Silent Partner SCOOP Rival User manual

Owner’s Manual
SCOOP: Rival and Quest
www.sptennis.com
SAFETY FIRST
The Silent Partner ball machine is capable of throwing tennis balls at high speed. Take all
necessary precautions to prevent ejected balls from striking people.
Do not allow children to use the machine and keep them at a safe distance from it, and from ejected
balls, when on court.
Do not insert your hands or foreign objects into the openings of the machine while it is running. The
throwing wheels must never be touched when they are spinning.
Exercise caution when carrying the machine. Careless lifting can result in injury. The handle must
never be used alone to lift the machine, especially when going up or down stairs. See lifting
procedure on page 9.

THE CONTROL PANEL OF THE RIVAL
POWER BUTTON
Power is turned ON and OFF by pressing the
button in the upper right hand corner. The red
light above the button stays on as long as the
machine is on.
PAUSE
The pause button controls ball feed. When the
machine is turned on, the feed automatically
goes into pause. This is reflected by the slow
flashing of the light located above the button. To
start feed, press the pause button once. If you
wish to delay the start of the feed by 15 seconds,
press the pause button continuously for two
seconds until it starts flashing rapidly. This will
allow you to get to the other side of the court.
BATTERY LEVEL INDICATOR
Three lights indicate the level of charge of the
battery. Three lights indicate a full battery, while
no lights indicate that it is time to stop playing.
The machine must be turned OFF to check the
battery. For best accuracy, wait a few minutes
before taking the reading.
HEIGHT CONTROL
Pressing the UP button causes the ball to be
ejected increasingly high, while pressing the
DOWN button lowers the trajectory. The
elevation control stops at the end of travel. Stop
pressing the button as soon as the elevation
motor has stopped turning at either the extreme
UP or extreme DOWN position.
SPEED CONTROL
Ball ejection speed can be adjusted from a soft
toss to a challenging drive. Press the UP
ARROW to increase speed, and the DOWN
ARROW to reduce it. Speed is shown in the
window between the two buttons.
-2-

THE CONTROL PANEL OF THE RIVAL Con’t.
FEED RATE
The interval at which balls are ejected can be adjusted from a full stop to a rapid fire rate. Pressing the
upper key increases the feed rate while pressing the lower key reduces it. The Feed rate is shown in the
window between the two buttons on a scale of 0 (full stop) to 10 (maximum).
SPIN CONTROL
Spin is generated by the relative speed of the two propulsion wheels. The seven lights between the two
buttons light up in sequence to show how much TOP spin or BACK spin is placed on the ball. The middle
light indicates that the ball is thrown “flat”. Press the TOP or BACK buttons to obtain the desired amount
of spin.
MEMORY
You can place the current SPEED, FEED RATE and SPIN settings in memory and retrieve them at a later
time. Press the MEMORY button repeatedly until the light indicating the number of the desired memory
lights up. Now press the button continuously for 2 seconds to enter the settings in memory. To retrieve
the settings from a memory location, press the memory button quickly until the desired memory number
lights up. The machine will now run at these settings. Three memories can be set.
SWEEP
This button turns the oscillator on and off. To achieve symmetrical court coverage, ensure that the lower
platter of the machine is aligned with the court. Alignment fins are provided to make this easy (see page
10).
RIVAL AND QUEST
BATTERY CHARGER JACK
Battery-powered Scoops are delivered with a
smart battery charger that mounts in ordinary
wall outlets. It takes about 10 hours to charge
the battery. The charger can stay connected to
the machine for long periods of time but must be
disconnected during play.
REMOTE STORAGE POCKET
A pocket molded into the base of the panel
allows you to keep the remote safely in the
machine when not in use. Get in the habit of
always storing the remote in the pocket.
RESET BUTTON
If the reset button pops during play, check for obstructions of the propulsion wheels. Never use wet balls
and make sure that the chute that leads balls to the propulsion wheels is always clear of balls.
-3-

THE CONTROL PANEL OF THE QUEST
POWER BUTTON
Power is turned ON and OFF by pressing the button
in the upper right hand corner. The red light above
the button stays on as long as the machine is on.
The height adjustment goes through a calibration
procedure every time the machine is turned on. Wait
a few seconds until the “height lights” stop flashing
before using the machine.
PAUSE
The pause button controls ball feed. When the
machine is turned on, the feed automatically goes
into pause. This is reflected by the slow flashing of
the light located above the button. To start feed,
press the pause button once. If you wish to delay
the start of the feed by 15 seconds, press the pause
button continuously for two seconds until it starts
flashing rapidly. This will allow you to get to the
other side of the court.
BATTERY LEVEL INDICATOR
Three lights indicate the level of charge of the
battery. Three lights indicate a full battery, while no
lights indicate that it is time to stop playing. The
machine must be turned OFF to check the battery.
For best accuracy, wait a few minutes before taking
the reading.
HEIGHT CONTROL
Pressing the UP button causes the ball to be ejected
increasingly high, while pressing the DOWN button
lowers the trajectory. The elevation control stops at
each end of the travel. The seven lights between the
two buttons provide a reference for the height
adjustment. These lights flash during height
calibration every time the machine is turned on.
SPEED CONTROL
Ball ejection speed can be adjusted from a soft toss
to a challenging drive. Press the UP ARROW to
increase speed, and the DOWN ARROW to reduce
it. Speed is shown in the window between the two
buttons.
FEED RATE
The interval at which balls are ejected can be adjusted from a full stop to a rapid fire rate. Pressing the
upper key increases the feed rate while pressing the lower key reduces it. The Feed rate is shown in the
window between the two buttons on a scale of 0 (full stop) to 10 (maximum).
-4-

