Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
Need to work in Medvedev program, so i can play against him
Hydrogen Sports PROTON
- Thread starter TagUrIt
- Start date
I noticed a significant drifting for my Proton during each basket. It always drifts to my right side. I started one BH and one FH. At the end of the basket, I hit the BH feeds at the center line while hit the FH ones almost at the single sideline. I'm wondering if anyone else has the similar experience?
Another comment on Proton weight, if you plan to walk more than 3 minutes to reach the court, I suggest to get a rolling cart or something similar. With Proton and 100 balls, it is awkward to walk a long distance by yourself.
Another comment on Proton weight, if you plan to walk more than 3 minutes to reach the court, I suggest to get a rolling cart or something similar. With Proton and 100 balls, it is awkward to walk a long distance by yourself.
happyandbob
Legend
email the support address. I had the same issue, I send Jonah a video of the drift (the machine was rolling in one direction fine, but when it switched directions the belt drive would sometimes click instead of catching). I had to open the bottom and loosen and retighten one of the belt drive screws). If you're experiencing the same, instructions are here:
JEDI MASTER
Professional
being so lightweight..the drift is normal..
after you reload the balls..only take seconds to recenter it...
not a big deal for me...
after you reload the balls..only take seconds to recenter it...
not a big deal for me...
JEDI MASTER
Professional
this is all i bring to the court.. 1-3min. .no need for roller carts...
ball hopper is the only thing i roll to the courts...
happyandbob
Legend
Until I tightened the belt, if I was running a program that was pounding the deep corners by half way through a hopper it was shooting one down the middle and the other into the next court.
It was $1,595 + $25 shipping and there were 2~3 rounds of pre-orders with $200~600 discount. With the increased international shipping price and chip shortage, it might be some price increase in the future.
Thanks for the the instruction link. I tested the belt, and it seems that the belt has good tension. I guess this amount of drifting is normal as mine didn't shoot the balls into the next court, LOL. But it is kind of annoying, especially if I use the hard workout setting, as the ball machine starts to have obvious drifting after ~30 balls.
USMC-615
Hall of Fame
Good to know.
Great thanks. So not exactly cheap.
So is a phone absolutely required to use this thing? Can it be used without a phone?
happyandbob
Legend
Not cheap, but definitely cheaper than paying someone to feed balls to my son whenever he wants to just get repetitions. It's already paid for itself in my situation.
Yes, there are controls on the unit itself, but the only way to control from the other side of the court or set up custom programs is through the phone.
Oh nice. So, just to clarify, if you are at the court without your phone you can still adjust things like speed, spin and feed rate?
happyandbob
Legend
So you hit about ~75 balls?this is all i bring to the court.. 1-3min. .no need for roller carts...
ball hopper is the only thing i roll to the courts...
JEDI MASTER
Professional
yes.. 75 balls per x 6-8 rounds
during my 1hr lunch break..
i've hit over 20K balls through the machine already..
wow that’s a lot to fit in a 1hr break. Impressive!!
Do you eat too? You must have a court right at/near work, short delay between shots and really move when picking up balls. Unless you have someone picking up balls for you to get 8 rounds in? Do you just use the ball hopper to pick up the balls? I got the Kollectaball 2 months ago and find it quicker than the hopper...but 8 rounds in under an hr would still be tough for me lol.
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Heads up for a new email. I almost didn't see it. Hid deep in the promotions sections of my Gmail. Recall on the silver mushroom peg. They said it might unscrew itself and fall in the machine. I never noticed it loosening, but good to know it might. Tighten as you refill hopper if you plan on using it. Email them for the original peg.
2nd-srv-ace
New User
I have 60 balls (case of Costco Penn balls) in my Slinger. I hit 4 rounds of 60 balls in 45-60 minutes 3 times per week, and serve back the balls I hit into the net. I use the pick-up tube and also corral the balls close to the machine and manually pick them up; I do this as a break in between rounds. I have estimated to have hit about 20K balls since getting my Slinger machine. I charge my machine once a week.
JEDI MASTER
Professional
I eat when i get home while i work...
court is like 5min. away from my house... during the stay at home lock down... i was there 4-5 days a week.
1 court was fenced.. I always manage to get on that one so balls weren't going to other courts... it made picking up balls easier.. i didn't have to chase stray balls on adjacent courts..
since the lockdown end in mid June... i've only used the machine 3-4 times..
i'm back at the office and hitting with my fellow tennis peeps again.
