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!

[Fhacker]

I just posted in your for sale thread that I am in for next batch. As I said there, best shot registration possible should be the goal, i.e. Less misreads, no reads etc. Alignment can be solved with other methods. If u want to try and cover all bases, maybe just slop/enlarge the screw holes for alignment adjustment. Then users can adjust as they see fit. But best shot register should take priority, imo, after all until you are confident the unit is accurately registering shots, them alignment comes into play.

[awisnia]

agreed - Fhacker

[awisnia]

Burning V4 tomorrow Jan 5 - - should be the one.

Also burning a plate only that will fit on the face of an existing Skytrak "protective" case with double-sided tape and add more protection to the lens area. Or, be a good add-on to a DIY case.

FMM = Full Metal Mask

more info in the classified section if you want

[Gobluemason]

I feel like a dummy but I can't find your classified thread. Can you post a link please?

By the way my jacket fits great! I don't have the alignment issues other people are seeing, but I think I'll have to open up the slotted holes just a touch. It's working great!

[awisnia]

Gobluemason awesome - great to hear!

http://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum/classified-ads/home-golf-simulators/92219-skytrack-full-metal-jacket-case-beta-version-available

[awisnia]

V4 Update - fixing holes adjusted - testing tonight

[awisnia]

Did some live shank testing tonight - don't ask me why - looks like v4 is go - will post batch in classifieds on Friday.

[awisnia]

Next project full metal mask..add on for Skytrak protective case...

[jut111]

Nice! I'll be keeping an eye on this one.

[N54TT]

This is intriguing. waiting to see how this turns out before I decide which case or mask to get.

[Vincent_Vega]

Did some live shank testing tonight - don't ask me why - looks like v4 is go - will post batch in classifieds on Friday.

Ha! Brave man. Hope the sheetrock held up as well as the FMJ. Nice work man. Gunga Gulunga

[awisnia]

big hitter, the Lama

[acn684]

Lol. I think shank testing without a working unit in there wouldve been good enough!


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[Ironstrokes]

Did some live shank testing tonight - don't ask me why - looks like v4 is go - will post batch in classifieds on Friday.

"whoops", made me laugh on that one haha. Was cringing watching you hit right at it, brave man is right, nice

[awisnia]

Making another batch - details in Classified forum

$95 with free shipping in USA

According to the eBay global shipping program quotes (use the drop down for your location on the listing page to confirm)

Freight/Duty
U.K. $14 / $25
Hong Kong $21 / $0
Australia $21 / $0
Canada $21 / $0
S. Korea $26 / $0

Please post back feedback!!

[awisnia]

36 units committed in six hours today - awesome - will make a batch Monday.

Note - Screws and levelers are included.

[acn684]

Hey Awisnia, I got some more interesting data for you. So I've theorized that there may be some interference with the cage and the readings, notably the shank right when the skytrak is misaligned. I've tested the following today: aligning the skytrak straight, pointing the skytrak about 30 degrees opened, and skytraky about 30 degrees closed. My theory is that it shouldn't matter which way the skytrak is aligned when dealing with shape shot and distance, the alignment of the skytrak should only affect direction. Meaning, if I hit the same shot no matter which way the skytrak is pointed, it should go XXX distance - only difference is where it ends up.

I tried my best to hit a stock 7 iron slightly teed straight into the net and this is what I've found.

With the stock setup - everything parallel and straight at the screen - the skytrak measured around 140 carry and kinda min and maxed between 135 and 148 on mishits.

With the skytrak open to setup - pointing the front 30 degrees further away from me - the skytrak measured around 145 carry (which could just be strike quality) but it had a max distance of 176 yards on two slightly thinned mishits.

With the skytrak closed to setup - everything seemed to match the stock setup.

Now...I'm not sure if this is the effect of the FMJ or just how the Skytrak is naturally. I was going to test it just bare-bones but I hit way too many shots to have a consistent read at this point.

It could have to do entirely with my set up - by default i've been getting some shorter than expected carries on my irons for some reason. I can normally carry my 7 iron 150 yards and punch one out to 165 if i needed to, but skytrak has only been given me 138-145 even on the best strikes.

Maybe this data would interest you and perhaps others can test it as well. Could be the skytrak itself, could be the cutouts and how it affects the readings, could be both...or it could just be my unit or my set up (I haven't properly checked if everything is at the same height but should be relatively close).

Just an FYI, hitting shots with the skytrak closed to the target is scary as hell so I don't recommend anyone do it unless they're pretty confident with their swing. Not only does the laser spot get closer to the unit, so does the face of the unit itself. If you miss it hard right you will hit your skytrak almost dead on.

