Spinfire 2 ball machine - any users?

B

blablavla

G.O.A.T.
bobleenov1963 said:
Can you do overhead with this machine? If so, how? TIA
Click to expand...

yes, you can practice overheads.
you can as well set the machine to throw long lobs that you will play with overhead after the bounce, or attack with drive volley (before the ball bounces).

In my case, it works following, but probably this is not the only option:
1. set a low pace, in SpinFire case, this is something like 4-5
2. set under spin, for me works -4 level, though top spin might works as well, just need to play with pace + elevation
3. set elevation. From baseline something around 110. Further away, then elevation is increasing, or pace needs to be higher.
4. you can then add further options: 2 line drill (narrow, medium, wide), you can add vertical oscillation which will result in longer lobs / shorter lobs. You can mix the 2 line drill with vertical oscillation. You could theoretically as well mix the random oscillation with vertical oscillation, though I didn't try this for overheads.
 
B

blablavla

G.O.A.T.
GrandSlam45 said:
Also, can it do lobs?
Click to expand...

yes, it does lobs, with top spin or under slip (slice). You can set up manually.

GrandSlam45 said:
It looks like a great machine. My main question is about service.. do they have a network of service techs? I live in No. California.
Click to expand...

I'm not from US, so can't answer.
However, there shall be a Spin Fire US, and there was as well someone from Spin Fire on this forum.
@Spinfire are you still here? could you answer about the customer care in California?
 
Spinfire

Spinfire

New User
As with all consumer tennis ball machine vendors, for service we provide the customer with the option of sending the machine back to our facility in Buffalo or to send the part to them that needs to be swapped. We have extensive short videos that show how to swap any part. In addition we have extensive diagnostics that are reported on our 4x20 character LCD screen that can isolate an issue in order to assist with troubleshooting. Swapping a part only requires a phillips screwdriver and sometimes a small pair of pliers or wrench if there is a nut to secure while turning the screw.

We have only one model to focus on and it has been designed and improved over the years to issues are rare. If repairs are required they are easy to do. In this situation we have found most customers have asked us to send the part to the them so they can limit their machine downtime. This still provides the option of sending us the machine if they cannot do so. Our experience is that the latter almost never happens.

By the way, we are the only tennis ball machine vendor in the USA or Canada that provides 7-day a week technical support, with phone support Mon-Sat 10am-6pm and after hours support 365 days a year (yes including Sundays and holidays) with same day reply to your email. Given tennis ball machines are a high ticket item we believe you deserve this level of support and the typical customer often uses it outside of business hours. No other vendor even comes close to matching us. If an issue happens with them after hours or on a weekend or holiday you are out of luck.
 
Last edited:
J

Jaakko

New User
I've used the machine over six yrs, very happy, also with the service I've got, both from the local rep, and Australia, would highly recommend. I don't have experience, though, of other machines. Anyway, I would say it is definitely among my top 10 purchases, of ANYTHING! Naturally it doesn't compare to a tennis buddy but the next best thing.
 
J

Jason Walter

New User
blablavla said:
I have one.
Generally happy with the investment.
Feel free to ask questions.
Click to expand...
I was wondering about the amount of depth variance with the vertical oscillation. I’d really like a machine to mix up deep and short balls so that I can work on my forward and backward movement on the court. Without oscillation on the amount of spin or speed, how much variance does the vertical oscillation alone actually provide?
 
B

blablavla

G.O.A.T.
Jason Walter said:
I was wondering about the amount of depth variance with the vertical oscillation. I’d really like a machine to mix up deep and short balls so that I can work on my forward and backward movement on the court. Without oscillation on the amount of spin or speed, how much variance does the vertical oscillation alone actually provide?
Click to expand...

it provides you with 3 balls.
you set it up with a ball that barely clears the net, next the machine will throw a medium and a ball that will land close to the base line.
Rinse and repeat.
short, medium, long.

you can combine this with other drills:
2 line drill for example, where you have narrow, wide and medium settings. Say you place the machine on the T spot at the baseline, it will then throw one ball to your forehand alternating with one to your backhand. Narrow means that the balls will be close to center. Wide means that the balls will be really wide.
horizontal, which has wide and medium settings. It is almost random program. Medium will cover the court quite well.
 
