No reads Galore! =(

[arwin]

I've had my ST since 2015. I've always felt like I had a really good unit since there were hardly any no-reads.
I debated on getting a Mevo+ since it could be used outdoors last fall but I decided against it since I know that the Mevo+ is still fairly new and they still need to work out all the kinks while I felt like I had a solid ST unit.

Recently, I've been getting a no reads quite frequently....and it's getting frustrating.

I would say I would get a no read every at least other shot these days. When it starts to no read, I'll have to hit like 7 shots before it will read even one.

Things to note:

• I used brand new white balls
• Logo always faces the ST
• I've tried moving the ball around relative to the dot (half a ball in front, half a ball behind, half a ball closer, half a ball away)
• I have a small lamp that I can turn on and off that faces the ball - In either case, when it doesn't want to read, it doesn't make a difference what I do with the lamp
• When I swing a club through the dot, sometimes the dot will go out and sometimes it won't. Even when the dot goes out (like it's reading something), and then I actually hit a ball, it still won't read
• My wood and hybrid are white heads, so I expect there to be more no reads with those clubs but it still happens with irons as well
• For the most part, it will read most of my driver shots (which has a black head)
• I used to have my ST setup at home with halogen lighting. I've since moved my ST into my warehouse which has fluorescent lighting in the background. Even with the fluorescent lights off and my lamp on, when it starts to no read, it happens for about 3-10 shots before it will read something
• When I initially moved my ST to the warehouse, I didn't have any problems with no reads
• It likes to read my fat shots vs my crisp shots -- I'd hit like 5 good shots in a row with no read, then get frustrated and not really focus on my swing and I'll hit a fat one and it will then read that one....Not good for playing on the TGC Tour
• The no reads will occur in the ST Range App and in TGC

Any ideas on what the problem could be? I read that it could be an issue with a laser curtain or something?

[3on3putt]

The unit is 6 years old. My guess would be the laser curtain. I'm thinking that after 6 years you're probably on borrowed time with the laser curtain.

[arwin]

Haha. Probably true.

As an update...I flipped the ST to left hand mode and I was getting the same number of no reads.

Looks like I might need to call ST and send this in for a repair or something.

[Jeff Tilley]

Spooky.....I was playing a round on CG3D last night and about hole 12 I had 6 consecutive no reads on a simple putt. I unplugged the Skytrak until CG3D said there was no connection, then plugged it back in and it started working again. It glitched again on hole 17 with 3 consecutive no reads. Unplug, plug, good again. Going to try in a bit to see if it does it again.......

[Jeff Tilley]

Yep, looks like laser curtain failure. Glitched on hole 4, reset, glitched on hole 7 and wouldn’t reset. Switched to LH side and worked like a champ. Seeing how Skytrak is backlogged due to COVID, surgery may be in order til the other side goes out or Skytrak gets caught up. My unit is out of warranty anyway.........

[arwin]

I think I did something terribly stupid.
When I switched it to LH mode, I had my ST connected via a USB cable....one of my chips ended up catching the cable and tugged on it.
I think the cable ended up tugging on the ST and bent the USB port and now I can't charge my ST....FML

In other news, I was testing my ST afterwards connected via direct mode and I since I was wireless, I just placed the ST in the middle of the turf and it was reading everything like a champ again.
Does anybody know if wear patterns in the turf would affect the ST from reading the shot? I know in the past, when I had some no reads, I would move it into another location and it worked.

This time I put the ST in a completely unused area of the turf and it was reading everything perfectly again....too bad and I went and screwed up the USB Port....

I hope there is a way to fix the USB port

[Jeff Tilley]

My USB cord feels kinda loose at my laptop, makes me wonder if that could be part of the problem. I’m gonna have to get my wireless figured out in the shop to try it wirelessly. Will any micro cable fit the ST, or does ST sell the only one that works for the ST?

[arwin]

Any micro USB cable should work, as long as it's a decent cable.

[Morini]

So you never switched to direct mode during trouble shooting? Static problems most likely. I don't think turf wear has any impact.

[arwin]

Me? No. I never went to direct mode. Never occurred to me that it could be a problem with the unit connected directly to the computer.
I always thought that being connected to via the USB cable would be the best method of connection.

[3on3putt]

Me? No. I never went to direct mode. Never occurred to me that it could be a problem with the unit connected directly to the computer.
I always thought that being connected to via the USB cable would be the best method of connection.

I believe USB is the best and most reliable method of connection. However, if something has gone wrong in the USB port or the cable, it possibly could be the reason for the no-reads. If it's working well in a wireless mode (direct or network), then that likely isolates the problem to the USB connection. I doubt wear marks in the turf would have anything to do with it. More likely something to do with the USB cable or the port itself or something even more internal related to USB functionality.

[Morini]

Static is extremely common during the dry months. It can make USB unusable. There are many proposed solutions, and even skytrak is looking into grounding options for the case. It is #1 on the trouble shooting list if using USB. Often the ball position laser will go on and off randomly. If you live in a dry climate, I'd consider direct mode (if wired PC or you have two wifi adapters) as it is the most reliable.

[Morini]

For example, from Seth himself:

That sounds like static to me. We see a spike in the colder/drier winter months with units in the metal case. Unfortunately golf mats are a super-high static environment, so trying to figure out a solution to work around that.

https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum/skytrak/289187-skytrak-fails-to-read-a-shot/page2

[Jeff Tilley]

Success! ST is now working in RH mode in both ST range and CG3D play. Distances and putting seem spot on, just have to realign the unit again. Swapping laser curtains was not that big of a deal, but I did bench repair in the Navy years ago. I do need to find a bigger magnifying glass for these old eyes.......