SkyTrack - Full Metal Jacket protection shield

[awisnia]

Finally had a chance to finish a prototype of my SkyTrak protection. (I had my last unit take a ball to the IR lens while IN the protective case from SkyTrak - it didn't work again.)

Being lucky enough to own a business with a good bit of sheet metal equipment, and finally the time. (having a party this weekend and need to protect my unit!) The leveling feet need a bit wider spacing, and I need to test that the unit still reads shots. I went with a minimum of openings to try to keep balls from sneaking through the front. I popped off the IR lens so that it's easy to see the parts that need to "see" - I'll obviously be putting it on before testing. Still unsure if I'll screw the unit to the base and leave an air gap, or use foam on 5 sides to isolate the SkyTrak from the steel.

I added a lip in the front so I can drop an alignment rod in for a visual reference.

Holes on bottom need adjustment, and maybe slotting to allow the SkyTrak to be adjusted to the base for alignment.

Interested in comments!

[rmyoung88]

Just received mines! Awesome product. Haven't had a chance to get out to use it yet, will report back when I do. I screwed mines in. But I plan on having it lay flush with the mat. The Skytrak seems to wobble without screwing in the legs. If i screw in the legs, its about 1 inch higher than the mat (if i place it on the mat). How are others using the screws while still having it sit flush to the mat?

Thanks!

[awisnia]

You can have it on the mat - I and others do that. On my mat, it just sinks in and sits flat. Although, I've actually put my leveling feet in upside down so that the threaded ends stick into the mat just a bit, It helps keep the in in place when you get a bit fat with a shot and send your mat twisting. A turn or two will level you up without adding an inordinate amount of lift.

[wbond]

Most do not have it sitting on the same mat that they hit from. It can cause bad reads. That's why the legs are there, to sit off to the side and raise the unit to be level with the hitting mat.

Just received mines! Awesome product. Haven't had a chance to get out to use it yet, will report back when I do. I screwed mines in. But I plan on having it lay flush with the mat. The Skytrak seems to wobble without screwing in the legs. If i screw in the legs, its about 1 inch higher than the mat (if i place it on the mat). How are others using the screws while still having it sit flush to the mat?

Thanks!

[awisnia]

I install the legs upside down so the threaded portion sticks into my mat , helps keep it from slipping around,too.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

[SkyTrak_Seth]

Great work on the shield awisnia . I haven't read through the entire thread, but have you had any issues related to shot capture or Wi-Fi?

Just FYI, SkyTrak will have it's own metal case to debut next week at the PGA show. Scary similar, but a few differences that make me very interested to hear the answers to the previous questions.

[awisnia]

@SkyStrak just watched Par2Pro's youTube from the show - didn't see your metal case. Post us a photo?

https://youtu.be/Vz8fk80Mn94

[awisnia]

Great work on the shield awisnia . I haven't read through the entire thread, but have you had any issues related to shot capture or Wi-Fi?

Just FYI, SkyTrak will have it's own metal case to debut next week at the PGA show. Scary similar, but a few differences that make me very interested to hear the answers to the previous questions.

Wondered where you'd been SkyTrak_Seth !!

No misreads, but it is sensitive to location within the case - been working on various designs to improve ergonomics, maximize protection and minimize possible interference. My 12 year old is quite the engineer and is 3D printing a bunch of test grills to check this weekend - mostly doing this as a father-son entrepreneurial adventure..

With all of the beta units out there, and the ability to download/analyze their TGC shot data - it's almost too easy to compare pre-fmj data to after - haven't seen any variance in any of the major parameters.




Wifi Interference - don't think so - the radio is right at the top so I have avoided covering it with metal.

Some have commented about bounce-backs, but I've suggested they add a bit of foam if they're really worried.





Is there a thread with your new case someplace?

[SkyTrak_Seth]

That's a really cool father-son project! No thread right now, we'll have it down in Orlando this week and should get plenty of testing.

[awisnia]

Great work on the shield awisnia . I haven't read through the entire thread, but have you had any issues related to shot capture or Wi-Fi?

