the power management to high performance so nothing will sleep also set the USB selective suspend setting to disabled. Then there is another setting in the USB root hub located in the device manager that needs to be unchecked that says something about allowing the computer to turn off device to save power by doing this your telling the computer to always supply full power and not to let it decide when to shut off the USB connection after I did this I have had great luck with my connection via USB. I sent screen shots of what I click on and changed hope that helps out

[Supraracer]

Both units work fine in Direct Mode.

Network mode is strange as sometimes the units pick up the Wifi network and other times they do not.

My plan is to Ethernet connect our computers to our router and then Direct Mode connect each Skytrak to each respective computer.

Direct mode, for me, is the most stable. I still leave the unit plugged into USB power but not from the PC. That way unit stays charged. If you try network, make sure it's not a 5 ghz band.