Incorrect setup consequences

[Swarm99]

I just received my Skytrak last week and the jury is still out. I have read everything in user's manual and almost everything on this message board. It seems that while the Skytrak is mostly accurate for the users on board, it is very finicky. It has to be perfectly level prior to being turned on or turning app on. It has to be perfectly aligned to target. It's surface nor the surface you hit off of can move during practice or you have to re-setup and sometimes that throws stuff off enough that you need to power down everything and turn it back on (seems to help). Also the screen must stay pristine and you can't hit off dirt, but even my new mat and the room it is in has enough dust that the screen starts looking dirty after a few days. So when you see ball flights or distances that don't look quite right, you can't just immediately start working on your swing you have to spend time focusing on whether it is setup right, or if it is dirty. So what I would like to know is the consequences of isolated incorrect setups?

- what are the typical consequences if the unit is slightly unlevel and leaning towards golfer? (Lower launch angle; more side spin? Which way?)
- away from golfer?
- towards target? (More launch angle?,etc)
- away from target?
- if Skytrak is slightly out of line with target (1-2 degrees) does it only effect horizontal launch angle or does it add side spin?
- what happens if unit is sitting on surface slightly higher than ball (1/4")?
- lower than ball"?
- typical misreads if ball gets a little dirty? (Ball speed shouldn't be effect but maybe spin?)
- does it like certain types of ball marks labels more than others? Do the labels need to be unique?

As far as ball placement goes, it seems that if you place it too far forward in front of laser with fast ball speeds you could "miss" the reading and or get lower ball speeds. If too far back it could miss reading on high lofted clubs. I don't know the consequences if the ball is placed too close or too far away from the Skytrak other than it not reading it. Is there a typical miss if ball is slightly too close? Does it assume you pushed it? Or pulled it? Because ball is closer to camera or further away?

I bought this to get better at golf, but so far we have spent all our time constantly adjusting everything rather than focusing on practice. answering the questions above would go a long way on minimizing the time agonizing over setup everytime we move the unit or the hitting mat moves slightly.

Again all the things above are subtle but knowing the effects individually (ball speed, Vlaunch, Hlaunch, Side Spin, Back spin, etc) would help greatly. Is there anything in setup that could cause a misreading in ball speed?

[leoapd]

These are all questions I would like answers to also. I am on the fence on this unit (don't own it yet) and the mixed reviews have me wondering if it will ever be a more efficient and accurate system...I certainly hope so, but 2k doesn't buy hope, but 7k buys GC2...decisions

[Joko]

Yeah I would just say If you want the best then buy the best. If you can only afford a 2k launch monitor then skytrak is really damn good as long as your unit is good, and I think most probably are.

If you'd rather spend an extra $4000 then do it and stop the complaints.

I will add that my unit has been fine that if I push or pull it then the results definitely show that. I'm an amateur golfer and feel it definitely helps in practicing. I wish it had club head data but it doesn't so that's fine. I have not experienced the issue where it needs to be exactly level, although it's pretty easy to level the device if you have a room. Also with the next update it appears they will have a software auto level system.

[ForeLeft]

I got my SkyTrak also about a week ago. So far I really haven't done much in terms of setting it up. I just place it so it's parallel to my target line (just eye ball it) and place the ball on the red dot and that's petty much it. It seems to pick up shots very accurately. Couple of days ago, I put it in the case and so I now I use the leveler to make sure it is level. I also compared it to Flightscope and got readings +/- 2 yards.

Couple of issues that I have had are:

1. It had trouble picking up range balls in direct sunlight. Had to move to a shaded area for it to pickup shots.

2. Today it was having trouble syncing. I would hit a shot and there would be a big delay and then it would say sync issue. I have so far run in in network mode only. I am going to try again later tonight. If it still has the issue, I will switch it to direct mode. I really don't care of my stats being saved online, as long as I can email myself the pdf. If Skytrak doesn't do it, I am going to look into building a tool which will extract the data out of their pdf and output a csv or xls file. That's all I need, so I can upload it to a google spreadsheet.

