Skytrak Unregistered Shots

[jrz]

It is officially time for this topic to get its own thread. Enough people have mentioned it in various other conversations on this board and it has been glaringly ignored by SkyTrak_Seth.

Many of us have been experiencing a significantly higher number of unregistered shots in both the Skytrak app and TGC. It is difficult to define exactly when this problem started, but it seems that the consensus is that it began around when the version 2.3 applications were released and, as a result, firmware version 1.5 was installed on the Skytrak device.

While I can't speak for everyone else on this forum I can say the following for certain:

1) The number of unregistered shots has dramatically increased since the timeframe mentioned above.

2) Unregistered shots do not seem to be shot type dependent. For example, I will often hit a slightly thin or fat shot which registers as expected and follow this with a perfectly hit shot which is not registered (this sucks, btw - it never fails to pick up shanks but does fail to pick up shots that are seemingly perfectly struck).

3) The unregistered shots are not due to ball position or the height of the Skytrak unit. I have tried every standard suggestion and am very good at placing the ball a bit behind the laser dot for drives, a bit in front of the laser dot and closer to the unit for pitches, etc. I have tried raising and lowering the height of my Skytrak unit. SkyTrak_Seth - please do not come back and suggest playing with ball position to remedy unregistered shots. We have all tried this and the problem persists.

4) The dramatic increase in unregistered shots has made play in the Skytrak app and TGC much less enjoyable. Every time the Skytrak fails to pick up a shot in TGC it is almost comical because of how frequently this happens during a "live" TGC round.

5) The dramatic increase in unregistered shots has made playing with friends (locally) a nightmare. I have had to apologize to them for how often it occurs, deliver instructions on the "ball position fixes" to my fellow players, etc. Often another unregistered shot occurs right after my vehement defense of Skytrak and it just makes me look like an ass.

SkyTrak_Seth - please officially address this issue. When I first purchased my Skytrak unit I thought that the shot delay would be so frustrating that it might be the Achilles heel of the device and cause me to return it and spend the extra money for a GC2. The shot delay turned out to be fine (about 2 seconds for me in both the Skytrak app and TGC). Every time another shot is not registered, however, I have to take a deep breath and my mind inevitably starts thinking about how the extra cost of the GC2 would be worth it because of the minimal delay and it's proven reliability to register shots. I am now on the fence about keeping the Skytrak and have begun the process of figuring out how I would explain to my girlfriend if I were to spend the extra funds for a GC2 (even though we are not married yet she is still the boss.... ;-) )

[Sledge0001]

After an ugly 18 holes (Please don't ask my score! :/ ) of using Wi-Fi instead of USB I had a total of 4 misreads all of which were lob shots from the side of the green using a 64 degree wedge with the ball placed an inch to two inches in front of the laser dot. All other irons, driver and hybrids seemed to pick up without any issues and the shots seemed extremely accurate. I would say that Wi-Fi is most likely the best option for now and honestly I saw no noticeable delay when compared to directly connected via USB.

[Roach]

Brand new SkyTrak user. Received my unit a couple of days ago, connected via USB - super easy to setup, I have had very view unregistered shots. Just hitting on the SkyTrak Range at this point. I have only hit around 250 balls and have had around 4 shots not register. Obviously, this was not a big deal hitting on the range, i can see it being a bigger annoyance when playing a round of sim golf. All in all, I am VERY happy with my purchase so far. Using various balls, new and old, just placing them on the dot (not aligning the logo)... all seem to read just fine.

[Vincent_Vega]

Great to hear! Welcome aboard. If you ever start having problems (seems to be much more prevalent when playing TGC and connected via USB), just connect through WIFI and those no reads will drop even more. I certainly can't explain it, but I've only had 1 single shot now not register over the last 27 holes I've played. I was getting 4-5 per round. Look at purchasing a sim software to take your Skytrak enjoyment to the next level.

[coz]

It is officially time for this topic to get its own thread. Enough people have mentioned it in various other conversations on this board and it has been glaringly ignored by SkyTrak_Seth.

