Pocket Radar Vs Stalker and Bushnell

[Tom]

FWIW, I had my Pocket Radar Coach at the cages last night and they guy who owned the gym had his Stalker II & Bushnell out so I got the chance to stand next to him and radar pitch speeds. The PRC was about 95% identical in readings with the two "pro" guns and only +/- 1 mph when reading was different. We were standing about 4' behind cage.

I still can't seem to get it set up right to give accurate exit speed readings off bat, but for pitches, it was spot on with the high priced guns.

 

[Fastpitch86]

Pitching coach has high end jugs gun and PRC and most of time get identical readings or with 1mph.

 

[grcsftbll]

Have you noticed how the PR compares to Bushnells or other cheaper guns? That's what I'm most curious about, because mine is always lower than those. If yours is too then it probably means mine is not defective, like I'm sure many pitchers' parents assume it is (I say that as a pitcher's mom), since it reads slower than those all the time.

 

[adm793]

Have you noticed how the PR compares to Bushnells or other cheaper guns? That's what I'm most curious about, because mine is always lower than those. If yours is too then it probably means mine is not defective, like I'm sure many pitchers' parents assume it is (I say that as a pitcher's mom), since it reads slower than those all the time.

My PRC is always 2-3 MPH slower than my dd's PC cheaper Bushnell model.

 

[riseball]

I have an old Bushnell, Stalker II, and Pocket Radar (BC). They are all about the same with regard to results. The only difference is the Stalker II will provide both initial and terminal readings so it may seem off compared to the others. One big benefit to the Stalker II is that it is not affected by interference as much as the Pocket Radar. When I go to Columbia to see DD pitch my Pocket Radar is useless but the Stalker II works fine.

 

[Pocket R]

FWIW, I had my Pocket Radar Coach at the cages last night and they guy who owned the gym had his Stalker II & Bushnell out so I got the chance to stand next to him and radar pitch speeds. The PRC was about 95% identical in readings with the two "pro" guns and only +/- 1 mph when reading was different. We were standing about 4' behind cage.

I still can't seem to get it set up right to give accurate exit speed readings off bat, but for pitches, it was spot on with the high priced guns.

Tom, We are always happy to help. If you are having any problems with measuring ball exit speed please call me on our toll-free support line and we can help weekdays from 9 to 5 Pacific Time at 888.381.2672
For ball exit speed the best setup is to have the radar behind a net and have them hit off a tee into the net. Have the net at least 15 feet from the tee and have the radar 15 more feet back from the net and aimed at the tee. They also need to be sure that they are not using too light of a bat. If the bat is too light the power does not transfer to the ball and the swing speed will be faster than the exit speed which can be confusing to radar guns. With the right bat size for the player, the exit speed should be around 20% higher than the swing speed on a well hit ball using a BBCOR bat.
On the comparison testing, you should also be sure to go out and check the Stalker web-site about the accuracy specifications. Even though they are more expensive, it is older technology and the accuracy is +/- 3% of the reading. So if you are measuring 60 MPH then the reading could be anywhere from 58 to 62 MPH in the ones resolution. Please go check into this for yourself. If anyone ever has any questions about radar measurements, please let me know. Thanks,
Chris Stewart / President, Pocket Radar Inc.

 

[Rocketech1]

Tom, We are always happy to help. If you are having any problems with measuring ball exit speed please call me on our toll-free support line and we can help weekdays from 9 to 5 Pacific Time at 888.381.2672
For ball exit speed the best setup is to have the radar behind a net and have them hit off a tee into the net. Have the net at least 15 feet from the tee and have the radar 15 more feet back from the net and aimed at the tee. They also need to be sure that they are not using too light of a bat. If the bat is too light the power does not transfer to the ball and the swing speed will be faster than the exit speed which can be confusing to radr. With the right bat size for the player, the exit speed should be around 20% higher than the swing speed on a well hit ball using a BBCOR bat.
On the comparison testing, you should also be sure to go out and check the Stalker web-site about the accuracy specifications. Even though they are more expensive, it is older technology and the accuracy is +/- 3% of the reading. So if you are measuring 60 MPH then the reading could be anywhere from 58 to 62 MPH in the ones resolution. Please go check into this for yourself. If anyone ever has any questions about radar measurements, please let me know. Thanks,
Chris Stewart / President, Pocket Radar Inc.

Thanks for the response Chris.

Question regarding pitching speed accuracy from behind the back stop (approx. 15 feet from home plate and a foot or two from the side to account for umpire in the way). What is your experience with accuracy with the Pocket Radar Ball Coach? At a recent tournament, I just gunned a bunch of 14U - 18U pitchers and the readings ranged from about 48mph to 58mph. Should I make any adjustments to the readings (add 1 or 2 mph?) as I cannot be at home plate, for obvious reasons.

 

[Pocket R]

Thanks for the response Chris.

Question regarding pitching speed accuracy from behind the back stop (approx. 15 feet from home plate and a foot or two from the side to account for umpire in the way). What is your experience with accuracy with the Pocket Radar Ball Coach? At a recent tournament, I just gunned a bunch of 14U - 18U pitchers and the readings ranged from about 48mph to 58mph. Should I make any adjustments to the readings (add 1 or 2 mph?) as I cannot be at home plate, for obvious reasons.

Good Question. All radar guns only measure "relative speed" which drops off as you go off angle. At 2 feet off to the side it is not a problem. However, if you tilt the radar down slightly you will see a problem. Let me explain: There is a scientific formula for this effect. You take the COSINE of the angle between the path of the ball and the path of the radar beam. If the pitcher releases the ball about 40 feet from the plate and you are 15 feet back from the plate the ball is 55 feet away at release. If you are over to the side by 2 feet then the angle is ARCTAN(2/55)=2.1 degrees. The COSINE of 2.1 degrees is .999 so you are still accurate to within 0.1% of the true speed. So 2 feet to the side is no problem. On the other hand, if you are not careful to hold the radar straight up and down vertically, then you could easily have a 10 to 20 degree tilt down. The COSINE of 20 degrees is .94 so you would be off true speed by 6%. At 58 MPH, 6% low would be 3 MPH low. So the important point is to make sure you are not letting it tilt down. Most people that say they are getting 2 to 3 MPH low are usually seeing this from tilting it down without even knowing they are doing it since you cannot tell when you look at the face of the unit. Think about the radar beam that comes out of the back of the unit as shaped like a flashlight beam that needs to be directly in line with the path of the ball. Sometimes holding it up too high can cause the same problem, especially from behind the pitcher in training. When used properly the Ball Coach radar is the most accurate gun on the market. This is why it is used by all of the top college coaches in softball. Please let me know if this helps or if you have any other questions. Thanks,
Chris Stewart / President, Pocket Radar Inc.

 

[Wildfire]

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[docnsx01]

so you can't measure exit velocity from behind the player off the tee? it should be like explained above, about 30 feet from player with net 15" in the middle ?