OK SkyTrakers... Couple questions. My set up is complete, but not working properly

[Teddyhay228]

Good Morning,
So I finally have my setup done. I'm having a few issues that I'm hoping you guys can help with.

1- My setup includes a Fiberbuilt Grass series hitting mat with the hitting strip. With this set up are you moving your skytrak unit everytime someone hits driver? The laser light for the normal hitting position is far different for a regular iron, than for a driver. With a driver I have tee near the front of the mat to be able to play the ball forward in my stance. Of course with shorter clubs this isn't the case. I'm hoping you guys have a simple fix for this that doesn't involve moving the unit after most tee shots.

2- On TGC... Can you load 4 guest golfers? I several people that will joining us to play. I was going to create an avatar for most of them, but when I got to the 4th golfer, I couldn't create anymore. Also, I am the main user. Am I required to play every round? If I had 2 friends over that wanted to play, couldn't they both play as guests without me actually playing?

3- I do seem to be getting A LOT of no reads. At one point on Saturday I had 7 swings in a row that did not register on SK at all. All 3 lights stayed green the entire time. Any suggestions if that starts to happen? I will take some pics of my setup and post them later tonight.

Thank Crew for any guidance!!

[Tom Howarth]

For issue #1 you can buy Birtees. They work well with the Skytrak. They sit right on top of the red dot. Make sure you buy green or black (dark color). The white ones can fool the Skytrak.

Issue#3 - is the unit level with your hitting surface? Is the unit itself also level?

[Teddyhay228]

I will order a couple Birtees. That does seem like it would work! Thank You.

My unit is def. level. I do have a white closet door across from the unit. I ordered a door cover to solve that issue in case it was contributing.
Also, I think I'm going to put the lights on dimmer and get a spot light for the hitting mat.

[Venom]

Are you using the FMJ with your set up?

[Teddyhay228]

Yes, I am using the FMJ protective case.

[Venom]

With my skytrak, my no reads stopped when I took off the FMJ. It seems to interfere with the USB connection in some setups.

[cgdavis_2]

1- Birtees are what I use.

3- Lighting, shoes, and what was behind me all impacted me. I went with led light strips to light up the room and a spotlight on the hitting area. I always wear dark shoes. I made sure everything behind me is dark (although this was less important once I moved to a dark room with a spotlight).

[Morini]

No-reads most likely due to static. Try network mode or direct (if wired PC).

The Skytrak does not need any external light, and would work fine in the dark ... though you obviously need light to see the ball.

[Scoop]

Take the feet out of the metal case so it sits flat on the mat. When it is sitting higher than your mat, that causes it to miss shots.

[GungHoGolf]

Take the feet out of the metal case so it sits flat on the mat. When it is sitting higher than your mat, that causes it to miss shots.

This is the correct answer. Gotta get the bottom of the SkyTrak unit to same level as mat. Flip the feet around and screw them in from the top - can still use the pointy ends of the feet to level the unit into turf.

[Morini]

That is why I find the term "level with hitting surface" ambiguous.

[Scottygolf]

I was waiting for someone to say take the coins out of your right pocket and place them in your left, turn your hat around and go.

[jpotas]

Tincup.................. whatever it takes to get rid of the shanks!!

[Morini]

As an example of how the term "level with the hitting surface" can be misinterpreted, this photo is from last year, where a user who was having misreads insisted that it was level with the hitting surface. It was, just not the same height. For anyone unfamiliar with the skytrak, it is a mistake that can be made. They make the assumption that the feet go in that way, and without knowing how picky Skytrak is with regards to height, have no reason to assume that "level" doesn't just mean same slope. I think the skytrak documentation has gotten better, and it now specifically mentions the height.

[GolfSimDad]

Good Morning,
So I finally have my setup done. I'm having a few issues that I'm hoping you guys can help with.

1- My setup includes a Fiberbuilt Grass series hitting mat with the hitting strip. With this set up are you moving your skytrak unit everytime someone hits driver? The laser light for the normal hitting position is far different for a regular iron, than for a driver. With a driver I have tee near the front of the mat to be able to play the ball forward in my stance. Of course with shorter clubs this isn't the case. I'm hoping you guys have a simple fix for this that doesn't involve moving the unit after most tee shots.

2- On TGC... Can you load 4 guest golfers? I several people that will joining us to play. I was going to create an avatar for most of them, but when I got to the 4th golfer, I couldn't create anymore. Also, I am the main user. Am I required to play every round? If I had 2 friends over that wanted to play, couldn't they both play as guests without me actually playing?

3- I do seem to be getting A LOT of no reads. At one point on Saturday I had 7 swings in a row that did not register on SK at all. All 3 lights stayed green the entire time. Any suggestions if that starts to happen? I will take some pics of my setup and post them later tonight.

Thank Crew for any guidance!!

How do you like the Fiberbuilt mat?

[RAB_74]

With this set up are you moving your skytrak unit everytime someone hits driver?

No, it shouldn't have to be moved. I think you have your skytrak set up way to far back on your hitting mat so that if hitting driver from that position your right foot
would have to be outside the mat. Hard to tell from the pictures if your mat is long enough but try pulling it further back from the screen
and set the Skytrak further forward so that the laser dot is center of your mat or even slightly ahead of center. Maybe then you'll be
able to hit both wedges, irons and driver shots without having to move the unit? If not, try getting something else in same heigh
to put behind it that lets you stand level during all kinds of shots.

The Skytrak can be finicky to use in the beginning but just get these following basics right and I promise you'll get a lot better results and less frustration:

1. Like others have said, very important to have the bottom of the skytrak about level with the mat.

2. I'll bet that a lot of your misreads or no reads is because of the bright wall and white door that your skytrak is directly facing.
Remember that the skytrak takes two pictures of the ball and analyzes ball data from these, a white ball on a white background makes that difficult.
Avoid the issue alltogether by setting up a dark or black surface, ie. a bed-spread or douvet or something on the wall direcly behind you, maybe use a plate or board to hold it.
(Or just paint everything black ). Also, avoid using white shoes or pants.