J

Jason Walter

New User
blablavla said:
it provides you with 3 balls.
you set it up with a ball that barely clears the net, next the machine will throw a medium and a ball that will land close to the base line.
Rinse and repeat.
short, medium, long.

you can combine this with other drills:
2 line drill for example, where you have narrow, wide and medium settings. Say you place the machine on the T spot at the baseline, it will then throw one ball to your forehand alternating with one to your backhand. Narrow means that the balls will be close to center. Wide means that the balls will be really wide.
horizontal, which has wide and medium settings. It is almost random program. Medium will cover the court quite well.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the quick reply! I was wondering, in the short, medium, long vertical variation, is the difference of depth enough to practice a deep, behind the baseline shot, followed by an approach shot, followed by a volley, or something like that? I really would like a way to work up my ability to push forward with the machine. I feel confident that the left-right oscillation is more than enough to run me around, I just wanted to be sure that there’s enough depth variation to help me practice approaching the net on short ball after a rally ball (given that the speed and spin doesn’t vary automatically).
Also, how does the short, medium, long thing work alternatively with the machine’s topspin and backspin?

Thank you again!
 
B

blablavla

G.O.A.T.
Jason Walter said:
Thanks for the quick reply! I was wondering, in the short, medium, long vertical variation, is the difference of depth enough to practice a deep, behind the baseline shot, followed by an approach shot, followed by a volley, or something like that? I really would like a way to work up my ability to push forward with the machine. I feel confident that the left-right oscillation is more than enough to run me around, I just wanted to be sure that there’s enough depth variation to help me practice approaching the net on short ball after a rally ball (given that the speed and spin doesn’t vary automatically).
Also, how does the short, medium, long thing work alternatively with the machine’s topspin and backspin?

Thank you again!
Click to expand...

to my memory the oscillation is:
really short ball
medium
really long ball
@Spinfire can you comment here?

I didn't really try the vertical oscillation with backspin, but in theory it should produce same result:
really short ball
medium
really long ball
@Spinfire can you comment here as well?

but if you mean to ask if the machine can alternate soemthing a-la
top spin short ball
back spin medium ball
top spin long ball
no, it can't.
the pace, spin and interval settings are fixed.
 
J

Jason Walter

New User
blablavla said:
to my memory the oscillation is:
really short ball
medium
really long ball
@Spinfire can you comment here?

I didn't really try the vertical oscillation with backspin, but in theory it should produce same result:
really short ball
medium
really long ball
@Spinfire can you comment here as well?

but if you mean to ask if the machine can alternate soemthing a-la
top spin short ball
back spin medium ball
top spin long ball
no, it can't.
the pace, spin and interval settings are fixed.
Click to expand...
Thanks again. Totally understood.

I think what I’m most curious about is what the maximum variation in depth is that the machine can do. Specifically, does the really short ball land inside the service line in the same sequence as the really long ball gets only a foot or two from the baseline? If it does that, I’m happy. I’d just be concerned that the vertical oscillation only produces subtle changes in depth, and I won’t have a way to set the machine to help me practice an approach shot after a rally ball.

Put more plainly: Are you able to use the machine to give you a decently paced deep rally ball followed by an opportunity for an approach shot?

Thank you again for all your help!
 
B

blablavla

G.O.A.T.
Jason Walter said:
Thanks again. Totally understood.

I think what I’m most curious about is what the maximum variation in depth is that the machine can do. Specifically, does the really short ball land inside the service line in the same sequence as the really long ball gets only a foot or two from the baseline? If it does that, I’m happy. I’d just be concerned that the vertical oscillation only produces subtle changes in depth, and I won’t have a way to set the machine to help me practice an approach shot after a rally ball.

