Has the Digiball been released???
Automatic Shot Clock
- Thread starter nataddrho
- Start date
I've been using 30 seconds, and as I mentioned in the video, it actually helped me slow down and take more time to think, which is the exact opposite of what I thought would happen. This is why I spend the time to build things because what arises out of them I can't for-see with just discussion.
No.
I think this will be my last side project involving it until it does get released, because I am now just making stuff as I am waiting.
Maybe I can start working on other ideas in the meantime.
Man, its been a long wait, that's for sure.
The European Tour taps the balls to train the table to ensure a tight rack without a template. Don’t think that would work in a pool hall setting though.
On your timer, I do think an extension button would be required to replicate most match situations.
mdc
Member
Cool. What about a remote the player holds or places on the rail while shooting? When all the balls stop rolling they press a button to stop or reset the clock. When their turn ends they can hand the remote to the incoming player or leave it at the table. There could even be a delay between resets or between players. Some digital chess clocks do this, a delay before the time starts running. What I like even better is not an absolute number of seconds per shot but a bank of time for the whole game for each player, again, just like a chess clock. So maybe you shoot your first shot in 20 seconds but your next shot you take 37 seconds to think about. You will have used 57 seconds out of some total. Your clock keeps running until you miss or foul or your turn ends. Then you press a button and your time stops and your opponents time starts, again with a 5-10 second delay to allow for the transition.
I”d buy this clock right now for slow play at my local pool hall. Anyone that takes more than 45 seconds to shoot,
regardless of how difficult the shot might be, including 3 rail kicks, is degrading the pace of play. The hardest shot
imaginable doesn’t require upwards of a minute to evaluate and complete. Slow play is as bad in pool as much as
on local golf courses. There isn’t any reason, or need, for any difficult pool shot to require more than 30-45 seconds.
regardless of how difficult the shot might be, including 3 rail kicks, is degrading the pace of play. The hardest shot
imaginable doesn’t require upwards of a minute to evaluate and complete. Slow play is as bad in pool as much as
on local golf courses. There isn’t any reason, or need, for any difficult pool shot to require more than 30-45 seconds.
And get rid of the beeping after 10 seconds…….just one beep with 7 secs. remaining and no beeping
countdown. That is just annoying, totally unnecessary and highly distracting. It should be 2 beeps midway
In the countdown & a single beep with 7 secs. left. You don’t need multiple audible beeps like in the video.
Just buy a game clock. They are made for the purpose. They are flexible. They don't require a special cue ball. They have been in use for time control for almost 150 years. And they have a lot of nice features the electronic cue ball does not have.
I know…..and slow play really needs a cure which this clock can achieve. As far as the cue ball, I do hope you’ll recall I am one of your biggest fans and have said DigiBall is the best thing that happened for pool since chalk. I wasn’t part of the testers evaluating DigiBall but I boasted about all it offers to improve one’s pool skills. Meanwhile, slow play is a problem of its own and a countdown clock like this definitely helps improve the overall slow pace of play which badly needs to change.
mdc
Member
True. If you want those features I still think this system could be improved by adding a delay to the automatic reset, say 5 seconds, to allow for everything on the table to come to rest. Otherwise, it’s possible to hit a stop shot where the cue ball motion ends almost instantly but other balls on the table are still very much in motion for a few seconds. That could be a big problem with only 30 seconds or less per shot.
More so for pool, but less possible with carom, especially if all three balls are DigiBalls and all monitored by the shot clock.
At the very least, since 95% of pool shots end with the cue ball stopping last, it would help train players to keep a faster pace which should carry over into the 5% of stop-shot plays.
A game clock requires the purchase of a game clock.
An electronic cue ball requires the purchase of a cue ball.
It depends on what experience customers want. Both "quiet tradition" and "sports arena" are valid preferences. I like both.
If people want option 2 then I'll make it for them, so they can have both options.
That's not what modern game clocks look like.
There are free apps that do the job. A dedicated, physical, programmable, electronic game clock is about $50.
I see.
I would not be able to compete with what we currently expect prices to be for consumer electronics. I don't think I could produce and sell the clock for less than $250, and even that misses 50% profit margin. But I think people are starting to learn about the huge cost competition barrier between boutique niche products like this and mass-produced minimum-quality stuff. China and FAANG hold a soft monopoly.
You would have to want to buy the automatic clock for what it does that other products can't do, and that is namely the hands-free feature.
This one is only $32
I like this one better
Large LED displays however are very expensive.
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mdc
Member
I see your point, and I do appreciate the automation. Just looking at the website for the smart cue ball, btw, impressive. Best of luck. I might be interested when they’re released.
Thanks for the kind words! I’ve changed features based on your advice before.
I’d spend $200 for a clock that can be easily seen while standing at the pool table. It would be great if it could be activated by a remote so it could be activated manually by the returning player when he/she returns to their seat.
Slow play is infuriating, especially after your opponent contemplates and studied the shot and then they miss badly.
OMG, just shoot the damn shot when you ultimately miss it badly because you “misjudged” it after taking all that time.
The 14.1 scoring system doesn’t exist in today’s modern pool room. We still use coins advancing on the diamonds on
the rails to keep score in a race. That doesn’t work with straight pool sand so I bought different portable score keepers.
None of them were the design I would have used but I was a buyer, not the builder. Then I found simplicity in a design
that fits the bill perfectly. IMO, a nice shot clock is worth a couple hundred bucks to me if it had the features I wanted.
Slow play is infuriating, especially after your opponent contemplates and studied the shot and then they miss badly.
OMG, just shoot the damn shot when you ultimately miss it badly because you “misjudged” it after taking all that time.
The 14.1 scoring system doesn’t exist in today’s modern pool room. We still use coins advancing on the diamonds on
the rails to keep score in a race. That doesn’t work with straight pool sand so I bought different portable score keepers.
None of them were the design I would have used but I was a buyer, not the builder. Then I found simplicity in a design
that fits the bill perfectly. IMO, a nice shot clock is worth a couple hundred bucks to me if it had the features I wanted.
