Some RevFire 2 Design Stats...
The RevFire 2 speed measurement is designed to match a high-powered Stalker radar gun set to Peak Detect Mode (release speed). Thousands of measurements were made to map the time-of-flight measured by the RevFire ball to the Stalker reading for the same pitch. The time-of-flight to peak release speed mapping is accurate (within about 1 MPH) provided that the ball is caught at the correct distance. For correct distance, the catcher should plant his/her feet 3’ behind home plate. Check the distance from rubber to pointed tip of home plate. It should be exactly 43’ if the app is set to the 43’ setting. Sometimes these distances or the app setting is off. Also, if the ball is caught 1 foot closer to the pitcher than normal, the speed will be about 1 MPH faster. If ball is caught 1 foot further from pitcher, the speed will be about 1 MPH slower.
There is another factor that can affect the RevFire 2 speed determination – the stride length of the pitcher. For instance, two pitchers can measure consistently at 55 MPH using a Stalker radar gun; however, using RevFire one pitcher is consistently at 57 MPH and the other at 53 MPH. The coach should know that the pitcher that reads higher on the RevFire is releasing closer to the plate than average, while the one that reads less than 55 is releasing further from the plate than average. This difference may be due to stature, mechanics, or both. This is information not available from a radar gun but is important since a key metric is the time that a batter has to react to a pitch. By measuring the time-of-flight the RevFire provides the apparent speed to the batter - reaction time is what matters.
Be aware that some lower powered radar guns may pick up the speed at varying points along the flight of the ball. A 60 MPH release can be read as 54 MPH if picked up at plate crossing.
The RevFire 2 spin measurement is accurate to within 0.35 RPS. There are several internal checks made for spin calculation and if the spin cannot be accurately calculated with high confidence due to weak or inconsistent signals it will display “0 RPS”. “0 RPS” may also display for good knuckleballs. RevFire balls should not be used in a pitching machine. Pitching machine spin rates and electric motor magnetic fields can exceed RevFire ball capabilities.
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