Put more plainly: Are you able to use the machine to give you a decently paced deep rally ball followed by an opportunity for an approach shot?

Thank you again for all your help!
Click to expand...

yes, that's what it does.
but it produces 3 different depths:
1. that barely clears the net, and usually lands inside the service box
2. a solid neutral ball
3. a really ball, that will land close to the baseline

where this doesn't apply, is for overhead training.
or at least I didn't figure out yet how to make a high lob, that would alternate between easy to attack, decent and a really deep one.
in case of lobs, so far I can make it throw either easy to attack + some depth, or some depth and really deep one
 
J

Jason Walter

New User
blablavla said:
yes, that's what it does.
but it produces 3 different depths:
1. that barely clears the net, and usually lands inside the service box
2. a solid neutral ball
3. a really ball, that will land close to the baseline

where this doesn't apply, is for overhead training.
or at least I didn't figure out yet how to make a high lob, that would alternate between easy to attack, decent and a really deep one.
in case of lobs, so far I can make it throw either easy to attack + some depth, or some depth and really deep one
Click to expand...
Cool. I like that it’s three different depths. Can it alternate among those three vertical orientations randomly, or is it set to fire them off sequentially only?
 
J

Jason Walter

New User
blablavla said:
I have one.
Generally happy with the investment.
Feel free to ask questions.
Click to expand...
I had another curiosity. How do you feel about the amount of spin and pace that the machine produces. Are the top levels of topspin, for instance, essentially more than you’d ever need? Also, when the spin level is high enough, does the pace of the shot still stay challenging, or do they slow way way down? Essentially, will I only get difficult pace if the ball is flat?
 
2

2ndServe

Hall of Fame
what's the weight without battery? Their website says 40lb and 50lbs+ with battery? The lobster is 30lb without battery and 42lbs with battery.
 
B

blablavla

G.O.A.T.
Jason Walter said:
I had another curiosity. How do you feel about the amount of spin and pace that the machine produces. Are the top levels of topspin, for instance, essentially more than you’d ever need? Also, when the spin level is high enough, does the pace of the shot still stay challenging, or do they slow way way down? Essentially, will I only get difficult pace if the ball is flat?
Click to expand...

well, the spin rate of course slows down the forward momentum.
say, if you fix a certain pace level, a ball that has less RPMs will be reaching the baseline with higher speed (velocity), based on my feeling, not measured by the radar gun or anything else.
pace alone is certainly top level. Didn't measure it with radar, but don't have many reasons to believe that the promised 80 mph is not there

on the other side, as I am troubled in real matches by quite solid opponents, I need to play around to simulate situations where the machine can deliver similar level of challenge.
outside a recent loss on artificial grass to an opponent that I would probably defeat on clay or carpet, in the recent 2 years I've been mainly losing to guys that are either higher than me in the ranking, or they were playing higher than the ranking would suggest and subsequently were bumped up at the next ranking update.
so, to put it short, if I play opponents in the bottom 30% - 100% of the tennis population of my country, I will likely defeat them, and I will likely lose to the guys in the top 0% - 20%, and for the rest of the pack, 20% - 30% it depends on what the opponent and myself bring to the court, combined with the luck we have on a given day, and other variables.

as for creativity.
If I want to train a particularly high and fast incoming ball, I will likely move the machine behind the baseline, set high pace, set high spin, and adjust the elevation.
it's true that it will be a tad different from competitive match with better opponents, yet still good enough for a training session.