I've noticed the peg loosening a few times. Seems to depend on which hole I install it in. Kind of a troubling email. Good to see the support, but shipping a part that could cause damage if it comes loose, and suggesting user modifications with zip ties, straws? Shouldn't happen with an expensive product like this. A bit more product testing before release would have been good.
Practicing yesterday when my Proton went to maximum height on it's own. It would not respond to my phone or the keypad. Had to turn it off by removing the battery, put the battery back in and was able to get the height back down, but then I had several other problems. It is completely unusable and already on its way back for repair or replacement. Three phone calls and three emails to Hydrogen with ZERO response. Saved my box on a hunch......lucky me.
happyandbob
Legend
That's unfortunate. I haven't experienced any major issues and they've been very responsive to my emails with questions and troubleshooting. Though I was just thinking the other day that I wish I had saved the box in case I ever need to ship it back to them for support.
Just curious, if you haven't gotten any response from Hydrogen, how is the machine already on its way back to them?
happyandbob
Legend
You sent it without first receiving any communication from them that you should send it? Hmm. Not something I would do, but ok.
Hi Tony, I can attest to the drift, too, and same as you -- to my right. For a hopper of 75 balls, by the last 10 or so shots, the drift is significant enough that the balls end up almost off the court.
I actually sent my machine back for Jonah to check out, but he couldn't find any hardware fault. He's considering programming in some compensation, which actually I'm hopeful for. Because if the drift is something that's calculable (taking into account spin/speed/angle), then it actually should be somewhat mitigatable through software. It won't be an easy thing to figure out, but I have faith that Jonah and his team can figure it out.
The issue occurs because of recoil from the shots. As a previous owner of a Tennis Tutor Plus (40+lb behemoth), it's something I never experienced. This is the downside to portability -- that recoil from the shots is a detractor.
One idea I had is -- what if one could make the front foot (the thing that goes up and down) fixed onto the court? Like if one could build a cup that the foot goes into, and that cup is attached to a wide and somewhat weighty sheet, then it would keep the Proton in place better. The recoil wouldn't move the machine back...
BobbyR
Rookie
Been sitting on the sidelines for a while as it seems you cannot mention anything negative about the Proton or all the Proton product influencers on here jump on your back. That said, I thought I'd pipe in given the slew issues reported about the Proton and even the by product developer Jonah in his email yesterday.
We own both the Spinfire Pro 2 and the Proton. I've used the Proton many times now. We've never experienced drift with the Spinfire in almost 8 years now. Never needed ever to upgrade the software all that time either. My son, who I bought the Proton for, says its a pain having to constantly reorient the machine, as Jonah has suggested, each time you refill the hopper because of the severe recoil. He's also found the balls form a dome, as Jonah also mentioned happens, even when though the hopper is practically full the balls so that they don't drop at all. My son often has to go over and stir the balls so they will drop. Adding a straw and cable ties to the stir rod, as Jonah suggested in his email about all the problems with the machine yesterday, is nothing we feel a user should have to do after spending what is now $1,600 for a machine, not to mention you no longer can insert the rod back in its storage hole if you add that kludgy 'fix'.
Being a product developer the Proton seems to be a huge work in progress. Maybe I shouldn't complain given I got for under $1K on the first early bird special but no one is paying that now. It seems trying to get be light and small is the Proton's achilles heel. I've used both machines now and I much prefer the Spinfire Pro 2 with the credit card size remote, larger hopper, much faster top speed, no drift at all, and less to carry to the court as you just pull it like luggage.. Also, we use courts with AC power now and we don't even have to bring a battery any more with the Spinfire, just the AC Adapter. Why doesn't the Proton have a plug on the machine for that? I have a friend in England who had it reshipped from the US. He uses it on grass. It won't even oscillate left/right on grass because of the 3 point contact and small si[prt pin in the front! There's other issues with it but I'll leave it at that.
The Spinfire Pro 2 is more expensive but boy is it a damn good tried and true workhorse machine with zero issues. I just want to get on the court and hit, not monkey around trying to get the Proton to work properly. Yes the Proton has programmable drills but how many times are you really goingg to do that? The Spinfire has enough drills that can be modified at will to satisfy me. Also, I just want to get on the court and hit not play with the app. We only get an hour of court time per session. I also need a decent lob and the Proton's lob is less than half the height of the Spinfire's. And no I am not going to start bringing 2 by 4's to the court as Jonah suggested in his emails in order to lift it up to do better lobs. For $1,600 it should already do that.
