Proud owner of a new used Babolat Star 5 stringer

[Litespeeds]

I have been stringing for over 3 1/2 years and when I decided to purchase a stringer, I bought a used Gamma 6500 ELS. I felt if I was going to string, I might as well buy something that was dependable and with electronic constant pull with fixed clamps.

I have been very happy with the Gamma 6500 but saw an almost new Babolat Star 5 for sale on Craigslist. It was originally purchased in April 2010 so it still has some warranty left. Only strung about 260 racquets before I bought it for $2,200. I hope I got a good deal.

I checked the tension with my Gamma tension calibrater and it was spot on. Very smooth and easy to use. Actually easier to string than my Gamma. The only thing I wish it had was the string length counter so I can be accurate with how much string to use from a reel to reduce waste. Now I have to measure it by hand. Also there is no place on the stand that holds reels of strings.

Decided to check my Gamma again to see what tension it was actually pulling since I checked over a year ago and to my surprise, it was pulling about 2-3 lbs lower than actual. I guess this is what separates the good machines from the less expensive ones. You do get what you pay for.

So after stringing a Babolat Aeropro Drive GT with Kirschbaum 1.23 gauge Proline 2 at 50 lbs, I did notice the string job was tighter than when I strung it on the Gamma 6500 ELS. I just hope the racquet plays the same otherwise I might have to drop the string tension by 2-3 lbs.

If my Gamma 6500 ELS electronic constant pull stringer can lose 2-3 lbs of tension after a year or so of use, I wonder how accurate some of these crank and drop weight machines with floating clamps really are. When I ask people what tension they string their racquet and they tell me 58 lbs and I push on the string bed, my 50 lbs strung on my Babolat Star 5 feels just as stiff.

I am so happy with my purchase. Is there anything else I should know about the Star 5? Any tips or advise? I've strung over 550 racquets in my 3+ years of stringing and can string a racquet around 20-22 minutes. Not into how fast but more of how accurate.

[drakulie]

Congratulations! Enjoy the machine. It is a beauty!

Happy stringing.

[zapvor]

thats a great deal. man i want a star5

[ATP100]

Want to sell your 6500? Even though is doesn't keep tension very well.

[tray999]

From one Star 5 owner to another, welcome to the club!!! They are great machines.

[Litespeeds]

Thanks for the welcome. I already sold my Gamma 6500 to a friend and I will tell him that it is off by about 2 lbs. Guess he can recalibrate the tension and reset it properly. Not exactly sure as I never done that before.

In regards to the Babolat Star 5, I have read that many people had issue with the stringer pulling up to 8 lbs higher than the set tension before settling back down to the proper tension. I tested my stringer with the tension calibrater and did not notice any over tensioning. It seems to pull initially at a faster speed and once it reaches around 30 lbs, it slows down and pulls the remaining tension up to 50 lbs and doesn't spike above that.

My machine was purchased new from Babolat in April 2010 and I am hoping Babolat worked out all the bugs.

There is an article regarding stringing co-poly strings and John from Guts and Glory wrote up an article about it and doesn't recommend stringing any co-poly above 52 lbs. He recommends tensions in the 30's and 40's so the string doesn't get over stretched and lose its small amount of elasticity. He also mentioned that he would not string co-poly on a Star 5 since it doesn't have a slow speed setting. The article also said to wait about 5 seconds before clamping off. What do you guys think about that article?

http://ggtennis.wordpress.com/2011/0...-and-co-polys/

The software in my Star 5 is version 02.02.a if that means anything to anyone.

[bruintennis]

what city did you find your star 5? just curious.

[Litespeeds]

Picked up the stringer from Los Angeles, CA. Why do you ask?

[Racquet-Priority]

Great, I have ordered one and I am waiting till it arrives! I think you lose warranty when it goes from one owner to another. I bought a new one since they are so rare in used shape!

[Litespeeds]

I think the warranty is not transferrable but worse case scenario, I can contact the original owner and have him claim the warranty for me.

The only thing I have noticed is this stringer strings much tighter than my Gamma. Stringing with MSV Focus Hex 1.18 at 50 lbs feel like something strung like 54-55lbs.

What are most people stringing their racquets tensions at with a Babolat Star 5?

[Racquet-Priority]

I heard the Star 5 over tensions a bit as many other high end machines. They

[Litespeeds]

Maybe we all should say that many lower end stringing machines do not pull at the correct tension and are usually quite a few pounds less than what is stated.

I know the Star 5 is perfectly spot on accurate according to my string tension calibrator. Now I can understand why many people say they string their racquets are lower tensions like low 40's with co-poly strings.

