I reached out to both PPB and ICA only to be contacted by Mike from PPB. He assisted me in an email exchange in finding the right projector for my table and room dimensions. I feel as though Mike went above and beyond to what any merchant would have done. He even contacted the manufacturer for a mount that I have to determine if it would fit his recommended projector. He got my business in return for his efforts.
Projector training system
- Thread starter SeniorTom
- Start date
smallstonefan
Member
Robin at ICA does this all day long. I'd be curious as to how you you contacted them? If nothing else I can pass it on for them as a learning experience.
Through the ICA website under contact us, I sent an email describing my intentions and questions.
Please let Robin know what has happened. Although I did not purchase his product, I'd hate for him to lose out on any other sales.
Thanks
Coos Cues
Coos Cues
It looks like a short throw laser would eliminate the heat problems with mounting it pointed down as they claim to be much cooler running.
My guess is if I spent the 2k I would be at it hard and heavy at first then settle back into rarely turning it on. The projector being a little dim at one end isn't a factor in my use patterns. It's motivation and life's other commitments.
If on the other hand I were one of these guys who goes to every tournament and lives for pool in neglect of all else it would be worth it.
But sadly If I were this guy I wouldn't have the 2 grand and probably not a table or a room to set it up in.
My concern would be cigarette money.
My guess is if I spent the 2k I would be at it hard and heavy at first then settle back into rarely turning it on. The projector being a little dim at one end isn't a factor in my use patterns. It's motivation and life's other commitments.
If on the other hand I were one of these guys who goes to every tournament and lives for pool in neglect of all else it would be worth it.
But sadly If I were this guy I wouldn't have the 2 grand and probably not a table or a room to set it up in.
My concern would be cigarette money.
smallstonefan
Member
Thank you! I'll let him know.
@yankee817299
Based on your experience, I would have gone with PPB too
Very surprising since I know that Robin in general gives excellent customer support
I too will pass it on
Enjoy your projector system and good luck with your game
smallstonefan
Member
It looks like a short throw laser would eliminate the heat problems with mounting it pointed down as they claim to be much cooler running.
My guess is if I spent the 2k I would be at it hard and heavy at first then settle back into rarely turning it on. The projector being a little dim at one end isn't a factor in my use patterns. It's motivation and life's other commitments.
If on the other hand I were one of these guys who goes to every tournament and lives for pool in neglect of all else it would be worth it.
But sadly If I were this guy I wouldn't have the 2 grand and probably not a table or a room to set it up in.
I checked with Robin last night and there was no record of your inquiry, and I helped him test the form as well. It works, but I think it could be improved to make it clearer if you are successful in submitting or not. It would be easy to do something like accidentally enter an invalid email address and not realize your submission wasn't accepted.
Thanks for sharing your feedback.
you beat me to checking with robin
thank you
Badpenguin
Well-known member
I have corresponded with the ICA folks many times, they never take more than a few hours to respond. Even on weekends...
smallstonefan
Member
Are there any scenarios where you are wrong or there is some fix to that? Perhaps...
If you are an instructor, it could be used more.....
If it does other things like provide games?
Could you sell it when you don't use it so much anymore?
Could you rent it for a year?
smallstonefan
Member
I promised I'd come back when I had my table in and the ICATS set up, so here I am!
It took about nine months for this Diamond 9' to be delivered from when I ordered it. It's an incredible table - moving to it reminds me of what it felt like to upgrade in quality of guitars or cars; it's a lovely experience to play on it!
I've got the room about 95% done. Here are a few shots - you can see I used hue lights for the built-ins and I can tweak them for my mood. Quite fun!
Also, a few shots of ICATS. The weird sheen in the photos seems be coming from my camera, but you get the idea. We used a laser projector and I did cut a hole in the ceiling to mount it in. I haven't dressed it out yet and you can see some of the painters tape and hanging cables in the photos and both of those will be addressed. I'm going to frame in the hole and paint it to match the built-ins, and I'm going to have power pulled so I can plug the projector and the ICATS system in up inside the ceiling. I also plan to add a USB fan up there for cooling.
It took about nine months for this Diamond 9' to be delivered from when I ordered it. It's an incredible table - moving to it reminds me of what it felt like to upgrade in quality of guitars or cars; it's a lovely experience to play on it!
I've got the room about 95% done. Here are a few shots - you can see I used hue lights for the built-ins and I can tweak them for my mood. Quite fun!