[Smudge_si]

Had my skytrak for 6 months now and I don't do a great deal with setting it up, place it down so it's reasonably level check with the alignment mode where I should be aiming at that's it, takes about 2 -3 mins.
Also move it between left and right handed use some nights without ever re checking it on each move.

Agree with Joko for 2k it's a great unit and can't be beaten for the price.

[coz]

Hello swarm,

I've had my skytrak for 2 months and have found it to be simple to use at home on my network. I don't believe my unit was finicky or sensitive to being level. Once i received the protective case with the bubble level, i paid more attention to it being perfectly level but prior to that i didn't and it seemed to work just fine. My unit is freakishly accurate and i compared it to a more expensive unit on drives and both units on over 10 drives averaged the exact same number.
I place my unit next to my surface and hit parallel to it. If you have it set up so the laser dot is between 11.5-12.5 inches from the unit then your unit height is adequate. Greater than its too high less than its too low. It doesn't seem to move and after hitting a shot it confirms my shot shape impression. I've taken it to the local dome and it probably takes 3 minutes for me to set it up. I've hit for 2 hours at the dome and have only seen 2 shots that were not replicated on the unit as the proper shape. Those 2 were very close to straight shots.
I don't really experiment with setting it up incorrectly, so I'm not sure what happens if you set it up wrong. If you set it too high maybe you would not get readings if you launched a low shot. If it was below the camera view?
I haven't had any issue with golf balls that are dusty and i don't place them in any specific label orientation. I do on occasion use a towel to wipe off the dust on the unit.
My set up doesn't allow for the mat to move. I turn it on place the ball on the laser dot in a way that i can't see it. It's already level. That's it and I'm good to go.
The only time i hit it in a position other than the laser dot, is for soft chips on wgt. Soft chips are frustrating. The skytrak range always on the dot.
I would suggest keeping it simple. Skytrak case protects, comes with a bubble for leveling and 3 feet to adjust units height. Get your set up stable so things don't move around and enjoy. For any unit to be consistent, you will want your hitting station to stay consistent.
Don't worry about what it does if you set it up wrong. Just set it up correctly and get better fast.

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[coz]

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[Swarm99]

Nice setup! For my primary location I would like to have something like that. That looks like a real feel mat strip you are hitting off of. How are you keeping it from moving during hitting?

[coz]

These are all questions I would like answers to also. I am on the fence on this unit (don't own it yet) and the mixed reviews have me wondering if it will ever be a more efficient and accurate system...I certainly hope so, but 2k doesn't buy hope, but 7k buys GC2...decisions

I've used both and i took a chance on the Skytrak. If I had it over again, guess what I would buy the Skytrak again. The ST is way more accurate than my swing ( hdcp 2-5 2015). I contemplated the gc2 but the increase cost wasnt worth it to me especially now that I've compared them. If the gc2 was 4k new i may have considered it but was never going to take a chance on a used one. If your comfortable paying the extra $ then just get the gc2. When i called foresight, they said that they bought a ST to compare. They said it was very accurate on good shots and not as accurate on misses. I only care about good shots, I'll delete the misses and try to hit fewer of them.
2k didn't buy me hope. It bought me an excellent launch monitor that allows me to hit balls on my own range when i want with the golf ball that i want to hit. It allows me to adjust my clubs, gap my bag test clubs and balls. When i get bored i go to wgt challenges and hit approach shots to some of the most memorable holes in golf. Spring is around the corner, can't wait to take my game outdoors. Next winter, I'll do the same and maybe look into getting a sim.

Bottom line ST does what i need it to do Gc2 and ES16 both would work too. Trakman and flightscope wouldn't have worked for my needs.


You need to pull the trigger quick or just wait til next winter. ES 16 looks interesting, maybe Gc2 comes out with a new unit, ST should have simulation.

Golf on

Coz



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[leoapd]

I definitely appreciate the input. I don't consider ST some inferior tool. From everything I have read through the forum, it does what a 2k LM is intended to do. Maybe I am on the fence hoping something new jumps out in next couple months. I have not used a ST, but have used gc2 a few times and think it's also does what it should do....just not at 7k. Hopefully ST gets the kinks ironed out soon because I want sim also.

