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 Post subject: Amicus Prime Robot
PostPosted: 13 Dec 2019, 19:42 
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Hi Everybody,
Regarding the Amicus Prime robot, can anybody tell me what the other red lines on the ball throwing tube are for ? I realise that the manual tells you to adjust it to the 3 red line but was just wondering what happens if you set it and use any of the other red lines.? I'm sure that it will thorw out all of the ball postions of the drills so whats the point of having them in the first place?

Thanks


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 Post subject: Re: Amicus Prime Robot
PostPosted: 24 Jan 2020, 16:02 
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Hi again all....

Its been a while guys, I guess no one has the answer to my above question. I guess I should just email Butteryfly direct and ask them.

On another note, does anyone have any excerises to share for the Amicus Prime..?

Counter hitting, blocking, service long or short and third ball attack..? whould be great.

Cheers


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 Post subject: Re: Amicus Prime Robot
PostPosted: 13 Feb 2020, 20:07 
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Blade: butterfly Harimoto
FH: TENERGY 05
BH: TENERGY 05
Hi,
We can create a place to share our games drills for amicus prime


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 Post subject: Re: Amicus Prime Robot
PostPosted: 22 Mar 2020, 02:35 
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Hello,

I have had the Amicus Professional since the initial release ~5-6 years back and just received the Amicus Prime upgrade kit (Link - https://shop.butterflyonline.com/prime-upgrade-kit) form butterfly and wanted to share some feedback.

Overall impression:
Pros
-Easy installation, despite no instructions included
-Intuitive interface compared to the Professional
-Compatible with my Android phone
-Recent firmware upgrade allows for serves to initiate drill as trigger! Amazing.

Negatives
-Overpriced - $700 + $2100 (Amicus Pro) = unreasonable for just the price of the hardware included
-Tablet came with scratched screen on arrival
-Tablet battery life is poor (~3-4hrs of active use)
-Tablet hardware and bluetooth signal isn't as good as my cell phone's
-Tablet's DC charging cable is for European outlets, not US

Suggestions for improvement
-Ability to adjust the audio sensitivity for the "wait" option to detect the serve by microphone (currently works ~75% of the time depending on the type of serve)
-Make the tablet optional - the average cell phone has better performance
-Accept returns of the original functioning control module for money back (others can use this as an upgrade)
-Calibration needs improvement - works well for top spin drills, but all underspin drills need manual adjustment. If more details to calibration were available (ex: ideal robot neck height, calibration for standard topsin or underspin shot) then the drills would be more immediately useful and require less tinkering afterwards

With all that said, I would buy this again, just much more effort to get it working well than anticipated, and poor tablet experience. However, because of the improvement and additions functionality especially with recent firmware upgrades, I would recommend this product if you don't mind the overpriced hardware cost.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

If anyone is interested in purchasing my perfectly functioning professional control module, please PM me.


Last edited by abraSPIN on 23 Mar 2020, 06:00, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Amicus Prime Robot
PostPosted: 22 Mar 2020, 08:42 
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Hi

I have had the Amicus prime for about 6/7 months now and very rarely use the preset drills.
I have spent time making and putting my own very personal drills together - this works much better for me and what I’m trying to achieve.

I only use the preset drills as a base starting point then alter them to suit whatever I’m trying to achieve with my personal own made drills. (I don’t overwrite them, I just rename them once I’ve created my own personal drills from them)

I agree that the preset drills could be better and do need a bit of work to run properly out of the box, but I do think that if you think out a plan of what you’re trying to do before and then put in the time and effort into creating your own drills you will get much more out of the Amicus Prime.
I know I have.


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 Post subject: Re: Amicus Prime Robot
PostPosted: 22 Apr 2020, 10:19 
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wesec, those painted rings are for adjusting the head height. Standard height is 3 rings showing. That is the best all around height for both serves (ball bounces first on the robot's side) and returns (ball bounces first on the player's side). Lower the height for lower trajectory shots or drills without serves. Raise the head height for high shots like lobs, pop-ups, and floaters.

When adjusting the head height, it is important to adjust it so one of those rings is right at the top of the lower Ball Tube (the upper Ball Tube with painted rings slips inside of the lower Ball Tube). If too much space is showing between the lowest ring and the top of the lower tube, ball jams, double throws, delays, and other ball feed issues will likely result.

Regarding preprogrammed drills not running correctly, that is often caused by not having the robot vertically oriented correctly and/or not calibrated. To check the vertical orientation, look at the Ball Tube from the side. Judge whether it is straight up (plumb), leaning forward, or leaning backward. It should be straight up or just slightly leaning back.

For Generation 2 models (Prime, Expert, Start), you can adjust the rubber tips on the Support Legs to correct the vertical orientation. For Generation 1 models (Professional, Advance, Basic), their Support Legs are non-adjustable and designed to fit 1 inch (25 mm) table tops. To correct vertical orientation of those models, you need to use a spacer between the rubber tips and the bottom of your table top.

After correcting the vertical orientation, do a calibration by going to the Robot screen, tapping the Calibrate button, and following onscreen instructions. Calibration is done at standard head height (3 rings).

