Skytrak IR curtain emitter failure

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  • brown58hound
    Junior Member
    • Feb 2017
    • 20

    #1

    Skytrak IR curtain emitter failure

    My 14 month old skytrak stopped recording right handed shots this weekend, fortunately the forum members have posted useful info for troubleshooting and repairs.

    I tried chatting with skytrak on Saturday but the only response I got were the basic questions about ball placement, lighting, etc.

    I ended up opening up the unit and swapping the left and right IR curtain emitters. It's not difficult but getting the unit apart took some prying that left marks on the plastic seam. I assume skytrak has some specialized tools/knowledge knowing where the clips are at. I removed 8 screws to separate the front panel from the main board and from there it is pretty easy to swap the IR devices. It went back together no problem and I resumed indoor golf.

    I called skytrak this morning, asked if they would just sell me the IR emitters, didn't really expect that they would and they won't. At some point I'll have to send it in, but now is not a good time. I'm trying out new drivers and I also have a couple of local D3 university golfers practicing using my setup.

    I'm making this additional observation public, my perception is that newer units are having a higher than normal rate of failure on this component. I won't know the cost until I send it in, but now is not the time to be without launch monitor.

    Something to think about if anyone is considering buying used ( or new) skytrak. If there are enough failures that people are posting DIY solutions then I believe skytrak has a reliability problem.

    BTW no markings on the IR components, brass component housed in a plastic mount. I did a little looking online, but didn't see anything similar, might be proprietary design. I'll keep looking.

  • Morini
    Super Member
    • Dec 2017
    • 742

    #2
    I did a little looking online, but didn't see anything similar, might be proprietary design.
    Thanks for trying. I fully expect mine to fail at some point.

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    • StodgyBarley
      Member
      • Feb 2018
      • 94

      #3
      Sorry to hear about the failure. Good for you though for figuring it out... where did you get your IR emitter, may I ask? My ST is still going strong but it is one of the original models... probably about 5 years old now.

      Comment

      • maine skytrak
        Junior Member
        • Aug 2018
        • 29

        #4
        I'm curious when you had the unit apart did you recognize or noticed anything within the unit that applies to the tilt or roll or potentially a device that aligns the unit?

        Comment

        • jswat20
          Junior Member
          • Mar 2018
          • 20

          #5
          About a year ago I ran into the same issue w/ one of the IR curtains failing. After a few phone calls with ST and completing their testing for placement (paper test) etc, I sent mine in for repair. In about 10 day I had it back and it was working, and there was no charge. I had read on these forums to expect somewhere in the neighborhood of $180-200 or so for that fix, so I was expecting to pay that. My unit was a little over a year old, so I don't believe it was under any factory warranty... so I'm not sure why that was the case, but for me, it did show that the ST folks stand behind their product. I've had zero issues since then (knock on wood).

          Comment

          • brown58hound
            Junior Member
            • Feb 2017
            • 20

            #6
            I wasn't really looking for anything other than the IR parts. I swapped the left and right emitters, my unit won't detect left hand swings

            I did notice there is component under FMT level bubble that I assumed was the internal level sensor.

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