cable connection

[lalonder]

I ordered my Skytrak and hope to get it soon, but my question is about the connection cable. It seems that some people leave it plugged in, is that only to power the unit or if you have bad wifi and need it connected to PC. I am trying to finishing planning my room out and really did not want to mess with a cable as the Skytrack will not be very near my computer. Also with the hassle of lefty righty movement.
Thanks in advance

[jpotas]

I ordered my Skytrak and hope to get it soon, but my question is about the connection cable. It seems that some people leave it plugged in, is that only to power the unit or if you have bad wifi and need it connected to PC. I am trying to finishing planning my room out and really did not want to mess with a cable as the Skytrack will not be very near my computer. Also with the hassle of lefty righty movement.
Thanks in advance

Short answer is yes, the cable charges the unit off a wall plug. You can connect directly to your PC USB if you are to far away from your PC, this powers your Skytrak and provides a stable connection.

The Skytrak has its own wifi so as long as your PC has an internet connection you can wifi from the Skytrak to the PC(or other personal device).

[3on3putt]

In terms of internet connection, you have 3 options:

1. Via your home WiFi network (network mode)
2. Via the Skytrak's internal WiFi network (direct mode)
3. Via a USB cord from the Skytrak to the computer (USB mode)

Only USB mode requires a cable running from the Skytrak to the computer. There are two advantages to connecting this way. First, I've found it to be the most reliable. Network mode was a bit spotty for me (my sim is in the garage) and I would sometimes lose connection. Direct mode was better but still would sometimes lose connection. But USB mode is solid. No issues whatsoever.

The second benefit is that it keeps the Skytrak charged. I just leave my unit plugged into the computer at all times. So I never have to worry about a low battery interrupting my round. If you don't have the Skytrak plugged in while playing (either to the wall or a computer), you'll need to charge it between sessions.

The one big disadvantage is just what you said --- righty / lefty movement.

How far away is your computer going to be? Will you have a keyboard closer to the unit at least? You don't want your keyboard to be too far away as you will be constantly using the keyboard in between every shot during sim play and it will be annoying if it's too far away (unless you have one of those cool control boxes on the floor).

WGT requires you to be in network mode in order to play. TGC2019 can be played in any mode. Not sure if there are any connection requirements for E6 but I doubt it.

[GungHoGolf]

Really good answer here. Only thing I would add is that if you use a USB extension cable, if it's longer than 12 feet, you should use an "Active" USB cable for best results.

[lalonder]

Wow thanks for all the input very useful. At present I really never thought of most of those things. I was looking at upgrading my wifi. I had a friend recommend google mesh (they look like a hocky puck) and you can place them all over your home depending on how many you get. My Sim is in the basement and wifi sucks in the location so I need to beef up the connection of wifi and hoping the mesh will do it. They do make wireless keyboards so maybe having one closer then I thought would be a better plan.
I have not got into what gaming I am going to do. Just have the set up done and sky trak on order so now fine tunning set up.

[Mr69vett]

Ok Gunghogolf, what the hell is an active USB cable? I have a 25' micro X USB hooked to my ST and runs under the matt and up to PC, not sure if its active or not! Just bought off Ebay, didn't know there was a difference!

[Mr69vett]

an to lalonder, i sue to run my ST network thru Ipad, it seemed to work real well when i first got it, and then over a month or so I was losing connection, having problems. I finally said ENOUGH! I bought a gaming PC, hooked the PC direct to my router direct wired and direct wired my ST to my PC and all I can say is that I don NOT I have cussed once! NO BRAINER! use the wires

[GungHoGolf]

Ok Gunghogolf, what the hell is an active USB cable? I have a 25' micro X USB hooked to my ST and runs under the matt and up to PC, not sure if its active or not! Just bought off Ebay, didn't know there was a difference!

An "active" USB cable draws power from the USB3 bus and uses it to boost the signal, allowing much longer cable runs with no degradation of signal. They're not much more expensive than regular USB extension cables. I like this one: https://amzn.to/3ria0Xo