The one good thing about the Proton, to say something postive about it, is they have the best app of any I've used, that is if you want to run around the court with an iPhone in your pocket all the time.
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happyandbob
Legend
All fair and valid feedback points. For good or bad, it seems this is the way many consumer products are heading, though -- similar to when software development migrated from waterfall to agile methodology. Used to be consumer products were not released until they were bullet proof and tested. Now, with the advent of firmware updates, phone apps, crowd-funding, etc, you have cars like Tesla releasing beta updates into the wild and onto the streets. Good or bad, I'm not too sure, but Jonah's not the only new product developer releasing products this way.
It certainly gets products into users hands faster
All fair and valid feedback points. For good or bad, it seems this is the way many consumer products are heading, though -- similar to when software development migrated from waterfall to agile methodology. Used to be consumer products were not released until they were bullet proof and tested. Now, with the advent of firmware updates, phone apps, crowd-funding, etc, you have cars like Tesla releasing beta updates into the wild and onto the streets. Good or bad, I'm not too sure, but Jonah's not the only new product developer releasing products this way.
It certainly gets products into users hands faster
At the same time, I'd be the first to admit that my Tennis Tutor Plus sat in my basement for YEARS... Because it was too bulky and heavy for me to lug it around! So despite the drift, I have used the Proton way more than I ever used the TT.
As an early bird supporter, I always thought I'd be a tester, too, and I'm okay with that. There are still very good aspects to the Proton; so far, for me, the pros outweigh the cons.
bobleenov1963
Hall of Fame
Yo @BobbyR: Maybe you should go work for PaloAlto network or Cisco Systems and see how many "bugs" they have in the software that they sell to customers. I have been on the phone with PaloAlto non-stop for the past three months every day trying to get them to fix multiple bugs in their software, and we're paying them 300K/year in just suport alone. Software is written by human and it has bugs in it. That's life. If you or your son are not happy with the Proton, why not sell it? I am sure someone would be very happy to buy the Proton from you and you can make a profit and not having to complain about the Proton.
Even when you when you have something positive to say about the Proton, it is like a backhand compliment. We get it that your Spinfire Pro 2 is much superior than the Proton, Spinfire saleman.
OldManStan
Rookie
Debating if I still want the proton after hearing issues about the recoiling and drifting…
BobbyR
Rookie
All fair and valid feedback points. For good or bad, it seems this is the way many consumer products are heading, though -- similar to when software development migrated from waterfall to agile methodology. Used to be consumer products were not released until they were bullet proof and tested. Now, with the advent of firmware updates, phone apps, crowd-funding, etc, you have cars like Tesla releasing beta updates into the wild and onto the streets. Good or bad, I'm not too sure, but Jonah's not the only new product developer releasing products this way.
It certainly gets products into users hands faster
Thanks but I disagree that what you suggest might be the norm now. Most products I purchase do not have a multitude of mechanical issues, especially ones that go right to the heart of very basic machine operation (drift, balls not dropping, other things Jonah mentioned, etc). I can understand firmware updates as they can be easily and quickly correct with OTA updates, but mechanical issues should have been fixed before the machine shipped. Those would not have been hard to diagnose with proper testing. Mechanical issues require parts to be replaced or machine shipped back to be repaired, swapped or added as this machine is not DIY repairable. Try taking it apart and you will see how difficult and unintuitive it is. This machine was demonstrated 18 months before a single unit was ever shipped. That was more than enough time for testing to fix the issues that so quickly arose in many machines after it was shipped. This machine was designed by an ex-apple engineer. Apple doesn't issue any products that require mechanical upgrades after shipping.
BobbyR
Rookie
I have not referred to software upgrades at all but to the various mechanical issues. Perhaps you should reread my email and also my recent response to another forum member that shows they actually have read it.
How much do you get paid to be a Proton influencer? There is nothing I have said is untrue so don't get your bee in a bonnet just because someone dare make a criticism about a product that you have a vested interest in. I have been quite balanced in my very rare comments in the face of many on here who posts multiple times per day about the Proton like no other machine exists or is competitive. I just think people on here need to hear the whole story not a bunch of marketing fluff.