If I want to train say particularly deep balls, that don't necessarily bounce higher than the shoulder level, but consistently land a foot before the line, then I will move the machine inside the court, set the desired pace, spin and adjust the elevation.

in my opinion, the biggest challenge is that the ball machine requires pressure-less balls.
even new pressure-less balls don't take the spin, and don't bounce as high as regular balls when being hit by someone who can generate a heavy ball, aka good pace and solid spin.
but nevertheless, it's a good training tool, quite helpful, at least for me
 
B

blablavla

G.O.A.T.
2ndServe said:
what's the weight without battery? Their website says 40lb and 50lbs+ with battery? The lobster is 30lb without battery and 42lbs with battery.
Click to expand...

didn't put in on a balance, but I have no difficulties in carrying it around:
basement -> trunk -> court -> trunk -> basement

as I wrote above, or in some other threads.
I take in 1 go following items form my car:
the ball machine + approx. 96 balls + my tennis bag + either the battery or AC extender when there is a plug on court
so far I never needed to walk twice from car to court, or from court to car
 
J

Jason Walter

New User
blablavla said:
well, the spin rate of course slows down the forward momentum.
say, if you fix a certain pace level, a ball that has less RPMs will be reaching the baseline with higher speed (velocity), based on my feeling, not measured by the radar gun or anything else.
pace alone is certainly top level. Didn't measure it with radar, but don't have many reasons to believe that the promised 80 mph is not there

on the other side, as I am troubled in real matches by quite solid opponents, I need to play around to simulate situations where the machine can deliver similar level of challenge.
outside a recent loss on artificial grass to an opponent that I would probably defeat on clay or carpet, in the recent 2 years I've been mainly losing to guys that are either higher than me in the ranking, or they were playing higher than the ranking would suggest and subsequently were bumped up at the next ranking update.
so, to put it short, if I play opponents in the bottom 30% - 100% of the tennis population of my country, I will likely defeat them, and I will likely lose to the guys in the top 0% - 20%, and for the rest of the pack, 20% - 30% it depends on what the opponent and myself bring to the court, combined with the luck we have on a given day, and other variables.

as for creativity.
If I want to train a particularly high and fast incoming ball, I will likely move the machine behind the baseline, set high pace, set high spin, and adjust the elevation.
it's true that it will be a tad different from competitive match with better opponents, yet still good enough for a training session.

If I want to train say particularly deep balls, that don't necessarily bounce higher than the shoulder level, but consistently land a foot before the line, then I will move the machine inside the court, set the desired pace, spin and adjust the elevation.

in my opinion, the biggest challenge is that the ball machine requires pressure-less balls.
even new pressure-less balls don't take the spin, and don't bounce as high as regular balls when being hit by someone who can generate a heavy ball, aka good pace and solid spin.
but nevertheless, it's a good training tool, quite helpful, at least for me
Click to expand...
Thanks again for all your replies about the machine. You may have answered this question elsewhere, but I was wondering if you’ve happened to have tried any of the other machines out there for comparison, like the Lobster, Spinshot or Silent Partner. If so, in your opinion, how do the others stack up to the Spinfire, all things considered?
 
Spinfire

Spinfire

New User
Jason Walter said:
I had another curiosity. How do you feel about the amount of spin and pace that the machine produces. Are the top levels of topspin, for instance, essentially more than you’d ever need? Also, when the spin level is high enough, does the pace of the shot still stay challenging, or do they slow way way down? Essentially, will I only get difficult pace if the ball is flat?
Click to expand...

The top levels of spin are extreme and exceed what professional players can achieve.
 
B

blablavla

G.O.A.T.
Spinfire said:
The top levels of spin are extreme and exceed what professional players can achieve.
Click to expand...

can you guys provide a numerical description?
like Slinger claims that their machine reaches 3000 RPM

what could I expect from SpinFire with say +10 (top spin), -10 (slice), +5, -5?
 
B

blablavla

G.O.A.T.
Jason Walter said:
Thanks again for all your replies about the machine. You may have answered this question elsewhere, but I was wondering if you’ve happened to have tried any of the other machines out there for comparison, like the Lobster, Spinshot or Silent Partner. If so, in your opinion, how do the others stack up to the Spinfire, all things considered?
Click to expand...