Just FYI, SkyTrak will have it's own metal case to debut next week at the PGA show. Scary similar, but a few differences that make me very interested to hear the answers to the previous questions.

Almost forgot! Will there be a P.M.S (Protect My SkyTrak) annual fee involved with your new metal case - or is it an outright purchase?

[SkyTrak_Seth]

You rent it by the month. If you don't pay...someone in a black skytrak van will come snatch it from your house in the middle of the night.

[SirNeedaSim]

Lol...nIce comeback. Glad to see a sense of humor.

[awisnia]

SkyTrak_Seth nice volley !

[awisnia]

Back in stock and for sale again in Classifieds

Now includes self-adhesive circular bubble level in addition to all hardware and leveling feet.

[Greasegun]

Good idea. Have you found that perfect level influences the readings?

[awisnia]

Haven't really tested that as a theory, but it would certainly seem to. The measurements are taken in such small portion of the complete ball flight scope - it doesn't take much of an argument to conclude that it does. We know that a degree or two of horizontal mis-alignment yields substantial offline values - easy to assume that the same is true for Z-axis errors. I suppose we could add a slot for a second vertical alignment stick, too. (jk)

[Greasegun]

I just found that clicking the level button on the skytrak screen brings up a level screen. I slowly adjusted the feet on the fmj case and the inboard level seems quite sensitive. Adding this bubble level to the top would be faster though.

[ltjackson]

Mine just arrived in the mail.

First impressions are awesome! This thing is built like a tank and so much better than the acrylic shield I'd built months ago. My unit is charging as I'm typing this and I plan on putting it to the test this evening. After reading this thread I'm not certain how anyone would choose not to order one of these but if you haven't yet don't let this amazing product get away from you.

Thanks again awisnia!

[ltjackson]

Double post, forgive me didn't want to edit because I'm on my phone.

Just finished a practice session and out of around 200 shots between my grandfather (not a good ball striker) and myself we had no misreads.

The design is fantastic, super easy to level and the alignment stick addition is such a great idea. I love everything about this case!

[doublebogey]

Back in stock and for sale again in Classifieds

Now includes self-adhesive circular bubble level in addition to all hardware and leveling feet.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n99304[/ATTACH]

Good stuff awisnia. Just bought on eBay. Now need to wait a week or so to receive as I'm overseas. If this works well, my steel Japan SkyTrak shield will become a backup shield =)

[snoozeulooz]

Received mine today, thanks to awisnia this thing is really well made, the quality of the finish is very good.
This thing will last me the lifespan of the Skytrak and beyond.

[awisnia]

Cheers! Feedback your experience if you can.

[SDL]

awisnia, thanks for a great product! The FMJ case is extremely well made and a dramatic improvement in protection over the original case from SkyGolf. My only lingering wory is related to comments made in the other case-related thread that mention possible degradation in readings if any part of the metal case covers the central section of the front of the case. In using the FMJ, I have wondered if an occasional non-read or misread is related in any way to the case or if it is simply the issue with readings that comes up now and then with the SkyTrak. I have been noticing a few more non-reads and inaccurate reads lately, but it probably just means I need to switch to new golf balls again since they wear out pretty quickly in my sim.

I've now got the ST mounted perfectly in the FMJ using the 2 screws provided and the entire unit is carefully aligned with the target line, so I've been reluctant to do any systematic testing of the ST results when it is in or out of the case. I noticed that SkyTrak_Seth also was asking regarding "issues related to shot capture" so I guess I'm just looking for a little more reassurance that the FMJ case has absolutely no adverse effects on shot capture.

[awisnia]

Testing some 3d printed grill designs tonight - some thicker, some with more protective/efficient designs:

- Tighter around the placement laser
- Tighter/offset around the trigger laser
- bit looser around the cameras
- bit thicker center bars

Main goal is to allow for more adjustability within the FMJ someday..and maybe do the FMM mask for the existing plastic case.

Looking good!