Saying that the app is great is backhanded? Wow, now you are really stretching it! No surprise though.
There is not one thing that I have said about either the Spinfire Pro 2 or the Proton that is strictly factual unlike you who makes stuff up constantly.
happyandbob
Legend
nowhere did I say it’s the norm. That's something you have in your head to fit some narrative you keep wanting to spout about the Proton. We get it. You don't like it. You've said it over and over and over ad nauseum. Why are you here? Are you trying to win converts to the religion of Spinfire?
Like it or not, many (not most or the norm) new products are taking the same approach the Proton is taking. I'm not saying it's good or bad, but it is the fastest way to get products into consumer hands and share the risk with early adopters. Indiegogo and kickstarter would not exist if people weren't ok participating in crowdfunded development. I hope you go around ****ting on the $75,000 Tesla as much as you do the $900-1600 tennis ball shooter. Tesla is literally killing people with their beta product roaming the streets. We are talking about something that shoots tennis balls, why are you so triggered by it?
This is a Proton thread. We've heard your opinion about what Jonah is doing many many many many times. Please, let's stick to sharing our experiences, tips, info about the machine and stop trying to win converts to something else you think is better.
celito
Professional
While it's a good point that making a ball machine that compact and light has some drawbacks, I can't imagine the drift issue being such an unsurmountable pain since you're refilling the machine with balls anyways. Can you describe the tie it takes just to reposition the machine so that we can assess how much of an effort that is ? Many people with the machine here have reported it happening but not a huge problem. Just a minor inconvenience.
As for the ball hopper, it does seem like it's not a great design. Not sure how often that happens nor how many don't get thrown at the end. I have a Lobster and at least once during an 85 ball round it has a long delay between one of the balls. And not always all balls are ejected.
I am sure the Proton has some other issues.
And here is a hint, if you don't want to sound like a Spinfire employee, or at least have some sort of vested interested into that company through family or friends ... try to refrain from referring to it all the time instead of just talking about the problems with the Proton. Because at this point, it's pretty damn obvious that you have some connection with Spinfire.
Yup that I did. Six attempts at communication on my part, Zero responses on their part. I have no reason to believe they will be able to respond any time soon. It is a great little machine, but as advanced as it is it is not going to repair itself sitting in my garage hence shipping it out quickly with no factory response. I waited almost nine months to receive the machine and that's on me, I could have bailed at any time but chose not to. My Proton functioned about 30 days before what seems a major system failure requiring return to the factory. I am not happy about this after the wait, but machines will break especially when they are new to the market. I realize this and accept it. The real test is how efficiently the company deals with valid issues to the satisfaction of the customer. When examined by Hydrogen they will deal with the issue(s) quickly under the stated one year warranty. I have no reason to believe otherwise. When I have had an opportunity to spend more time with it, I will post my experience and thoughts. I will say that I have experienced the "ball cavern" and floppy hopper issues. The hopper when filled with 80 Diadem pressure less balls opens to a width of 19". If held to 16" the "ball cavern" issue seems to go away. The right hopper side leaning over more that the left has a factory fix. The retrofitting of machines in the field I believe has yet to be addressed. The machine is a technological step forward and fills a niche for well some players. I really like the machine. It's what I expected, but objectively it has limitations and short comings in it's current configuration. I have no promotional interest in Proton and no experience with the Spin Fire product. But Christmas is just around the corner.
happyandbob
Legend
The ball cave issue is a real thing for sure. I just received some parts from Amazon that I'm hoping will resolve the issue via a bigger and/or longer stir rod
4PCS M8 Stainless Steel Ring Eye Bolts Hook Bolts, Welded Closed Screw Rod Eyebolt and Bolts Hook with 8 Nuts 16 Washers (M8): Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific
4PCS M8 Stainless Steel Ring Eye Bolts Hook Bolts, Welded Closed Screw Rod Eyebolt and Bolts Hook with 8 Nuts 16 Washers (M8): Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific
www.amazon.com
I'm shocked at Hydrogen's lack of responsiveness to you, I've experienced the complete opposite. Hope your warranty service goes smoother!
happyandbob
Legend
I suspect he probably didn't take on a lot of investors and is bankrolling most of this himself. So the funds from the pre-order funded the manufacturing of the first order, which took forever because of COVID supply chain impacts. It's just a guess, but now he's probably paused because he doesn't want to offer another round of discounted pre-orders and there are a few design issues he wants to button down before a second manufacturing run. Again, just a guess, but that's what I come up with when I think through his process to bring this unit to market
happyandbob
Legend
Lol, I hear ya. I would be curious to know who he's getting advice from though. Coming from Apple, I'm sure he has plenty of connections.