3. when teeing up the ball for woods or driver shots it works well to put the ball on a tee about half to one inch behind the laser and half to one inch
further back, depending on tee height (the higher the tee, the longer away from the skytrak and longer away from your screen or net you insert them).
When hitting wedges or very high lofted shots, do the opposite, place the ball slightly in front of the laser (closer towards skytrak and closer to the screen).

4. Last but not least, are you marking your balls in any way? Most golf balls have just a couple of small logos and some letters on each side
and maybe a line or two. Majority of the surface is just plain white. I recommend using a permanent marker and always put some non-uniform lines or dotted patterns
on the big blank areas, I guarantee it will help eliminate a lot of misreads.

Good luck! Very nice set-up, looks like a great space for a simulator. + 1 on the birtees, they're great, highly recommended.

Edit: I see that you already had mentioned in an earlier post that you have a plan to cover the door with something, my bad. It will definitely help.

[RAB_74]

Good that you warn about permanent marking on the balls will transfer to screen jpotas. I hit into a net and don't have to worry about this issue so I didn't think about this when giving advice.

You're probably right about the white/bright background being less of an issue than I describe Morini. I was hitting inside a white party tent during the last two winters and had no-reads a little too often, once every 5-10 shots on average. It was frustrating. I then read someone mention it as a potential cause here on this forum and I put up some dark color plates on the wall behind me and instantly readings improved dramatically, no reads were almost gone. Once in a while I would forget putting these up before a golf session and no-reads were back. Might be because the tent walls and their plastic windows were too glossy and reflective, like you say.

I don't have any data or proof to show if and how much it matters to have the balls marked in any way. I might be exaggerating this too :-) I've just gotten so used to only using balls that I mark the last 3 years that I don't know how it would work using 'stock' balls. But I know that if I am a little meticulous and do these things with setup of skytrak correctly, placing it level with surface, not on the mat so it is still and stable, placing balls correctly relative to laser dot, non-white background, marked balls and good light coming from above and behind the skytrak, everything works great. I have maximum 2 no-reads per 100 shots.

[Morini]

Was this party tent used during the day time? If so, I'd guess that the outdoor direct or even indirect sungligh light would "illuminate" the tent walls. Our eyes are amazing and can adjust to the point where people don't realize that daylight is order of magnitude brighter than indoor illumination.

I don't think there is anything wrong with covering white background with a black cloth etc when troubleshooting, but I think it is important to note that having some some non-reflective white in the background is not the end of the world in terms of getting reads. No rush to repaint etc in other words.

2 percent is probably slightly better than average, and the reward for meticulous setup. Probably mostly about the height and ball placement. Skytrak is not that finicky overall, but trajectory is key. Some experimentation might be needed. If you, for example, hit a lot of high shots, you might actually have higher read rate raising the unit a fraction above the surface. It would depend on whether your woods still read.

[RAB_74]

Actually mostly used in afternoons or at nights when dark outside. I must have had problems because of lamps on opposite walls and behind the skytrak reflecting off the surfaces.

[Adam Prince]

This should completely solve your issues.

1.I would avoid putting the device on your hitting mat, vibration and movement are not going to help ST cameras see the shot at all.

2. Move the mat back a bit and put the sky track device on hard ground, this way you’ll have more room for driver stance as well.

3. Make sure the device is level and the bottom of the unit is flush with the hitting mat. A little up and down adjustment should eventually get rid of the misread problem.

4. Also, put dark background behind you, so the camera can “see the ball” better.

[RAB_74]

No update from Teddyhay228 for a while. Curious to know, did you manage to get the skytrak working better and reduce amount of no reads?

[BSK]

This should completely solve your issues.

1.I would avoid putting the device on your hitting mat, vibration and movement are not going to help ST cameras see the shot at all.

2. Move the mat back a bit and put the sky track device on hard ground, this way you’ll have more room for driver stance as well.

3. Make sure the device is level and the bottom of the unit is flush with the hitting mat. A little up and down adjustment should eventually get rid of the misread problem.

4. Also, put dark background behind you, so the camera can “see the ball” better.

OP - these comments above plus the prior comments in this thread including the last two by RAB 74 (mark your balls and adjust ball position relative to dot based on club) are important in my opinion. I’ve done fine with these without creating a black background. YMMV.

- Regarding marked balls, I think that a sharpie stripe is good enough, but I am hitting into a net. In your setup, I’d be worried about the ink slowing showing up on the white screen over thousands of shots. Perhaps try Triple track balls, Truvis, or TP5 pix if that is a concern.

- For the ball position comments, putting the ball 2” behind the dot for driver is most important if you are hi-speed (maybe ~160mph or higher). This tip is just to give the cameras a better chance to use their full frame of view to capture a fast-moving ball (twice). If you are lower speed and had driver misreads, the issue will probably be solved by one of the other tips. For 60* wedges, the need to move them ahead of the laser is purely related to ball flight. Any kind of flop or high trajectory shot will have problems regardless of ball position in my experience. While a stock shot doesn’t even need to be moved up ahead of the dot, IMO.

Lastly, based on the pics, I would consider taking down that fan depending on your height and the height of your (likely) guests :-)
I’m sure that it doesn’t seem like it will come into play, but I’ve seen some weird things happen…

[jpotas]

No sharpie stripe. IT WILL TRANFSER TO YOUR IMPACT SCREEN. I know from personal experience. I noticed right away. But the marks are still on my screen years later.