Also, a few shots of ICATS. The weird sheen in the photos seems be coming from my camera, but you get the idea. We used a laser projector and I did cut a hole in the ceiling to mount it in. I haven't dressed it out yet and you can see some of the painters tape and hanging cables in the photos and both of those will be addressed. I'm going to frame in the hole and paint it to match the built-ins, and I'm going to have power pulled so I can plug the projector and the ICATS system in up inside the ceiling. I also plan to add a USB fan up there for cooling.
Attachments
smallstonefan
Member
Here's a great example of how important the content should be in your decision on which system to go with. This screen shot is from ICATS brand new module that is just transitions from the 8 ball to a 9 ball that's on the spot. How many 9 ball games does the 9 sit on the spot until the end? How many times have you missed your shape on the 8 and then couldn't get shape on the 9? This module has all the shot's for those positions (safety otherwise). It's an incredible opportunity to learn transitions for all these situations to be able to quickly and easily practice them. I would think studying this module would help a lot of people win more games - I'm counting on it. 
There are lots and lots of games and various types of drills available, but I thought this was a great example of the value of the ICATS content.
There are lots and lots of games and various types of drills available, but I thought this was a great example of the value of the ICATS content.
Badpenguin
Well-known member
Very nice, I'd like to see pics of the mounted projector once you have it all up there. The frame of the table light matching the cabinetry in the room is a nice touch.
The audiophile in me, however, is cringing at the speakers sitting on hard mounts on top of glass shelves!
Can you explain the photo? For example, it appears Shot #1 is a center-ball hit at speed 1.5. Shot #2 is a draw shot with speed 2.0. What does .75 refer to ?
What if you wanted to know the effect of left or right spin on the shot shown in that figure? Would you type in the parameters for that on the console or would you search for a program that already has those shots with English?
Along that line, how easy is it to replace the paper-hole reinforcements that rh1919 and SeniorTom swear by? For example, I suppose the setup has the Mighty X drill as a selection. Right? How accurate is it in setting up the spots on the table for the four balls?
How easy is it to change two of the four spots on the Mighty X drill to make the shots shorter?
smallstonefan
Member
Ha! I wondered if anyone would ask about those! They aren't actually on hard mounts - they are sitting on IsoAcoustic stands. In another room I have a full blown music studio but I'm not going overboard in the pool room. At least I'm telling myself I'm not. lol
smallstonefan
Member
I'll try and explain - the photos aren't as clear as I'd like.
1. This particular drill has two possible ways to play it as noted by the numbered landing zones - these are the zones for where you need the cue ball to end up. Many drills have just a single way to shoot - there is a lot of flexibility in the system.
2. There is a circle for the cue ball and a circle for the object ball and circle for the 9 ball. If you look closely you will see there is also a circle for the ghost ball as well as path lines for the cue ball and object ball. You can actually turn these elements off if you want (something I don't think you can do on the other system). If you look at the original two photos you will see other circles - these are for other balls that would be on the table. You can put balls on them or just watch to make sure your cue ball doesn't cross one.
3. The two diagrams on the right (for the 8 to 9 drill) are the solutions for the two landing pads. They include a circle diagram that shows you where to apply English, as well as a meter that shows you how hard to hit the ball. The meter is in table lengths, so if the meter says 2 you hit the cue ball with the same strength power as a lag shot. If it says .5, you hit the cue ball with your speed to send it half a table length.
4. I'm not sure I understand the paper hole re-enforcement question: the ICATS system draws circles and numbers them for what balls to put in there - you just put the ball in the circle. It's extremely accurate and there is zero need for adding anything to your table like the rings. It's the fastest possible way to set up a drill and requires no sticky anything on your table. Press up arrow to get to the next drill, move your balls. It really is that simple.
I'm a huge fan of the system and I'm happy to answer any other questions or provide any other photos.
Badpenguin
Well-known member
You can see the Designing a Full Layout video from the Tutorials page of the ICA site to get a general idea.
On some things like the mighty X, I have created that drill on my system. Sometimes I still prefer to turn on the projector, load the drill, and use it to place the paper holes. No point to leaving the projector running just to do a single drill for a few hours.
here are some pics of my projector mounted i turned the table light off so you can see the speakers in the corner
its a banking module
an old thiel speaker and an old B&W speaker currently i have the b&w speakers hooked up
i hope you approve .....