I tried another ball machine only once, many years ago, and it didn't really worked.
something jammed after some 15 minutes or so.

so, can't really tell you about hands on experience from real life how Spinfire would compare vs other ball machines
 
N

naruto83

New User
blablavla said:
didn't put in on a balance, but I have no difficulties in carrying it around:
basement -> trunk -> court -> trunk -> basement

as I wrote above, or in some other threads.
I take in 1 go following items form my car:
the ball machine + approx. 96 balls + my tennis bag + either the battery or AC extender when there is a plug on court
so far I never needed to walk twice from car to court, or from court to car
Click to expand...

What do you use you carry your 96 balls onto the court with you? Large bag?
 
R

RickySpanish

New User
naruto83 said:
What do you use you carry your 96 balls onto the court with you? Large bag?
Click to expand...
My setup to walk on the court:
External battery over shoulder
Large ~10-12 racquet bag with 3 racquets, water bottle, and a bag of about 60 tretorns on my back
Ball hopper with additonal ~50 balls in one hand
Spinfire 2 V2 in other hand

Actually I have no problems carrying the spinfire in one hand without using the wheels by grasping one of the handles with one hand if I need to go upstairs. I imagine my wife might have trouble doing this, but she is also the kind of person who makes me carry her racquets in my bag. I'm actually not sure why I bother bringing a second bag of balls as I think 50-60 balls is PLENTY to go through one drill before changing things up.
 
N

naruto83

New User
Cool. I bought a collapsible upright mesh laundry hamper. Saw someone with it on YouTube.

anyone tried the Wilson triniti balls on this? How does it compare to the pressureless balls? Duration
 
R

RickySpanish

New User
naruto83 said:
Cool. I bought a collapsible upright mesh laundry hamper. Saw someone with it on YouTube.

anyone tried the Wilson triniti balls on this? How does it compare to the pressureless balls? Duration
Click to expand...
I'm a fan of triniti. Better than old regular pressurized balls. But I do prefer tretorns, especially now in the cold.
 
B

Burddog

New User
Mine's coming today! Was all excited to take it to the courts but big ol'cold front is about to blow in a lot of rain.
 
C

Cailean24

New User
RickySpanish said:
My setup to walk on the court:
External battery over shoulder
Large ~10-12 racquet bag with 3 racquets, water bottle, and a bag of about 60 tretorns on my back
Ball hopper with additonal ~50 balls in one hand
Spinfire 2 V2 in other hand

Actually I have no problems carrying the spinfire in one hand without using the wheels by grasping one of the handles with one hand if I need to go upstairs. I imagine my wife might have trouble doing this, but she is also the kind of person who makes me carry her racquets in my bag. I'm actually not sure why I bother bringing a second bag of balls as I think 50-60 balls is PLENTY to go through one drill before changing things up.
Click to expand...

Usually I'm playing a lot on my v2 so I don't "disassemble" the hopper, rather I keep all the balls in there (120 or so) then dump my water bottle in with them. External battery on shoulder, in right hand my 2 racquets + kollectaball handle, towing the spinfire and balls with other hand. It's a little precarious because of the kollectaball. There is 4" hump where you enter the court and a couple balls manage to escape 50% of the time :). They're quickly captured.
 
N

naruto83

New User
One hand bags of balls. Other hand pro2. Backpack -batt/racquets/waterbottle/ball tube collector

it’s really helped me time my shots changing from a continental grip&swing to the modern semi western/western.
 
N

N54TT

New User
Just received my V2 the other day. Do others get flat balls on ”0” spin setting? I find at 0, the ball has some backspin and I have to increase spin to +2/3 to get flat balls. +3/4 is when I start to get topspin. Not a huge deal I guess, just wondering if other users are experiencing the same thing.
 