[awisnia]

awisnia, thanks for a great product! The FMJ case is extremely well made and a dramatic improvement in protection over the original case from SkyGolf. My only lingering wory is related to comments made in the other case-related thread that mention possible degradation in readings if any part of the metal case covers the central section of the front of the case. In using the FMJ, I have wondered if an occasional non-read or misread is related in any way to the case or if it is simply the issue with readings that comes up now and then with the SkyTrak. I have been noticing a few more non-reads and inaccurate reads lately, but it probably just means I need to switch to new golf balls again since they wear out pretty quickly in my sim.

I've now got the ST mounted perfectly in the FMJ using the 2 screws provided and the entire unit is carefully aligned with the target line, so I've been reluctant to do any systematic testing of the ST results when it is in or out of the case. I noticed that SkyTrak_Seth also was asking regarding "issues related to shot capture" so I guess I'm just looking for a little more reassurance that the FMJ case has absolutely no adverse effects on shot capture.

SDL Cheers. Just posted below you as your post was coming in!

When mounted properly I haven't been able to see any effect or degradation - I've downloaded hundreds of TGC swings from folks who have put the FMJ in play. With all of the metrics in excel, it's pretty easy to graph scatters of before and with the shield. Funny enough, one of the guys who commented that the putting HA's seemed a bit more offset with the FMJ was surprised when I showed him that his putting had started to deteriorate for a few sessions BEFORE he put the shield on.

That being said - it's currently important that the SkyTrak and FMJ are aligned properly, or it seems that images and resulting ball flights will be effected.

Personally, I'm of the opinion that interfering with the camera lens view is what causes issues, NOT what's happening in the center of the case (in front of the IR flash) The theory out there is that causing the flash to bounce/reflect into the camera's view will effect the images and data. At some point this may theoretically be true, but I'm not seeing it in real-life testing.

Also, with davray-type lexan shields, if the light bounce were an issue, it would surely cause a reflection on the lexan - like taking a flash photo through a window.

My son 3D printed a bunch of test grills that we're testing for thickness, geometry and distance from the front of the SkyTrak.

When we test grills with larger camera holes AND the bars removed they work well.

When we add the bars back, they still work well - we concluded that it was the camera holes, not the bars and have left them in.

The LED's have a pretty sharp focus as you can see in the video - I think they largely go through the bars. Additionally, we've had one "saved-by-the-bar story already", seems better with them.

As for SkyTrak's questions..I had a different take. The engineers in Asia had told him for years that you couldn't have anything in front of the lens, and that's now being shown to be an "alternative fact".... maybe the case they've now developed has different design features than FMJ and he's trying to sort it all out. I was actually guessing it must be plastic (his wifi question) and maybe has bigger holes (his misread question)

I may be wrong, someone will know this week - let us all know!

[SDL]

awisnia, thanks for the great info! Looking forward to more results from your grill testing and seeing what design Skytrak has come up with for its "new improved" case.

When I was using my ST tonight, I didn't remove it from the case since I like the current alignment and don't want to screw it up. Instead, I tried both the ST range and JNPG to see if either software program did anything strange with the data from pitches that have been giving me some directional variability and more frequent non-reads lately. I got rid of a ball that had developed a crack in it and saw no non-reads at all tonight. The problem I've seen with some (but not all) 30- to 40-yard pitches is that a ball that hits my impact screen in the center may or may not show up that way in the ball flight after software processing. I wasn't able to duplicate this problem on the ST range, but I did see it a few times on JNPG. This makes me think that JNPG may be processing side spin in a way that can show up as a "push" or "pull" on the screen when in fact the ball actually started out straight but simply had fade or draw side spin. I may be completely wrong about this theory, but at any rate I didn't see anything tonight that suggested problems with the FMJ case since I only saw these issues in JNPG and not on the ST range.

[awisnia]

SDL Interesting - I'm still not 100% up to speed on how each of the sim programs model the ball flight. One thing I always pay attention to is where the ball drops on the floor after hitting the impact screen - it's a quick indication of side-spin. Less effective with higher lofts, but I can always tell if I've hit a nice draw when the ball lands slightly to the right of center. Gives me something to do during intermission (SkyTrack delay)