[coz]

I definitely appreciate the input. I don't consider ST some inferior tool. From everything I have read through the forum, it does what a 2k LM is intended to do. Maybe I am on the fence hoping something new jumps out in next couple months. I have not used a ST, but have used gc2 a few times and think it's also does what it should do....just not at 7k. Hopefully ST gets the kinks ironed out soon because I want sim also.

From my experience with it its worth more than 2k or gc2 is worth less than 6k. There shouldn't be that big of a price difference between them. I like ST price of course. I think Gc2 has to come down eventually especially if there sales numbers are down. Competition should ultimately be on the consumers side.

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[Swarm99]

Thanks for the feedback so far, I am just looking for some technical effects for incorrect setup errors. I will attach a table later that will contain "nice to have" information that is typically in a users manual. I will take a guess at it and hopefully somebody else can get it more accurate. For now I have two questions: - If the Skytrak gets moved slightly during use, is it recommended to power off and power back on prior to moving it back. I just want to know if there are some internal calibration and alignment techniques that can get messed up when this happens? - Second, Skytrak had this photo online of what I assume is the camera viewing area. Where exactly in this photo is the laser pointing?

[Sascha1818]

The laser is pointing where the ball sits in the picture. At least that's my understanding. So the area starts a little bit behind the ball. That's why heavy low hitters can set the ball up a little behind the laser.

[davray666]

Nope, that drawing is nowhere near representative of the actual camera FOV. It also misses the most important part that is the relation between cam FOV, line laser & dot laser. Whoever made that probably intended it as an illustration of the principle and made a very poor job of it.
I have a 3D model of the whole thing that I made when I developed the shank proof protection. If I can find it and the mood strikes me I will post some useful pictures in a forum somewhere.

[MrHogan]

We gotta be careful that we don't give the impression that using ST is overly complicated or fussy.

I seriously just stick it on the floor and look where it's aiming I don't even bother with the alignment lasers. I can easily tell in a few shots if it's not aligned - it shows a push or a pull on straight shots.

I do have the protective case with the leveling bubble so will level it but only if it's really off and it never is concrete tends to dry level enough.
Not discrediting anything already stated but thats my experience over 10 months.

[Swarm99]

I do not use the Skytrak in a single fixed location all the time where once it gets setup perfectly it never moves. I have seen it be a little off when setting it up to get ready to hit. I don't work for the company but I do want to like the device and I want it to be accurate. Most of the corrections that have been stated on here seem to help without reasons (I.e. Taking it out of the case, turning on the lights, getting it precisely balanced). These are reasons that people have stated in which afterwards the ball flight was more realistic or the distances were 20 yards longer. I understand many of these things have been corrected by software and they will continue to correct issues in future releases. I just want to have a consise understanding of what to look for when the ball flight is not right. I want to just take it to a new location and set it down and it work perfectly, with a 30 second setup, but at this time I can't say that I can do that. Here is the table I was talking about. I uploaded it as a photo and added a disclaimer as it is NOT verified but my guess as what would happen if setup is done incorrectly. If Skytrak provided something similar it would answer 90% of the setup questions in a single table and improve end user experience. It would help the user community if the company published this information, rather than someone stating "my driver is going 50 yards shorter", and the response being, " s it balanced?, are the lights on, is the screen clean, do you have balls markers? Are you swinging easier indoors?"). Some of these items are important, but many are anecdotal and don't help the end user. Often times the unit ends working correctly later but the community don't know what caused the underlying problem in their home setup so new users can avoid the same issue.

[Swarm99]

So I finally got to see my device history tonight (I just got it last week) and there is over 100+ sessions including a bunch from July, August, and September of last year in the stats screen. Do I got a refurbished unit and they not tell me? Not cool if so.

It shows my history for last few weeks, but stats only show the stuff from last summer.

[coz]

So I finally got to see my device history tonight (I just got it last week) and there is over 100+ sessions including a bunch from July, August, and September of last year in the stats screen. Do I got a refurbished unit and they not tell me? Not cool if so.

It shows my history for last few weeks, but stats only show the stuff from last summer.

mine has the same thing. Like 1900 hours of use 5 months before i received. I called they said it was new of course. I haven't received a good explanation. ??? I hope it was new. It works great.

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