B

blablavla

G.O.A.T.
N54TT said:
Just received my V2 the other day. Do others get flat balls on ”0” spin setting? I find at 0, the ball has some backspin and I have to increase spin to +2/3 to get flat balls. +3/4 is when I start to get topspin. Not a huge deal I guess, just wondering if other users are experiencing the same thing.
Click to expand...

I have the V1, but never tried 0 or 2/3 settings
on the 'positive side', the smallest number I tried is 4, and it's cominf with TS
 
N

N54TT

New User
blablavla said:
I have the V1, but never tried 0 or 2/3 settings
on the 'positive side', the smallest number I tried is 4, and it's cominf with TS
Click to expand...

Thanks! I wasn’t looking to hit flat balls. I just happened to notice it because when I first turned the machine on and was tweaking the settings...I started with 0 and increased it until I got some TS.
 
S

SitterHitter

New User
Hi guys,

Quick question about remote range.

I have the Pro 2 (V1) with the credit card sized remote. I'm wondering what the remote range should be like? I notice that mine isn't great. It's very flakey baseline - baseline. Does work, but I have to press the button multiple times whilst moving the remote around for the machine to register the input. That's baseline-baseline.

If I move in, I get better results, but shouldn't it easily cover baseline-baseline?

I checked inside the machine, and notice that the antenna cable seems tucked up towards the rear of the machine along with the main wiring loom.

Does anyone have these problems? And if so, would it help to have the internal antenna moved towards the front of the unit? It really dampens the remote experience having to press the button multiple times to start/stop a feed.

Thanks.
 
N

N54TT

New User
SitterHitter said:
Hi guys,

Quick question about remote range.

I have the Pro 2 (V1) with the credit card sized remote. I'm wondering what the remote range should be like? I notice that mine isn't great. It's very flakey baseline - baseline. Does work, but I have to press the button multiple times whilst moving the remote around for the machine to register the input. That's baseline-baseline.

If I move in, I get better results, but shouldn't it easily cover baseline-baseline?

I checked inside the machine, and notice that the antenna cable seems tucked up towards the rear of the machine along with the main wiring loom.

Does anyone have these problems? And if so, would it help to have the internal antenna moved towards the front of the unit? It really dampens the remote experience having to press the button multiple times to start/stop a feed.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I have zero issues with my remote baseline to baseline. It’ll even work in my pocket without having to wave around/point the remote. Maybe it’s the placement of the antenna cable? Or weak remote battery….how long have you had it? Did you shoot them an email? Leon (Spinfire USA) is very quick to respond.
 
Spinfire

Spinfire

New User
SitterHitter said:
Hi guys,

Quick question about remote range.

I have the Pro 2 (V1) with the credit card sized remote. I'm wondering what the remote range should be like? I notice that mine isn't great. It's very flakey baseline - baseline. Does work, but I have to press the button multiple times whilst moving the remote around for the machine to register the input. That's baseline-baseline.

If I move in, I get better results, but shouldn't it easily cover baseline-baseline?

I checked inside the machine, and notice that the antenna cable seems tucked up towards the rear of the machine along with the main wiring loom.

Does anyone have these problems? And if so, would it help to have the internal antenna moved towards the front of the unit? It really dampens the remote experience having to press the button multiple times to start/stop a feed.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

We are sorry to hear you are having issues with your remote. It must be defective as they work much beyond the baseline. We are the USA & Canada distributor so please give us a call and we would be very happy to assist you in having a remote that works perfectly. If you are located elsewhere please call your local country distributor.
 
Moonballer

Moonballer

New User
Spinfire contact form doesn't work
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Contact | SpinfireSport.com

Please use this form to contact us with any questions or feedback you have for us. Name* Email* PhoneSelect your countryAfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAntigua and...
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I clicked "Submit" but it doesn't leave anywhere.
After few minutes I have to check the checkbox again that I'm not a robot :)
Spinning wheel keeps spinning... I tried with Chrome and Safari.
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