Any Power Pong robot users?

says rejoicing in rbpon 🆚 robipon
says rejoicing in rbpon 🆚 robipon
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Powerpong, Amicus, same same. @owners do you guys leave the robot completely set up, i.e. with the side nets secured, the main body hung at the table edge, power cord connected, and with no foil to cover anything up to protect against dust?
I would use the robot only once per week in the long run, i guess, so I am wondering whether i should uninstall the entire setup, every time i am done with the robopon. I do know/see that after 2 days the table has collected some dust, and i always wipe the table, even after 1 or 2 days of non-usage, before playing on it. So, dust, is definitely an issue after 1.0 weeks in my basement.

🤔
 
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Powerpong, Amicus, same same. @owners do you guys leave the robot completely set up, i.e. with the side nets secured, the main body hung at the table edge, power cord connected, and with no foil to cover anything up to protect against dust?
I would use the robot only once per week in the long run, i guess, so I am wondering whether i should uninstall the entire setup, every time i am done with the robopon. I do know/see that after 2 days the table has collected some dust, and i always wipe the table, even after 1 or 2 days of non-usage, before playing on it. So, dust, is definitely an issue after 1.0 weeks in my basement.

🤔
@plunder I would leave my PowerPong up permanently if it weren't for the fact that I occasionally play with other players, and I do feel the need to dust my table off from time to time, but probably only once every three months. If you feel you need to dust your table after only a few days then it's probably worth protecting the robot. My guess is a bedsheet would do the job if you're stuck for a more elegant solution.
 
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says rejoicing in rbpon 🆚 robipon
says rejoicing in rbpon 🆚 robipon
Member
Sep 2024
355
210
1,193
Read 2 reviews
@plunder I would leave my PowerPong up permanently
I've been using my new Omega unit a lot this month and I'm really getting the hang of it. Indeed i leave my PP up permanently but usually do unhinge the side flaps (for obvious reasons), then fold them up (after i've removed the diy mini ramp), while keeping the bunch of balls in the plastic base. I counted the balls, it's a total of 53. The minimum number of balls required for uninterrupted feeding is 14, so for easy drills (no mishits) one could play with a bunch of 14 balls only. I play with a little bit more than 3.0x this number. For now, my drills have a duration of 50sec (only) mas 15sec break; during every break i run around the table picking up the mishit balls and throw them back to the bunch of 53. Time flies this way. The other day when i looked at the intentionally hidden stopwatch for the first time, already 3.0h+ had passed, shocking!

The app, multiball training, spin amount, etc everything works great. I quickly understood and, most importantly, quickly accepted that the table/balls illustration in the app rather serves as a schematic than a precise placement plan of where exactly the ball would land on its first bounce (physics is complicated and ... etc). Best procedure: One fixes the spin quantity (e.g. "-3") first, then sets the throw angle ("trajectory"; to get a rather high thrown or low thrown ball), and finally samples the throw speed in order to check the desired placement as result of the settings triplet <spin, angle, speed>. Very fast and easy setup, if you know what kind of incoming ball you want to face!

To Mr. Ignoramus, the app suggests that the three quantities <angle, speed, placement> were independent, while they are not IRL, especially not the resulting placement (physics! In elementary physics, the pupil learns that the flight path (trajectory) of a point mass on Earth, without the influence of the surrounding air (i.e. in a vacuum), is fully determined by the throw angle and throw speed. These 2 quantities only. Not even mass plays a role.). Yet the illustration of placement doesn't change when the user adjusts any of the three quantities <angle, speed, spin>; technically, that'd be an illustration drawing error. We're all well aware of that and understand why the illustration of placement caht reflect reality. So, personally, i doht focus on the soso placement illustration but on the settings pair <angle, speed> what kind of incoming ball (incl. its placement) i want to make the bot produce.

It's also true that the bot can produce very fast balls, but not very fast balls which also carry the max possible topspin. I.e. if you set the max possible topspin, then the max speed will be somewhat fast but not very fast. (I'll continue testing this phenomenon and report back again)

Why i am posting today (and others might have noted as well):

The difference between "spin -2" (= minimal/almost zero backspin after the bounce) and "spin -3" (= high/very high backspin, even after the bounce) is too harsh. Imho the "-3" setting should have considerably less backspin. Obviously this aspect is purely a matter of firmware (not Android app software), i am sure.

If you Powerpong (and Amicus?) users agree with my opinion, then we should try to get the firmware developer to make this particular change, asap. 🤝 👀
 
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I have both the power pong 5000 and a Amicus.
The ball deflector getting dirty is common as it's a product of the balls getting brushed. As the balls get older it's less of an issue. Also keeping your playing area floor clean also helps. I've fixed a couple of issues with ball feed mechanisms and infra red reflectors in the past if you get ball jams. Just ask, happy to help.
I've got a spare Robo Pong net if any on needs one.
 

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@CroneOne,
is your metal insert still working on the robot? I checked out my local Home Depot and couldn't find a bracket like that, but if you wouldn't mind posting the dimensions, I'm sure I could find something that would work--maybe that store is just too big as i wasn't even sure where to look, tbh.

@stoni111121
for the ball feed issue, did you ever do anything more than just using the duct tape solution, or did it hold up just fine for infrequent to regular use? Did you also end up leaving the tape that reduces the diameter on from your March 23rd post and then add more tape to also block the right side as well? Basically, did you need to tape both parts?
 
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@N88GUM
are those deflector strips stock or an 'upgrade' from Powerpong, as my robot is still NIB, tbh. (arm injury)
 
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yeah, I didn't set it up and now my ping pong table space is filled w/boxes and other junk. I have no idea when or if I can even get the robot setup, and based on this thread, it doesn't seem like moving it around is a good idea!
 
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