THE CONTROL PANEL OF THE QUEST con’t
SPIN CONTROL
Spin is generated by the relative speed of the two propulsion wheels. The seven lights between the two
buttons light up in sequence to show how much TOP spin or BACK spin is placed on the ball. The middle
light indicates that the ball is thrown “flat”. Press the TOP or BACK buttons to obtain the desired amount
of spin.
MEMORY
You can place the current HEIGHT, SPEED, FEED RATE and SPIN settings in memory and retrieve
them at a later time. Press the MEMORY button repeatedly until the light indicating the number of the
desired memory lights up. Now press the button continuously for 2 seconds to enter the settings in
memory. To retrieve the settings from a memory location, press the memory button quickly until the
desired memory number lights up. The machine will now run at these settings. Three memories can be
set.
SWEEP (see pages 6 and 7)
This button allows you to select three forms of oscillation:
1. Random, horizontal. This will allow you to practice your baseline game.
2. Random all-court. This advanced feature will feed balls randomly horizontally and vertically,
for all-court coverage. The vertical oscillation is ADAPTIVE – the computer provides the right
amount of vertical oscillation for the SPEED and SPIN that you have selected. Adaptiveness
works up to a speed setting of 70, with flat throws and with top spin, but not with backspin. To
set the all-court oscillator, begin with the oscillator OFF and the machine at the center of the
baseline. Select the desired SPEED and SPIN, and shoot balls over the center of the net.
Adjust HEIGHT until balls clear the net by 3” (8cm). Now turn the all-court oscillation on.
3. 2-Line, horizontal. This setting delivers a ball at each of two locations (e.g., to two lines of
trainees). The machine alternates between these two locations.
The oscillator of the Quest will self-park in the center position when turned off.
WIDTH
The angle of delivery for each of the SWEEP settings (above) can be set to wide (sideline to sideline) or
to narrow (half-way to each side line). To achieve symmetrical court coverage, ensure that the lower
platter of the machine is aligned with the court. Alignment fins are provided to make this easy (see page
10)
RIVAL AND QUEST
All functions, except the battery level indicator, can be adjusted from the remote control. You will
find it more comfortable to adjust the machine by standing in the back of it a few feet away.
Throw Consistency: The main reason for inconsistency in ball throws is that dead balls are not
thrown as fast as new balls. Avoid mixing balls of different firmness.
-5-

SETTING UP FOR OSCILLATION
-6-

BALL PLACEMENT
-7-

REMOTE CONTROL
The multi-button remotes of the Rival and Quest can control all functions on the machine except for
checking the level of the battery.
1. For safety, you need to press the POWER button for two seconds to start the machine.
2. The machine goes in sleep mode after four hours of inactivity. When in sleep mode, the
machine can only be turned on from the panel.
3. The Memory function offers a STOP button (square icon) that allows coming out of all memories
without toggling. The Sweep function has a similar button.
The remaining functions on the remote behave in the same way as they do on the panel.
For best results when far from the machine, raise the remote above your shoulder when sending a
command. This also signals to others on court that a change is about to occur.
Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules.
These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates,
uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to
radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause
harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try
to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures: Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna; Increase the separation between
the equipment and receiver; Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected. Consult
factory for help.
-8-

ROLLING AND LIFTING THE MACHINE
RELEASING THE HANDLE
To release the handle from its
locked collapsed position, place the
palm of your hand in the lifting hole
and push the handle upward while
pressing the release button with
your thumb.
LIFTING THE SCOOP (BACK)
Note that the hand in this picture is
shown in the lifting point in the back
of the machine. By placing one
hand in the hole under the locked
handle, and the other hand in the
lifting hole in the front of the
machine, lifting can be done
efficiently.
LIFTING THE SCOOP (FRONT)
This picture shows the front lifting hole high up on
the machine. To lift the machine, grip the front of
the machine with one hand, and the back of the
machine under the locked handle with the other
hand as shown in the picture above (do not unlock
the handle). Because the two lifting points are
located high on the machine, it is possible to lift the
Silent Partner Scoop without needing to “bear hug”
the machine from underneath.
READY TO ROLL
The machine is shown here ready to be rolled. Note
that the hopper is placed securely on top of the body
of the machine and the handle is fully extended.
To roll the machine, tilt the handle towards the back
until the rolling wheels are securely in contact with
the ground. You can now maneuver the machine
effectively over a variety of terrains. For maximum
durability, it is best to lift the machine when the path
is very rough, such as over gravel or potholes.
The handle is not designed to carry the entire weight of the machine. The machine should not be lifted
only from the handle, especially when going up or down stairs.
-9-

