Midwest Palma Championship / no E-Targets?

[spclark]

Most of the struggle has been operator error on the different devices viewing the targets on line.

John that is an issue that's on-going, not part of what entered into the decision not to use them for competition just yet.

One sub-issue is screen brightness: I've used my MacbookPro but reluctant to on a regular basis; it works. Bought and used a Kindle Fire - for a week - before sending it back & buying an older model iPod at Walmart.

Another is shooters who aren't comfortable with manipulating these electronic devices. They're hard-core shooters yet may need some coaching from those more adept when it comes to handling the devices provided by the club. It's just not something they've become accustomed to before so there's a learning curve.

Thanks for your comments BTW.

 

[jkl]

I use an I Pad in Arizona there is bright sun every day. There are various types of shade boxes that are in use. From pistol cases to Dan using a small soft tool bag that the IPad just fits in the bottom. Dan opens up and he puts his I Pad in the bottom laying the tool bag on it's side. I have a shooting box that I think was made in Canada that German Salazar used. I built a small holder for my I Pad which puts it on an angle and the shooting box shades the screen.

There is a lot to learn and you are correct some of the challenges from some elder statesmen in shooting are " how do I get on this dam thing or **** won't work how do I do it and **!!#$$". I am not an IT wizard but I have stopped in the middle of more than 1 string to help someone get back on the proper target or change the setting so the screen quits going to sleep. I have all 7 targets IP address memorized.

But the best thing is seeing these fellow shooters enjoy the results, looking at screens of previous strings, looking at the data and laughing about stray shots that just fell out of a spectacular group. It will be cussed and praised but I do enjoy plugging in the charger on my puller and the laughter it has brought from the pits to the back of the line with everyone watching on their phone or tablet.

I know E Targets will extend the shooting years for some of the gentlemen that can teach us all so much about the wind and the range. Even Mid doesn't mind coming down from Prescott to shoot in the SMT. Once it gets warm he is pretty scarce but just before Ireland Mid, Michelle and Nancy were shoot on the electronic targets.

John

 

[KT]

There are now 7 privately owner SMT G2 target at Ben Avery in Phoenix and they have worked well. I think there are 2 more on order. Most of the struggle has been operator error on the different devices viewing the targets on line. I know it not the same system that is being permanently installed at Lodi, but they have been well liked by all who have shot on them.

Heck look at Dan Bramley and his success at the Emerald Cup he has shot SMT electronic since the first of the year. Must be close enough to help him win.

John

I agree that the system is great and works extremely well when they are in a stand alone setup or up to 5 targets on one server. When you get past that the system has huge problems. When you get over say 9 targets the system gets overloaded and shuts down. I traveled 9 hours to shoot on the system in Georgia. It worked great on the practice day. (only 5 targets active). However when they tried to make 10 targets work things went south. So the guys saying that their one unit works great I don't doubt that, put 10 them on the same system and let me know how they work.

 

[jkl]

With 100 points on the line we put a target in every other frame and have not ran a server. On the line we shoot 3 and spread out. 7 targets have been running with no problems.

John

 

[Heman]

We've tested a new firmware update for SMT the last weekend. This is to help with the some of the issue experienced on the 8 mic system, it went well so from talking with Dan will be incorporated in Lodi. With all of the targets at Lodi I can see why they are hard wiring the power in. We run 7 G2 targets with an S10 server currently at Atterbury and it works fine. Will expand probably to 8 or 9 after this season. We tried the S3 server and it can't handle 7 targets, but it wasn't really designed to. The server at Lodi is much bigger than the S10, forget the name.

 

[RickRusty]

What's the capital cost running now with hard wiring the power per lane? Heman

 

[Heman]

RickRusty I don't know I am just a match director who is incredibly satisfied with the SMT targets we have at Camp Atterbury. The point I made in the past and will make now the system is priced so clubs like ours can use the system. The 8 mic system is a different beast, but again you are talking about a company that isn't affraid to tell people their cost for a system unlike you where it took about 4-5 times for me to ask before you finally mentioned.

Get some ranges that can afford your system and then we will see. In the mean time don't be yelling from the sidelines at those who are on the field playing.

 

[RickRusty]

I apologize, I assumed by your hassle earlier you had a vested interest. But I'm not yelling from the side line. We have well over a dozen clubs in Australia that compete on our targets every Saturday their time. I doubt their are not richer that the clubs in North America.

I recognize the 8-mic system "is a different beast". I assume (bad idea) it's for "club" installations? So my question remains "you are talking about a company that isn't affraid to tell people their cost for a system" so what is the cost per lane? Someone must know.

 

[Jay Christopherson]

What's the capital cost running now with hard wiring the power per lane? Heman

I think this is a valid question. If running 30 (or more targets) requires dedicated power and fiber networking, you have to incorporate that into the overall cost. You might end up with a great system (and I expect that Lodi will), but you can't hang your hat on the cost differential between the two systems anymore once you reach a certain number of implemented targets at a range. It would be interesting to know at what point you have to go from portable power/wireless networking to dedicated power/networking with the SMT system.

Rick, what's the largest number of contiguous targets that the HEXTA system has been deployed on?

 

[RickRusty]

I'll double check when the Auzzie's get out of bed. As I understand one club has 32 targets. But they may be keeping 2 as spares. Not sure. But that whole system is WiFi. Each lane is modular. Which means if one target goes out, it does NOT affect the one beside it. And the only way you can shoot-out (pun intended) a target is to hit that targets PLC which is probably 3 ft away from the target.

 

[jkl]

Anything is possible. Americans will shoot almost everything down range. Even it they didn't mean to.

When someone shoots on my SMT I tell them not to shoot anything that can't afford to buy. Sensors ar $100.00 and the Antenna is $20. The computer is below the berm on the carrier I believe it is safe from down range fire.

John

 

[RickRusty]

I was right. They Queensland AU run 30 HEX System Match Grade targets. They budget between 8 & 9 shooters per target in a match. That's 270 shooter. Of course I don't know what that includes as a course of fire.

But let me say this. When considering target purchase, through-put is a big part of the bottom line. If only 5 shooters per, you drop to 150 shooter per match.