JEDI MASTER
Professional
i've use 2 longer stir rods on mine.. and i haven't experienced any ball cave since..
made with bolts and locknuts from Homedepot.
happyandbob
Legend
i've use 2 longer stir rods on mine.. and i haven't experienced any ball cave since..
made with bolts and locknuts from Homedepot.
nice. I’ll be trying mine out on Sat. Hopefully I see similar results!
JEDI MASTER
Professional
nice. I’ll be trying mine out on Sat. Hopefully I see similar results!
nice.. the ball one should work!
2nd-srv-ace
New User
Isn't ridiculous that you have to rig up your $1600 machine with $4 bolts from the Home Depot? is the $1600 worth the constant adjusting and firmware/app updates? there are certain things that do not require that much technology...this machine is turning out to be more of a Rube Goldberg device...
OldManStan
Rookie
i've use 2 longer stir rods on mine.. and i haven't experienced any ball cave since..
made with bolts and locknuts from Homedepot.
Could you record a video of what ball cave looks like? Curious as to what to look out for.
happyandbob
Legend
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
It probably is ridiculous, but honestly it's worked out really well for my family's needs and if it didn't exist, we wouldn't own a ball machine. The others on the market are simply not portable enough. There are some design improvements that need to be made, but this is generation 1.0 of a crowdfunded product. It's par for the course for crowdfunded development IME. I'm happy that he didn't just run off with the money like too many crowd funded projects do.
Besides, if I wasn't spending my time futzing with this, I would be spending time futzing with other stuff like: https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/upgrading-a-tennis-ball-saver.688434/
happyandbob
Legend
@BobbyR there is someone asking for info about the Spinfire -- I'm sure he would love to have you wax poetic about how good the Spinfire is
tt.tennis-warehouse.com
Looking for advice on Ball Machines (SPINFIRE PRO 2 Vs SPINSHOT PLUS 2 HIGH SPIN)
Hi all, My first post here. I am looking for a Ball Machine and I did many research online. Unfortunately I don’t have a chance to see how it work in person so I am not really sure on what are my really needs in terms of plays. I don’t have problem in terms of carriage, space etc. Anyway I...
tt.tennis-warehouse.com
BobbyR
Rookie
You've made 20 posts in the last 10 days alone on this thread about the Proton and yesterday I posted the first time in over 2 months and I am trying to win converts to Spinfire? If so I am doing a really bad job. It is obvious you have a vested interest in the promoting Proton because you spend all your time on here posting about it. As for Spinfire I just bought some balls from them and they told me they've sold out every month for almost 2 years now and sales are up 100% so they hardly need help from some random guy like me online.
I own both the Proton and Spinfire and am the only person that posts as an owner of both, albeit I hardly ever make a post as you can see. Facts are good. Balance is good. Some people on here have emailed me privately thanking me for providing these facts and balance vs unsubstantiated opinions about the 2 products as they are trying to figure out what ball machine to buy. It I owned a Lobster, Slinger or Tennis Tutor I'd be comparing them too, but I don't. You hate facts and balance. I get that. Wipe the chip off your shoulder and deal with it.
Last I checked you are not the moderator on here and so that comment sure says it all. Clearly you are getting paid by Proton or you would not be so upset. If facts are wrong correct them. Otherwise skip the post and put the member on ignore. Easy peasy. It's a free world and if people want to compare the Proton to other products that's their business not yours. I know it may shock you but that's the reason forums exist. They are for discussing products from many different aspects, sharing experiences and make comparisons against other products. Get it? That way people can make informed decisions when they spend their hard-earned money. I deal with that every day as a product developer.
Btw, if you think it is your place to spend all your time on here moderating comments you might want to go after Nostradamus because she/he has made multiple and repeated posts about the Proton that are untrue and quite frankly bizarre, as many have pointed out. 40,000+ posts on these forums alone!