Many of us have been experiencing a significantly higher number of unregistered shots in both the Skytrak app and TGC. It is difficult to define exactly when this problem started, but it seems that the consensus is that it began around when the version 2.3 applications were released and, as a result, firmware version 1.5 was installed on the Skytrak device.

While I can't speak for everyone else on this forum I can say the following for certain:

1) The number of unregistered shots has dramatically increased since the timeframe mentioned above.

2) Unregistered shots do not seem to be shot type dependent. For example, I will often hit a slightly thin or fat shot which registers as expected and follow this with a perfectly hit shot which is not registered (this sucks, btw - it never fails to pick up shanks but does fail to pick up shots that are seemingly perfectly struck).

3) The unregistered shots are not due to ball position or the height of the Skytrak unit. I have tried every standard suggestion and am very good at placing the ball a bit behind the laser dot for drives, a bit in front of the laser dot and closer to the unit for pitches, etc. I have tried raising and lowering the height of my Skytrak unit. SkyTrak_Seth - please do not come back and suggest playing with ball position to remedy unregistered shots. We have all tried this and the problem persists.

4) The dramatic increase in unregistered shots has made play in the Skytrak app and TGC much less enjoyable. Every time the Skytrak fails to pick up a shot in TGC it is almost comical because of how frequently this happens during a "live" TGC round.

5) The dramatic increase in unregistered shots has made playing with friends (locally) a nightmare. I have had to apologize to them for how often it occurs, deliver instructions on the "ball position fixes" to my fellow players, etc. Often another unregistered shot occurs right after my vehement defense of Skytrak and it just makes me look like an ass.

SkyTrak_Seth - please officially address this issue. When I first purchased my Skytrak unit I thought that the shot delay would be so frustrating that it might be the Achilles heel of the device and cause me to return it and spend the extra money for a GC2. The shot delay turned out to be fine (about 2 seconds for me in both the Skytrak app and TGC). Every time another shot is not registered, however, I have to take a deep breath and my mind inevitably starts thinking about how the extra cost of the GC2 would be worth it because of the minimal delay and it's proven reliability to register shots. I am now on the fence about keeping the Skytrak and have begun the process of figuring out how I would explain to my girlfriend if I were to spend the extra funds for a GC2 (even though we are not married yet she is still the boss.... ;-) )

I returned from vacation and fired mine up. It was unreal how many shots didn't register. It could have been easily 30%. No problems prior to vacation. I deleted my app and reinstalled it and used a pin to reset my skytrak. I'm not sure if that was proper protocol but my skytrak works again. No missed shots since.

[doublebogey]

Whenever I have problems I reset unit w a pin as well - but not sure this really helps as, accordingly to SkyTrak_Seth, all this supposedly does is allow unit to forget existing network mode wifi name and password. I wonder if there is a way to reset SkyTrak_Seth to original factory settings or something? Or this is it?

[Jeremy]

Hello everyone
I've been reading this site for several months now and decided to sign up after reading about others having some of the same issues as me. I'm hoping if there are others having this problem they will come forward and force skylark to fix the problem

Because having simulation was a big deal to me I waited until they announced the WGT to buy the unit.
After buying the unit, setting up my simulator room and purchasing WGT I found out the skylark would would not connect in network mode. I have spent several hours troubleshooting this with Howard at skylark and even sent the unit to see if it was working correctly. To this day I have never been able to connect in network mode on my iPad. So without being able to connect in network mode I paid for WGT and have never been able to play it.

After more troubleshooting with Howard we found out I could connect in network mode if I used a USB cord from the computer to the skytrak So now I can only connect in network mode via the USB cord to my computer and WGT only worked in network mode on the I pad I still couldn't play WGT. At this point my only option is to wait on TGC. Since my office computer wouldn't run TGC I
went out and bought a new gaming computer. After skylark finally released TGC I bought it and tried playing it. Still to this day TGC is completely unplayable there are so many shots that don't read I have never played more than 3 holes. Most of the shots that didn't read the top LED turned red, and then went back to green without reading the shot

This weekend I tried using the driving range on the skylak while using the computer connected with a usb cord. At first I didn't have any problems, but after about a half hour the shot were not registering. The 3 led's stayed green the whole time. There were atleast 15 shots in a row that did not register. It seems like to bigger the club the more the problems I have.
After reading this thread it seems like most of the problems come from using the USB cord, as of right now thats the only way I can connect.