POSITIONING ON COURT
THE HOPPER
To install the hopper for play, lift it up
from the body of the machine, remove
the pin from the post shown in the
photo, and lay the hopper right-side-up
on top of the machine.
It is essential that the pin be inserted in
the post as shown in the picture.
Without the pin, the hopper will lift from
the machine during play and will allow
balls to become jammed.
Note that the handle is lowered during
play. This protects the handle and
provides for a free flow of balls in the hopper.
ALIGNING THE OSCILLATOR
When using the oscillator, begin by aligning the machine with the court by ensuring that the lower platter
is “square” with the court. The lower
platter is the part to which the rubber
feet are attached. Its front edge must
be parallel to the baseline (check both
sides). This will ensure that the machine
will swing equally to the left and right.
Note that it is not the body of the
machine that needs to be aligned with
the court but the stationary platter that
sits on the ground. The alignment fins
that jut out from under the machine
provide an easy way of checking on
alignment.
Tiny changes in angle can have big effects on where the ball lands on the other side of the court. For
maximum accuracy, you may need to fine tune the orientation of the machine by watching where balls
land.
-10

THROWING HIGH LOBS
Very high lobs can be achieved by pressing the “UP” elevation button until the motor stops AND by
inclining the machine towards the rear.
The inclination of the machine is
achieved by flipping down the
metal foot shown in the picture.
Small changes in speed and spin
can have a big impact on the
trajectory of the ball when throwing
lobs, so experiment carefully with
your settings.
The oscillator can be turned on when the machine is throwing lobs.
This is a good time to take note of the small chain located in proximity to the metal foot. This is a ground
chain that protects against the accumulation of static electricity in the machine. The chain must hang
down (it will touch the court, or the metal foot, providing a ground connection in either case).
CARING FOR YOUR MACHINE
The Silent Partner requires very little maintenance. The bearings on all motors are lubricated for life and
no electronic adjustment is required. Maintenance consists primarily of the following preventative
measures:
1. Remove dirt from inside the machine by reaching inside through the ejection hole and wiping the
base with a damp cloth. The machine must be OFF!
2. The propulsion wheels are covered with a rubber dressing that does not require maintenance.
Grime from the balls will get deposited on the surface of the wheels, but it is not necessary to
remove it. If you wish to clean the surface of the wheels, you can scrub them with the scrubber
side of a kitchen sponge, using soap and water or, for a stronger action, using nail polish remover
(acetone).
3. When properly cared for, the internal battery that powers the machine has a life span of 2 to 4
years, after which it needs to be replaced. Care for your battery by stopping play when speed drops,
recharging the battery as soon as practical, and keeping it topped up. AC-powered machines do not
have an internal battery.
4. The remote’s battery needs to be replaced periodically. You may be able to obtain these batteries
from specialized battery suppliers, or you can purchase them from the factory (call 1-800-662-
1809 or order online).
-11-

TROUBLESHOOTING SIMPLE PROBLEMS
(Check www.sptennis.com/service for service procedures)
SHORT BATTERY LIFE Battery life drops dramatically at lower temperatures. If battery life is abnormally
short even in warm weather, you may need to replace the battery.
MACHINE DOES NOT RUN Begin by checking if the reset button has popped. If so, push it down after
investigating the cause of the problem (most likely balls preventing the propulsion wheels from turning).
CAROUSEL DOES NOT TURN Check that the feed rate is not set at 00 and that the machine is not on
pause. You can try to turn the carousel by hand (gently). If the carousel turns without engaging the
motor, call the factory (1-800-662-1809).
REMOTE CONTROL DOES NOT WORK The remote control consists of a transmitter (small hand held
device) and a receiver (installed in the machine). Problems of reception are usually caused by a weak
battery in the transmitter (see last entry on previous page).
Silent Partner offers complete service on its tennis ball machines. Because the work is performed
at the factory, you can be assured of the skill of our technicians and the quality of the parts used
in servicing your machine. Call 1-800-662-1809.
WARRANTY
(Valid only for machines in the United States and Canada)
Deuce Industries warrants Silent Partner ball machines for a period of one year from the date of original
purchase. The warranty covers defects in the material and workmanship. Deuce Industries' obligation
under this warranty is limited to the original purchaser and applies to the cost of labor and materials to
repair a warrantable defect (please note that the battery in the machine and in the remote are not
covered by the warranty).
To obtain warranty service, call or write Deuce Industries Ltd. to obtain instructions on how to proceed.
No returns will be accepted without prior authorization. Shipping to Deuce Industries must be prepaid.
After completing warranted repairs, Deuce Industries will pay for return shipment to you.
This warranty does not cover units damaged by neglect, accident, abuse, or unauthorized repair or
modification or if subjected to damage by failure to follow instructions contained in this manual.
DEUCE INDUSTRIES LTD
Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone] Email: spt[email protected]
Head Office: (not for shipping) Warehouse in USA:
500 Coronation Drive Unit 10 2221 Kenmore Ave. Unit 106
Toronto, Ontario Buffalo, NY 14207
Canada M1E 4V7 USA