OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I wonder how i tell which one mine is?

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Donic Waldner Senso V1,FH Baracuda Big Slam 2.0mm ,BH Victas Triple Regular 2.0mm

Oh, the V100 is the same as my "iPong Topspin". Single wheel, topspin only, 6xAA batteries, a single dial on the wired remote that acts as a power switch and controls spin (and hence also speed). The cable for the remote is only 39.5cm long, which is ridiculous – you turn on the machine and have to scamper back to behind the table. It's prone to dribbling out 5 or so balls in one go, maybe once per load of just over 100 balls, but it's a fairly benign quirk. It does help to glue a lump of something, like a thick block of rubber offcuts, to the inside of the hopper, to disrupt the tendency for the last several balls to swirl uselessly around in a bunch without feeding through.

I can't complain too much (even though I just did! ) because it was cheap, and it was a convenient and useful initial practice partner.

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"Once you get past a certain threshold, everyone's problems are the same: fortifying your island and hiding the heat signature from your fusion reactor." –Doctor Impossible

Yeah,
V100: Topspin only, wired remote
V200: Topspin + underspin + wireless remote but no oscillator
V300: Topspin + underspin + wireless remote + oscillator (can shoot balls from side-to-side). The performance might be better, too, not sure about that.

I just got a confirmation from a Joola Buddy V300 retailer that they have the latest version (the same as the revised IPONG V300) in stock Neither Joola nor retailers just market that the model has been revised.

Color, I think - the V300 is that deep blue (and it says v300 on the box). The other two are red and green. Besides, I'm pretty sure the iPong v300 is the Joola v300.



Ah.. so the v100 corresponds to the iPong Topspin and the v200 the iPong Pro (I think, need to check).

OK, went to iPong.net to check - I don't think there's a one-to-one correspondence. The Pro seems to have everything the v300 has EXCEPT it's remote is attached by wire (and uses dials). It is red. The v200 has a wireless remote but doesn't have the oscillation feature, and the green is a different shade than the green of the iPong Topspin. The v100 does look a lot like the Topspin feature wise, the wired remote looks the same as the one that comes with the Topspin (just one knob that controls frequency), but it's red instead of lime green like the Topspin. The two v300s look exactly the same, including color, except it seems to come with a Euro plug (mine came with, of all things, a US plug - we use British plugs here, so I'll need an adapter). I wonder if there'd be any voltage concerns, I suspect not, since modern switching power supplies can handle different line voltages.

There is, by the way, a fourth model - the iPong Expert/Joola Buddy Expert. This is a translucent grey, a lot smaller, and has some sort of spiral ramp inside which you can see on the outside. It was only RM150, and only flings balls at you without spin. Not worth considering.

One thing I was really glad to get - they threw in a battery case free. I've tried it with six Eneloops, works just like plug-in power. Very nice - no need for power cords! Just put the battery case on the table beside the iPong.

Iskandar

For some reason Ipong.net doesn't have the newer V100 and V200 listed on their sites but they can be found in some stores.

If I'm right,

Joola Buddy Topspin (light green) = IPONG Topspin (light green)
Joola Buddy (black) = IPONG Original (black)
Joola Buddy Pro (red) = IPONG Pro (red)

Joola Buddy V100 (bright red) = IPONG V100 (bright red)
Joola Buddy V200 (green) = IPONG V200 (green)
Joola Buddy V300 (blue) = IPONG V300 (blue)

Even Joolausa.com is still selling IPONG Topspin and IPONG Original instead of V100 and V200. Weird.

Just spent an hour with mine just now. The table I use is in the lobby, so I have to put up and take down the net each time. It's not terribly difficult but it does take a good 5-10 minutes. I've left the two corner C-clamps still attached to the net when I took it down.

Took me maybe a couple minutes to get a setting where I was getting fast topspin balls to the forehand. It would take me 5-6 balls before I started hitting them onto the table. There's a major problem with the thing - you more often than not manage to hit the robot with the ball, usually somewhere around the base, and because it's shaped like that, the ball ends up flying into odd corners of the room. I must say, that "pause" button on the remote is fantastic. The Eneloops didn't go flat, still plenty of juice in them (I'll throw them on the charger right now).

I'm going to make myself use this at least twice a week. Fairly good exercise, not too strenuous.

