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TENNIS BALL MACHINES Tennis Ball Machines Tennis Ball Machines | Tennis Ball Machines |
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| Sep 01, 2009 at 04:28 AM | |||||||||
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Tennis Ball Machines! This time I am making a short report about tennis ball machines that is completely unbiased, just to help users of my website who wrote to me and asked about these training devices. Here is what I have learned through the years: From the 1970's to 1990's, when I practiced and used ball machines for training myself and others, those boxy machines were clumsy, difficult to move around, some of them extremely expensive, difficult to operate, and full of glitches. Now let me introduce you to the ball machine of the twenty first century!
In one machine the manufacturer incorporated a fork lift to place your ball machine at the right height to provide you with cannon ball serves! Is there a great technical secret on how ball machines throw tennis balls? No. In fact, most top quality ball machines use a very simple technical principle to throw the tennis balls, which is very identical to a tire spinning on dirt and throwing gravel backward. They use what is called 'counter rotating
wheels' or two wheels spinning
Be aware that not all wheel ball machines provide topspin or backspin only the ones arranged in a vertical plane like in the picture here do. The tennis ball machines with the
spinning wheels
in a horizontal
plane like this
Other types of tennis ball machines There are other types of ball machines like the cannon tube with a narrower collar then the tennis ball, which under the build up of compressed air propels the ball. This type of tennis ball machine is also called pneumatic because it functions with air. Another type is the one using a hammer head that strikes the ball which is also dropped via chute in front of it. The hammer head often has various facets which can be rotated for various spins and even lobs. Finally there are several spring type ball machines but like the hammer (very noisy) they are very limited in the scope of what they can do for you so, I do not discuss them here. The best ball machines today use counter rotating wheels.
A device that allowed machines to randomly throw balls all over the court, therefore simulating match play.
Most top machines with quality oscillators will also have a wide variety of pre-programmed tennis drills and exercises that will help yourself, your child or your pupils improve their game skills and technique at a pace that suits both physical and technical abilities. On the other hand, with some tennis ball machines your imagination can have no limits. Talking about speed. Young players develop pretty fast, so when buying a tennis ball machine careful attention should be paid to the fact that it reaches beginner, intermediate, advanced and pro-level speeds or your investment could be obsolete in a period of months. Here are some examples of top speed tennis ball machines: - The Lobster Elite is capable of 130km/h! - The SAM SP can reach 140km/h! - The Silent Partner range is capable of achieving 150 km/h!
My advice is that you have one that you can carry with you (similar to the one in the picture to the left) as Coach and as a player, it is well worth every penny of it! If you are practicing alone with the ball machine, this will save you plenty of grief and extra running around as well as picking up extra balls the machine kept on throwing while you were rushing to stop it! There is the power issue to consider as well. There are AC-powered machines they can only run on regular current (120 volts in North America, 220 volts in most other countries). Such tennis ball machines have no batteries and can only be used when an electrical outlet is available. This is preferred by private court owners and clubs because they do not have to worry about batteries running out. Most of the battery powered tennis ball machines, use 'sealed lead-acid' batteries.
They are usually supplied with a battery charger as seen on the picture left. Some of the battery chargers have a built in smart chip which allows you to safely quick charge your ball machine battery without worrying about overcharging it. In most cases though, one should allow for a slow charge sometimes up to 10hrs, this will prolong the life of your battery. There are two major factors to consider when purchasing a tennis ball machine: - Just for fitness & fun. In this case all you need is a basic ball machine that will run you around the court. - Improve your game and develop. Here you are more serious about your tennis, or want to give your kids something that will improve their game then you should get a machine that has; top spin, slice, oscillation, a fast top speed, a reasonable ball capacity & a good battery life. Top class machines can be found in the Tennis Tutor Player Range, Tennis Tutor Plus range, SAM SP range, Lobster Elite Range or Silent Partner range. A curious aside, if you have a dog interested in chasing tennis balls and you are not a good thrower, here is the solution; GoDogGo is a remote-control tennis ball machine designed specifically to play fetch with your dog! (smile) Sergio Cruz
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The
same technology that revolutionized your home PC has entered the world of tennis
ball machines and every little demand is answered. 
in
different directions with a space between them that squeezes a tennis ball which
rolls into the space from a chute connected to an container above full of
tennis balls.
In
the past ball machines already had what is called an oscillator. 
Today
many machines provide vertical and horizontal or oscillation by using a cam to
achieve the proper angles. Nevertheless the best solution at the moment
belongs to Silent Partner Quest ball machine with a
computerized adaptive all court oscillator that reaches up to pro-level speeds.
Most
top class tennis ball machines come with remote controls or you can purchase them
for a fee. 
These
batteries are specially developed for ball machines and can be charged
from any state of their discharge or usage. | Search |
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