[gotwheels]

Litespeeds, Do a search for a post by A. Lee (respected grand slam stringer & technical guru). He has worked with nearly all of the high end stringing machines and he has documented an overshoot of tension with the Babolat Star V tensioning mechanism (not sure about the Sensor, or if Mr. Lee has tested other high end machines). This tension overshoot is very short in duration and not detectable with a normal mechanical or digital calibration meter. The meter Mr. Lee uses is costly and sophisticated. I believe the momentary overshoot issue was of more concern with polyester strings and the more sensitive elasticity properties.

[drakulie]

Originally Posted by gotwheels

Litespeeds, Do a search for a post by A. Lee (respected grand slam stringer & technical guru). He has worked with nearly all of the high end stringing machines and he has documented an overshoot of tension with the Babolat Star V tensioning mechanism (not sure about the Sensor, or if Mr. Lee has tested other high end machines). This tension overshoot is very short in duration and not detectable with a normal mechanical or digital calibration meter. The meter Mr. Lee uses is costly and sophisticated. I believe the momentary overshoot issue was of more concern with polyester strings and the more sensitive elasticity properties.

Here you go:

Originally Posted by abllee2198

DGdawg: Sorry you don't believe it, but it's a proven fact and something you, as the stringer, will have to deal with.

The Star 5 overshoots by 7-8 pounds on every pull. You need a peak reading force gauge to detect it. Get a $800 Shimpo Force gauge and you will see a consistent peak because the gauge makes and stores 1000 measurements per second.

It does make a difference, especially when you compare it to Baiardo and Yonex machines which are dead on reference with near zero overshoot.

This short peak overshoot results in a 4 point ERT difference in stringbed stiffness for the same reference tension.

Albert

Originally Posted by abllee2198

Q1: Is the string bed tighter on the Star 5 than the Star 3, if both are strong at the same identical tension?

With calibrated machines, the Star 5 strings tighter than the Star3. As mentioned in earlier messages, the Star 5 overshoots reference (read this as a mini prestretch) by +8 before returning to reference. This is measured with a Shimpo Lab Reference peak reading Force gauge.

The Star 3 does not overshoot reference.

Q2: My Star 3 seems to hold calibration very well. Is that true with the Star 5 as well?

Yes, both machines are very stable, though I recommend you check calibration if you move the machine. I also recommend you connect the machines' power cord to a Uninteruptable Power Supply (UPS). Both machines have robust power supplies, but it is always easier to protect them than to replace them.

Albert

[gotwheels]

drakulie, Thanks for the information, good stuff. Do you know if the Babolat Star V tensioning overshoot is an issue with the Sensor or Sensor Expert?

I have always hear that Babolat machines produce a stiffer stringbed due to the quality of the clamps, the mounting system, and the table stiffness (or that other machines produce a lower DT due to less efficient components); without this Star V tension overshoot issue. Is this true today and have the Wilson Baiardo and the high end machines from Yonex & Technifibre leveled the playing field?

One last question for the Babolat Star V folks, do you adjust your reference tension to try to account for the tension overshoot and resulting higher DT?

[bugeyed]

Be aware that overshoot is not the final tension. As I understand it, the tension head pulls to the 7 - 8lbs. over the set tension, but settles at the tension you have selected. This is not the same as pulling at 7 - 8lbs over the set tension. It has become a bit of a concern with poly strings, because you don't want to over stretch poly when pulling tension.

Cheers,
kev

[gotwheels]

bugeyed, I believe you are correct as to the final tension; however, Mr. Lee's measure of a 4 point ERT measure difference is significant - with polyester that could mean the difference of a board or a playable frame.

[Racquet-Priority]

So it is like using the pre-stretch function?

[bugeyed]

No doubt that the final tension with a constant pull machine is higher, but it is not necessarily due to the tension overshoot. As regards poly, the overshoot is suspected to stretch the string excessively & reducing the resiliency of the final job. Unless you string it very loosely, you are getting into the tension range that tends to cause poly string to play very boardy. Effectively it is stretching the life out of the string. I don't know of any empirical data to support this, but it has been tossed around quite a bit. I don't remember the details of previous discussions, but seems like high 60s was the tension that cause the damage. That's why it is a factor when trying to string at 60lb. The overshoot will get into the "keep out" zone for poly strings.

Cheers,
kev

[Litespeeds]

Is there any article as to when Mr. Lee did that testing on a Babolat Star 5? Since these stringers are programmed to pull a certain way from the manufacturer, wouldn't they have solved this issue by now with new software? My machine was made in 2010 with software version 02.02.a

Maybe I should ask Babolat themselves regarding this issue to see what they say. When I look at the tension number on the stringer as it pulls, it pulls gradually to the set tension and maybe exceeds it by 1 pound at most and then settles back to the correct tension. On my tension calibration, I can not even tell that it pulls past the set tension.

Just very hard to believe this machine can overshoot by 7-8 lbs and still be so popular. I can almost bet that Babolat has fixed this with their new software. These stringers were first made back in 2004 if I am not mistaken.