Are there any electronics geniuses out there?

fan-tum

fan-tum

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
It seems to me that with todays technology someone could invent a cue stick with a transmitter built-in to the butt that would mate up with an external receiver that would: emit a steady, audible tone, and when you stroke the cue back and forth, if it's not straight back and forth, the tone would progressively increase or lower in pitch. You would get instantaneous feedback about your stroke. It would help beginners and advanced players both.
 
Better yet ... how about a set of balls with little microchips inside that talk to the chipped rails on the table and the chipped tip of the cue stick all to give you the perfect line on EVERY shot by laying out the CB/OB path with little laser lights????


reminds me on a movie quote:
"How hard is to get freaking sharks with freaking lasers on their heads??? "
 
possible, but practical?

Although that is possible, and actually pretty simple if you ask me, I see the following
drawbacks (no pun intended). To be clear, I am speaking of the monitoring of
side-to-side movement only. (Cue remaining in a plane vertical to the ground deemed correct.)

1 - There would need to be a switch of some sort that enabled and disabled the monitoring.
Otherwise you would have to put up with that tone, when you moved around the table. And,
I think it would be distracting to switch it on/off.

2 - You would have to precisely orient the cue each time. I don't think this would be possible
in practical terms. If the cue/mechanism was slightly misaligned it would mistake up and
down movement for side-to-side movement. I highly doubt *anyone* can eliminate all
up and down motion from their stroke. It might look like some strokes are 100% straight, but
you'd be surprised by what the shadow of the cue on the table, with an angled light coming down reveals.
 
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They should come out with a pool cue that breaks down in the middle of your stroke if it isnt perfect. Like the Medicus did with golf clubs.

Southpaw
 
Just attach an accelerometer or force sensor to the butt end of the cue with it oriented perpendicular to the long axis of the cue. It'll output a voltage proportional to the force out of line with the stroke. With that signal you can do whatever you want.. strobe lights that flash when you aren't stoking straight. Bull horns etc. Of course this would require physical wires being attached to the cue.

You would need to design it properly because depending on the force levels at the end of the cue, and how straight your stroke is, it's possible the signal to noise could be too small.

Motion sensing would be more complicated but possible.
 
Southpaw said:
They should come out with a pool cue that breaks down in the middle of your stroke if it isnt perfect. Like the Medicus did with golf clubs.

Southpaw
Click to expand...
Back in the 80's Meucci's ferrules would do just that on CB contact if your stroke exceeded 6 MPH:D
 
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gee

I was under the impression that the OP was speaking of a cue (and/or external device) that could
actually be used while playing, or shooting real shots.

Heck, if it's just a practice-style device to be used off the pool table, it seems to me it would be
a lot easier to just fasten a model train car or two to the middle of a cue and stoke along a strip
of model train track. It will be easy to feel the force when side-to-side motion is present.

Up-and-down motion would really show up, as a "derailed" stroke. :)
 
whitey2 said:
I was under the impression that the OP was speaking of a cue (and/or external device) that could
actually be used while playing, or shooting real shots.

Heck, if it's just a practice-style device to be used off the pool table, it seems to me it would be
a lot easier to just fasten a model train car or two to a cue and stoke along a strip of model train track.
Click to expand...
It'd be a lot easier to use a measle cueball and shoot it up and down.
Or shoot a stop shot, spot shot or Kinnister's shot number 1.
 
Brian:

Been a little cold here, but nothing like the weather back there. Prayers up for the tornado survivors.
 
fan-tum said:
It seems to me that with todays technology someone could invent a cue stick with a transmitter built-in to the butt that would mate up with an external receiver that would: emit a steady, audible tone, and when you stroke the cue back and forth, if it's not straight back and forth, the tone would progressively increase or lower in pitch. You would get instantaneous feedback about your stroke. It would help beginners and advanced players both.
Click to expand...

How about taking lessons from a top notch billiards instructor? Maybe....... Scott Lee? :)
 
fan-tum said:
It seems to me that with todays technology someone could invent a cue stick with a transmitter built-in to the butt that would mate up with an external receiver that would: emit a steady, audible tone, and when you stroke the cue back and forth, if it's not straight back and forth, the tone would progressively increase or lower in pitch. You would get instantaneous feedback about your stroke. It would help beginners and advanced players both.
Click to expand...

Neat idea, I'm sure there a lots and lots of different sensors that can be mated to a cue that will beep. You don't even need an external reciever. Just a gyroscope and a tiny speaker like what they use in musical greeting cards. If the sensor feels you are out of alignment, the stick will play Jingle Bells. You may need to have an external interface to program the sensor to work with how you hold the stick and to program the limits of the alarm. This is something that is pretty doable I think.

Or just bring your wife with you, I'm pretty sure we all get some high pitched tones and instataneous feedback whenever we do anything wrong ;)
 
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