It seems like most of my problems stem from not being able to connect in network mode wireless. I have two different routers (my shop and house) and the skylark will not connect to either.

I will say skylak (Howard) has spent a lot of time and effort trying to help me. But and the end of the day I have invested too much money in this system to have problems almost overtime I try to play it. At this point I am considering sellling the skylark and buying another launch monitor.
I think I have tried about everything to get the skylark to connect to my internet, but if anyone has any ideas I would like to hear them
Thanks!!

[SkyTrak_Seth]

If you are having issues with all 3 LED's staying green after you've hit a shot, then my first guess is that the light curtain is not working properly. There is an infrared light curtain that, when broken (like in a ball passing through it, not malfunctioning broken), tells the unit to start taking pictures. It sounds like this is not happening. I would contact customer support to have your unit checked out. Any chance it has been hit with a ball? That's the only time I've seen this issue.

[String_NZ]

I have issues with all 3 green lights on but registering any shots, I think it could be a low battery, is that a possibility?

[SkyTrak_Seth]

I suppose so. Could you also check the firmware of your unit? In Profile > ABOUT

[Jeremy]

The unit has already been sent in.
I tried connecting with my iPad yesterday, all there lights were green but the app would not connect. Usually when this happens I have to unplug my wireless router to get it to connect, (there must be some interference somewhere between the two.) I tried that yesterday and the app still wouldn't connect. Any ideas??

[SkyTrak_Seth]

You had all 3 green lights on the unit but the unit wouldn't connect in the app? I have never heard of that except when another computer is on somewhere and snags the connection without you realizing it...could that have been it?

[elliotallen]

Sorry to bring this back but having issues. Brand new skytrak, leveled, charged, connected wifi. Ive done factory reset on skytraks (per customer support). If i put ball anywhere except having the red dot phisically on top of the ball (kinda hard looking at the red laser glaring up at you on a white ball as you hit) it will register about 20% of the time if ball is anywhere other than with laser on top. Will just stay 3 green after shot. When it does register it does the tyipically red green green thinks then ball goes. With staring at laser on top of ball it will register about 70%-80% of the time. Is that normal? i can get use to the glaring laser in my eye but hitting a bunch of extra shots im not sure about. Another weird thing is (skytrak charged ALL night) after about an hour of being on a message on the app pops up saying (dont quote me on exact words) device battery is critically low or something to that effect. I dont have TGC just ipad/WGT. Ive tried USB and wifi both seem about the same so Ive just been doing wifi.

[SkyTrak_Seth]

What version is the firmware of your unit? Look in Profile > ABOUT

[elliotallen]

software 2.4.1 unit 1.350

[SkyTrak_Seth]

That's it! Make sure to download v2.4.2. It will upgrade your firmware to 1.5.

[elliotallen]

And to add to above, Im a 5 irl so none of the shots are some shank that wont register. Unit has protective case on, has never been hit by ball or dropped or anything in term of that.

[N54TT]

Sorry to bring this back but having issues. Brand new skytrak, leveled, charged, connected wifi. Ive done factory reset on skytraks (per customer support). If i put ball anywhere except having the red dot phisically on top of the ball (kinda hard looking at the red laser glaring up at you on a white ball as you hit) it will register about 20% of the time if ball is anywhere other than with laser on top. Will just stay 3 green after shot. When it does register it does the tyipically red green green thinks then ball goes. With staring at laser on top of ball it will register about 70%-80% of the time. Is that normal? i can get use to the glaring laser in my eye but hitting a bunch of extra shots im not sure about. Another weird thing is (skytrak charged ALL night) after about an hour of being on a message on the app pops up saying (dont quote me on exact words) device battery is critically low or something to that effect. I dont have TGC just ipad/WGT. Ive tried USB and wifi both seem about the same so Ive just been doing wifi.

Is the bottom of the Skytrak level with the hitting surface?

