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!

[Anthony422]

I need one ...


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[rmyoung88]

Any update on when batch 2 will be ready?

[Audioclyde]

Hi,

New to the forum and ordering a new Skytrak tomorrow. I think I've signed up via the link above re getting on the list for the next batch (but I did so prior to having my forum account activated). I'd like to make sure I am on the list!

Thanks

Randy

[awisnia]

Making/shipping another batch next week..will post..off skiing now

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[Ba2]

Great job, especially considering you are not familiar with the details of the design.

[Gobluemason]

I have to applaud the work you're doing here. You didn't have to go the extra mile to upload those videos, but I was absolutely delighted when you did. Your entire process here has been prompt and no nonsense. Thank you very much for your work. I'll be receiving my case tomorrow. I'll let you know how it works!

[awisnia]

appreciate that - it's been a fun distraction for me and any of the guys in our place that have worked on it.

[Brandon]

Mine came today. Looks solid to me and I feel like it's going to do a much better job of protecting the unit than that nonsense plastic one from Skytrak. I ended up using the supplied screws to hold the unit to the case. I'll give it a go this afternoon and report back. If I don't get any more misreads than before than I'd call it a winner.

[lewisellis]

Hi how much will it cost with shipping to the UK.

[Jasonstanley]

$17 shipping $34 import tax

[lewisellis]

Thanks for letting me know not as bad as I thought.

[Gabor Lehoczky]

Hi, in this case the unit will lost garantie...but safe. Other question: coming more registered hits? My machine loose reliability so much nowadays..Without the plastic cover - working better?

[Brandon]

Well as I said I tried mine with the supplied screws installed. I found it not read accurately with the screws in. Every shot I hit was going right for whatever reason. I messed around moving the Skytrak at different angles and no good. My guess its a result of it the fact that with the screws installed the unit sits about 1/8" back from the metal and I also couldn't get the aperture in the middle of the cutout.
Anyway having said that I pulled all the screws out of the bottom so the unit is simply sitting in the case, pushed tight to the metal face and the aperture is centered in the cutout. Works like a champ now.
I'll keep messing around with it and report back again.

[Brandon]

Great thanks. Sarcastic or not, your comments throughout this guys thread have been useless. Do us all all favor and stick to your thread.

[Gobluemason]

Yeah Gary, no one gives a rats who started anything. What is clear is that you keep butting in time after time. It comes off as petty and immature. Knock it off already. Nobody cares except you anymore.

[acn684]

We all bought this understanding that A) it is beta and B) it is a better solution than nothing. As a business owner myself, one thing i've learned is there is no such thing as "perfecting a product" before it comes to market. Often times if you think you're 95% there and can't think of any other way to better the product, usually someone out there will figure out some odd issues it will have. This is a lot more effective than mulling over a design for 3 months.

I seriously applaud Awisnia for going from idea, to proof of concept, to delivering a very quality piece of hardware to us in such a short period of time. I could live with and work around misalinged screws...same can't be said for an unreleased product.

[jagred64]

Got my full metal jacket today. First off the quality of this is superb. It is made off a thick metal that would be impossible to get a ball through. Nice black paint job. I screwed down the skytrak using the supplied screws. I had to mess with it a little to line up the aperture as much as possible. Hit shots with the 3 wood, 5,8 and gap wedge. I hit about 25 shot each. I had just about a 100% with skytrak registering shots. There were a few skulls that did not register. Overall I am very happy with the construction quality. It does what it is supposed to do while looking good doing it. It is by far the best protection available and for $95 its a steal. Thank you awisnia.

[Thinman]

here is my beta feedback from another thread yesterday...

mine came this morning and I've played 2 rounds with zero missed shots. lol, actually seems to given me a little extra piece of mind because I was swinging great today and all inside-out with no fear at all. The subconscious is a crazy thing. I ended up drilling out the bottom holes to get it to align better and it fits like a glove. Only real issue is the only screws I had that fit had a large head, so had to use the feet a little higher then intended, but doesn't seem to have caused any issues.