Iskandar

The iPong booth at the WTTC was selling the Expert and the v300 only, didn't see the V100 or V200 for sale, or in any of the brochures (the brochures did mention the older Topspin and Pro models). Maybe they decided to sell only the v300 henceforth, and Joola got the only production run.

After hitting against a Robopong 200 Saturday morning, I can say the ipong v300 tends to shoot the ball way too low over the net, and too fast when you set it up near the baseline (Cobalt's fast topspin settings, I think.. I'll have to write them down on a piece of paper to carry around with the robot). Maybe the "slow topspin" setting (with the robot up next to the net) might work better. This was for basic topspin drives (forehand and backhand).

First time I've been to a club near here!

Iskandar

I had my second session with the thing this afternoon. After some experimentation I set it up fairly close to the net, put the stand underneath the front edge and set it at 2040 - this gave me fairly high balls for doing topspin counterdrives. I've had two sessions elsewhere with a Robo Pong 200 (I think), and the balls were coming over pretty high compared to what I'd been getting by setting the iPong back by the baseline and setting to 2031.

Setting up the net was easy the second time - did it in less than 5 minutes. Tore everything down again in 5 minutes, too, including packing it away (I don't store it with the table, I have to cart it away). The base cone twists off and you can nest it inside the top cone for storage/transport. The robot, the net, and a box of 40 balls fits in a blue Ikea bag. The battery pack is a godsend - the Eneloops lasted the hour, and there was still plenty of juice in them when I was done.

Almost time to mail in my review and get my free targets!

Iskandar

Had another session with the iPong in the lobby. I set the frequency at something like 6 and it was fairly comfortable (not too fast). With topspin at 4 and 5 with backspin at 0 the balls were still coming over slowly, if I jacked up the front I got nice, counterdrivable balls.

I had the thing jam once or twice. I loaded it with a complete box (100) of brand-new Double Fish 1 star balls, apparently this was too much and the motor running the feeder disc stalled. Reduced it to 80 balls and it was OK. It's funny, if you put enough balls in to see over the funnel, when the feeder disc is rotating the top surface of the balls shift around.

I think I've used it enough to write that review to get my free targets. Now, where is that card... oh there it is.

Iskandar

I found that if i loaded balls when the feeder hole was in the wrong spot it would jam first ball. Empty the machine rotate slightly and it was fine. I fill mine to the brim no problems.
Thanks for putting your settings.

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Donic Waldner Senso V1,FH Baracuda Big Slam 2.0mm ,BH Victas Triple Regular 2.0mm

Yeah, that happened to me the first time I set it up. It jammed, and then three balls came out in very rapid succession. In the instruction booklet it said to make sure the holes weren't lined up when you filled the hopper.

Iskandar

Any updates lately? I'm also thinking about getting one. Would like to get a amicus, but can't really afford it yet.

Used mine over the weekend, first time in a few months due to winter. No problems, not one ball jam. Check my blog for the drills.

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Donic Waldner Senso V1,FH Baracuda Big Slam 2.0mm ,BH Victas Triple Regular 2.0mm

Mine arrived about 1 week ago, used it, still trying to figure out the settings regardless of that Cobalt video, but somehow i figured out some things already, but i need time.

Also i placed up to 70 balls for now, didn't want to add more because i have very very headache nightmare collection the balls from everywhere due to i don't have the collecting balls net yet, so even 70 is too much to collect, but i need to practice or use it, and there is no ball jam as well.

The only 2 things i didn't like or feel annoyed are:
1. The noise of the machine when i put higher settings, is that normal? do you have the same issue?
2. The balls aren't coming all the time at same speed or spin even the settings are fixed from first ball to the last, so maybe there is something i don't understand about this machine so far.

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First racket: Butterfly Jun Mizutani + Tenergy 05FX black [FH] + Tenergy 64 red [BH]
Second racket: YinHe Galaxy N-11 + YinHe 9000E black + Yinhe 9000E red
Third racket: Butterfly Defence III + Andro Rasant Grip black + TSP Curl P4 red
Main blade is under my profile name.

Yes, it does get noisy at the higher settings. Just about all robots make noise, though, so it's not unusual. And yes, there's some scatter when it comes to ball speed.

Iskandar