[awisnia]

acn684 Interesting information...had to sketch your description on paper to get a picture of it. I'm assuming that you have the ST centered to the case and properly spaced before doing the tests. I think we all discovered, and FaultyClubs seemed to confirm here http://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum/...4430#post94430 that the vertical bars on each edge of the camera can degrade the captured image and cause wacky-reads - if the skytrak is off center. (actually debated removing them next to the IR flash, and creating more of a slot for the trigger laser and collector - similar to @davray666) other than legnth, what do you see for azimuth and shape?

[acn684]

awisnia, I had the skytrak centered and pushed all the way to the front of the case. With the 2 wonky ones, I'll have to review but I recall one actually ended up slicing all the way back to the center...

I'll do some more testing on normal shots with and without the case to get a comparison, so far from the times I have shot it naked, normal results don't seem to differ all that much from behind the cage. I'm a pretty neutral player so I don't play with a big draw/fade, players with more extreme angles might face different results. As for correcting this by taking off the bars and using a piece of lexan...it might help the results but at the same time...will that be more protective is a question.

The hard part is really wanting to test it without the case....lol.

I'll start separating my shots and see if I can get any interesting data results for you.

[Sledge0001]

I played an entire 18 today with the beta version alligned perfectly and velcroed into place and had no odd readings and 1 missed high lofted flop shot with a wedge. I would say that the unit when centered and with the Skytrak up close to the case seemed to work perfectly.

[awisnia]

Thanks - that's how the screws will set the unit going forward.

[doublebogey]

awisnia, first of all, I'd like to say great job on these cases (and also looking forward to the new mask version). I was going to order a case right after coming back from skiing then realized you had sold out all beta version I and are now on to beta version II already. Congrats.

Now I've got a quick question in regards to below:

I would say that the unit when centered and with the Skytrak UP CLOSE TO THE CASE seemed to work perfectly.

So with the SkyTrak screwed into the new centered screw slots, how tight is that gap between the back of the front face of case and front of the SkyTrak unit? Does it need to be very tight to the case in order to read well?

Reason I ask is I currently have the Japan SkyTrak steel case and I measured that gap and it's around 5/16" (see pictures of the Japan SkyTrak case below). The steel is also slightly thicker than your 1/16" thick 16 gauge steel at 3/32" thick (or 13 gauge steel).

So I was just wondering does your case lens openings require the unit to be hugged close to the case in order to read whereas the Japan SkyTrak case allows for a greater gap between unit and case because the lens area is fully opened (thus also fully exposed)? And with your case, will I be potentially compromising shock to the unit for a shank shot in order to get protection to the lens area? Hence might be interested in your new mask version as I can just tape to front of my case (while keeping the thicker steel) but worry the gap between the unit and mask will be too big that it will not read?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts on the above and again for the great job done on these cases (and mask) so far.

[Sledge0001]

I would say I have the distance of the Skytrak to the inside of the case is slightly closer than you see with the red case in the image above. But there is no way a ball can get to the fragile parts of the Skytrak.

[awisnia]

doublebogey cheers. Yeah - learned that if the field of vision is slightly blocked, a photo will still be accepted, yet corrupted, and yield strange ball flight. Originally assumed that it would be a go/no-go deal until now understanding optics a bit better. My Skytrak got it on the lens - while in the official case, and was DOA. That's a sample of one, but it looked to me like the weak-links are right there pressed up against the back of the IRT plastic. Yet, it's the only part not protected. This has pushed me to be maybe too concerned about maximizing the coverage there. Davray's orginal work had a slot for the line laser, but was transparent, so I decided to make sure the trigger sensor was completely open.

I may start to play with removing some steel around the grill to reduce the finicky nature of the case/skytak alignment. This makes the "mask" a hard solution with the current pattern -- alignment is too difficult. In the end it's really all about odds...that a ball will hit, where it will hit, how fast it will be going, will it glance, etc, etc.

Since winter and sim season is NOW, I figured better to get some out when they can be useful and make things better - will weak as time goes on.

As for the spacing, it's about 3/16 now and there's no way a ball's going to deflect the case into the sktrack unless it was a head-on on-purpose shot to the teeth. lastly, the steel could easily be made thicker for pennies, but I'm one of those no-waste engineers -- it just doesn't seem needed.

[Doug Doty]

Can I successfully use the FMJ sitting flat on my country club elite hitting matt with all the adjustable feet removed to get it down to the level of the matt surface. I have always blocked it up level along side in the past. ??I was a bit concerned about the 3 weld beads but I can grind those flush to slightly sub and plug weld with my TIG.