Something else that can cause drills not to run correctly is buildup of ball residue on the Deflector Plate (DP). As residue builds up on the sidewalls and White Strip of the DP, it makes those surfaces uneven and rough (you can feel this with your fingernail), causing inconsistency in ball throws. To clean, scrape the worst of the residue off with your fingernail/thumbnail, then the remainder by scrubbing with a Scotchbrite pad wetted with isopropyl alcohol.

The buildup of ball residue on the White Strip is especially problematic when the robot is first put into service. For some reason, buildup on the white strip is especially rapid when it is new. But eventually, the white paint layer will wear off in the spot where balls contact the strip. That exposes the underlying metal layer, which appears silver. Once that happens, residue buildup slows down noticeably.

If the metal layer has been exposed for a while, you've cleaned the White Strip, and you're still getting inconsistent throws, then carefully examine that exposed metal layer. If it is flat, you should be good to go. But if it has become concave from being hit over and over in one spot by the balls, throws will be inconsistent. Then it is time to use the Repair White Strip that came in the Accessory Packet of your Generation 2 robot. Clean the original White Strip with isopropyl alcohol and attach the Repair White Strip on top of it. Once the Repair White Strip wears enough to become concave, you will need to remove both White Strip and Repair White Strip and start over with a new White Strip (it has a foam layer; whereas, the Repair White Strip does not have a foam layer).

One other thing that can cause throw inconsistency is a bad DP. Its springs are designed to pull the plate upwards and prevent it from moving around as it is being positioned. If the springs have gotten stretched downward, then the plate won't be pulled up all the way and it tends to continue moving around after it is positioned. To check, manually push the DP all the way up until the brass Trajectory Pin above it is pushed completely back into its hole. Then pull the DP down about 0.5 to 0.75 of an inch (13 to 19 mm) and let go. If it snaps back up and immediately stops, it's probably good. But if it snaps back up and then wobbles around for a few seconds, it needs to be replaced. Whenever you manually manipulate the DP, always do a Head Reset before using the robot. The Head Reset puts the DP into a known position from which all placement and trajectory settings are made.

If the problem with preprogrammed drills is with serves or half-long returns, check your net height. Those shots barely clear the top of the net, so I can easily see that if any of the above problems exist, it could cause some of those shots to hit the net. Most of the preprogrammed drills are all topspin returns and those drills will often run correctly even if there are minor problems because those shots clear the net by about 8 inches (23 cm) and land mid-court, so there's lots of room for error.

I've examined dozens, if not a hundred or more, Amicus robots and it is my experience that if the above problems are corrected, the preprogrammed drills will run correctly.

Lastly, you mention designing custom drills. One of the new features of the latest software release is that it allows you to save custom drills onto a micro SD card. I have had a few reports from customers whose custom drills mysteriously disappeared. I've reported the problem to Amicus, but they cannot reproduce the problem (neither can I), so have been unable to fix it. The workaround is to provide a way to backup those custom drills. I recommend you do so by following the instructions in the appendix of the onscreen Owner's Manual on the tablet after you have updated to the latest app version (you'll also need to update the firmware to use these new features).

All the best and stay safe.

Larry


Last edited by larrythoman on 06 Aug 2020, 03:01, edited 2 times in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Amicus Prime Robot
PostPosted: 22 Apr 2020, 11:02 
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abraSPIN, you mention that the tablet arrived with a scratched screen. Please realize that all Amicus tablets come with a plastic covering over the screen and that covering is so tightly bound to the screen and exactly trimmed that it looks like it is not there. And I've often seen marks on that covering, so it is doing its job. If you don't recall removing that covering, pick at one of the corners of the screen with a fingernail, and you'll start lifting up the plastic covering. Then grab ahold of it and remove it. The underlying screen should be flawless. You'll also benefit because removing that plastic covering will make the screen more responsive to touches.

You also mention the charging cable came with a European plug (2 long round pins). That is true. But if you live in the US, you should have gotten a US Plug Adapter (2 short flat pins) for both the main power supply (that plugs into the robot's base) and the tablet's power supply. Amicus designed it this way so these robots can be used virtually anywhere in the world. If by chance you did not receive the proper plug adapter for both the main and tablet power supplies, please contact customer service and we'll send you the missing plug adapter(s). (As a side note, you can also get UK plug adapters that have 3 heavy long flat pins).

The microphone's audio sensitivity is adjustable. Please read the appendix of the onscreen Owner's Manual for instructions on how to do this. You can also help the tablet be more accurate by positioning the tablet as close to the serve's first bounce as possible. And don't stomp your foot, bounce the ball on the table or floor, or make other noises during your serves that might confuse the tablet.

Please read my previous post directed to wessec regarding problems with preprogrammed drills running correctly.

I'd recommend you keep your Professional Control Panel and cable as a backup in case anything should ever happen to the tablet or circuit board. That way you can quickly disconnect the Upgrade Kit and use your original controller while the Upgrade Kit is fixed. That's a strong advantage of using the Upgrade Kit instead of just buying a Prime.

Thanks.

Larry


Last edited by larrythoman on 22 Apr 2020, 13:51, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Amicus Prime Robot
PostPosted: 22 Apr 2020, 11:13 
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Larry, wow..... thank you for your excellent detailed information. You have addressed all of my questions and then some more!

I will go through your check list and completely give my robot a good going over using all your tips.

Thanks for taking time out to write such a comprehensive post - my Prime should be as good as new after this service!
Cheers


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