[elliotallen]

After having the issues i was very carful to set it up level with the hitting surface. At the same time i reset apps and unit. All works fine now. I also have a CCE mat and i notice that the laser is not in the right spot im assuming from the shag of the mat (for lack of a better term) So for me i laid a piece of paper on the mat and the actually dot was about an inch diagonally closer to the unit. I checked those measurements against measurements with the location of the laser with the unit sitting on a flat leave table and they were were the same as the inch closer measurements. Im not sure if that made sense but now i place the ball about an inch closer diagonally to the unit and everything seems to read fine.

[nyb72]

I have nearly the same issue. I had no problems while using the range for the past year, but after registering GIP today and trying out WGC, I could not get a shot to register. I switched back to the range app again and the issues persisted. After playing around with ball placement, I only found consistent shots when I had the laser dot pointed on the ball somewhat close to its equator. I'll try playing around with the unit height (my setup consists of a generic golf mat with a cutout where I inserted a CCE strip. The skytrak sits on the generic mat portion, so things could be millimeters off height wise) but never had problems before today.

Questions I have for Seth:
What exactly is this infrared curtain that was mentioned beforehand in the thread. Where is it in relation to the unit?
Is this laser dot to placement of the ball to unit distance relationship (dot on ground vs ball) going to affect readings?

[SkyTrak_Seth]

First, everyone make sure you install v2.4.2 because it will make sure you get up to the latest firmware version - 1.5. Older firmware paired with newer software does funny stuff like weird battery readings and poor shot capture.

Next, the ball goes ON the laser dot. Using a tee...the tee goes "into" the laser dot.

The light curtain is just in front of where the laser dot is. You can't see it, but when that curtain is broken, that is what tells the unit to start taking pictures. There is one for right and left handed - so since the chances are very slim of both curtains being out, if your unit is not triggering at all, try changing to the opposite hand and (try to) hit a shot. If it works, chances are it's the light curtain on your dominant hand. If not, then it maybe something else related to setup.

[Wyzyguy]

Running Ipad v2.4.2 .. Ran it on Ipad & on Iphone 6+... direct mode & network mode. I hit about 100 shots wedge shots yesterday outside (30-130 yards). Flops, lobs, punches. No missed unregistered shots. I got a reading of 52* launch on a long flop & as low as 23* on a punchy spinner. Working good on my end. Found it to be very accurate. Thought I would chime in to let you know.

[SkyTrak_Seth]

Thanks!! Glad to hear

[SPC]

Getting frustrated with wireless connection issues. my Skytrak progressively increased the amount of time it would take for it to connect to my network, then just stopped connecting all together. I figured it might be the router, so I upgraded as much as possible to the Netgear Nighthawk 8X and still no luck. Everything else in my home connects and I have full signal strength at the unit. I am somewhat tech savvy, and I just can't get this to work. I sent it back in to Skytrak, they "fixed" it and never told me what was wrong, but I am still having the same issue. These devices have some wireless issues they need to sort out, very frustrating. SkyTrak_Seth Anyone else having these issues that they were able to resolve.

[Tekbud]

Have you tried all of the steps in my post - networking tips and tricks?

[SPC]

I just read through it, thanks! Not sure if it will work, I use AT&T for my Internet Service Provider and they send you a dual modem/router, but I have a Netgear. I disabled the Wifi on my modem and am trying to change the IP address to 10.0.0, so I can change my Netgear wifi router to 192.168.1.1. It doesn't look like it will work, but will give it a shot. Interesting part about the 5ghz, I was trying to use that. Ill let you know if it works, that was a great write up!

[SkyTrak_Seth]

Thanks, Tekbud! SPC, I'd be curious to find out what they fixed...there certainly isn't a known issue with Wi-Fi. Just let me know if I need to assist.

[SPC]

Tekbud, you saved me. Switched to my 2.5 wi fi and it worked no issues. The issue is why didn't anyone at Skytrak tell me that. Also, it works fine with the IP address 10.0.0 which Skytrak told me it wouldn't . Lots of misinformation from the Skytrak support team, much better off coming here. Thanks Tekbud