Skytrak and outside range

[ryanoneill1]

So I took the skytrak outside today from 9AM-11AM. The sun was still rising and shining extremely bright on my Skytrak. To the point where I couldn't see the red dot. I couldn't tell if my ball was on near the red dot, but I got 5 out of 25 shots to register. I am 99% sure I had the ball on the red dot. Does anyone know if sunlight will cause the unit not to pick up the ball.

Also when I am adding wind on the skytrak how does my unit know what North, South, East, West is?

[davray666]

The sunlight contains a massive amount of 850nm IR light. The biggest problem is probably the line laser that is not strong enough to over power the sun.
So you get a continuously high signal on the trigger sensor and the unit therefore does not trigger properly.
I would guess that the target line is towards north. Can't imagine they added a digital compass so the unit knows what direction it's pointing at.

[wise990]

Does anyone have a tips or tricks to get this unit to work outside? I had it set up on a very overcast day, no direct sunlight and could not get a single shot to register. I tried adding a "hood" over top of the unit also. The unit was level on a separate platform from the driving range mat i was using. I am really hoping to verify the overall accuracy by using a range finder and a spotter out in the field to make ball positions.

[Sascha1818]

It sounds like it was more an connection issue. If nothing picket up at all and no direct sunlight into the sensors.

[luv2golf]

I take mine to the range all the time, no issues at all.

[Sascha1818]

I used it on the range on a sunny day with no issue. Just when the sun came around and was behind me shining right into the unit it started to have trouble. All I did is put up an umbrella to shade the unit and it worked again. The ipad was the bigger issue in the end. I had to stop because after 2 hours it overheated and shut down.

[wise990]

Actually I did have one shot read. I had the skytrak connected directly to the computer via usb. All green lights and the laser where on.

[liturbo]

Strong sunlight on the ball and hitting area or directly on the front of the unit will prevent the ir sensors from detecting the ball and thus the unit will not register the shot. If I am in my own backyard I shade the unit and hitting area with an umbrella but it can be difficult getting proper placement of the umbrella and at the same time leaving enough room for a full swing of the club. My local driving range has a significant number of canopy covered hitting bays that prevent direct sunlight from interfering with the ST. Another trick I have used is to find a big piece of cardboard that I prop up with a chair to help block the sunlight--tough to get it to stay in place on a windy day but otherwise works well.

[voodoo_ca]

I am just guessing here, but I would imagine it like washing out a picture with light.
Instead of visible light, you are using IR. The IR pictures from a "night vision" camera system show the image. If you send too much IR light to those cameras, the image becomes a large white out. If the unit was trying to see a ball in that image, it might not see anything but white. Trying to block some of the light from the hitting area might be something to try.