Super happy and very much appreciated. Looking forward to checking out the V3.

[Genghis]

My wife and I tried out our FMJ case and ST today. The case is well made with nice powdercoating. I agree with Thinman that it adds significant peace of mind. I used the thee supplied screws to lock it down, aligned with the case vice offset in the case. The ST did not sit centered in the case. It was 1/16" from the side where the power switch is and 1/4" on the other side. No problem for me, a RH golfer, but my lefthanded wife had about 60% no reads. There's no allowance in the hole placement to allow me to shift the ST in the FMJ to center the unit. Having been stationed on submarines, I'm well versed in the use of velcro and will try the FMJ again with the ST velcro'd centered in the case. I'll let you know how it turns out.

[Ken Robie]

I have not received mine yet, but a question for you. Are the hole cut outs centered to the front face of the case? Are the holes in the base centered to the bottom base plate? Is the bottom base plate welded off center? And are the threaded holes in the Skytrak on center to the apeture? Just some QC thoughts

[Genghis]

Used velcro in the bottom of the FMJ and ST to center it in the case. It still has the buffer space from the front of the FMJ as if it were screwed in. Much better reads from the leftie hitting direction. Still a fantastic case, well conceived and constructed, priced and delivery was very quick, almost overnight since I'm in New England with Awisnia (but not a Pats fan....).

[awisnia]

Back from skiing, went straight to the basement to check out my skytrack. Indeed, the hole pattern is slightly off center. Mine reads everything fine, the initial prototype had issues with the hole pattern itself, so when all four screws fit - and it was reading shots for me perfectly - I didn't notice the offset. It's interesting that for some it's causing balls to read, but track way off center.

[acn684]

I just got mine and went to test it out. I have the same feedback as Genghis.

The powdercoating and the build quality is nice. The metal thickness does give you some reassurance that it'll withstand a ball hit. How it'll stand up to a direct shot where the cages are is unknown and i don't plan to test that myself!

But like Genghis, the holes on the bottom doesn't seem to match up with my unit. When I put it in the case with the screws, the skytrak sits right of center when facing it from the front. This might either be a tolerance issue from Asawania's side (which I don't think so since everything looks precisely welded) or a tolerance issue in general with different skytrak units. For future units, I would remove the 3 smaller screw holes and instead make it sit on slits so that units can be shifted left and right (unless you find it might have been a manufacturing oversight).

The offset seems to affect the shot readings though. I can see why the case made by skytrak and the metal frame they use at shows are designed the way they are designed, any slight interfernce with the image messes up the reading. With the skytrak unit offset to the right of the cage that Awisia built, a lot of readings kept being read as block right. Not slightly right, but like 30 degrees off to right despite having everything leveled, the unit level with the ball, hitting off the most level part of my mat, and hitting a target I hung on the wall as what "dead center to target line" would be. When I took off the screws on the bottom, resat the unit to "center", and hit the same shot, the readings came out much more inline with what I expected.

I'm thinking some foam might be the solution here for those early adopters that have the same issue, or if you have access to a dremel, to cut along the screw to just let it slide over a bit more.

[TorchRedRob]

I just got mine in the mail. Very nice construction, weld process, powder process, etc. It's obvious this is not awisnia 's first rodeo. There is definitely an offset as others have noted. I'll take some measurements and report back. Just eyeballing it, it looks like the hole pattern on the bottom of the skytrak is not centered with the middle of the plastic case. It appears this was accounted for in the base plate burn, but perhaps the offset was in the wrong direction / mirror image on the table when it was burned. I'll take some measurements and post up again later this evening.

Overall very nicely made. I needed more than the plastic skygolf case, but I don't need a Sherman tank around my device, and it doesn't need to withstand 160+ mph ball speed. Because the folks I know with that kind of ball speed also have the chops to never hit the thing in the first place... Once we get the offset sorted, this will fit my need perfectly.

More to come. Stay tuned.