Yonex Protech 8

Discussion in 'Badminton Stringing Techniques & Tools' started by demolidor, Jul 16, 2012.

  1. AZbadman

    AZbadman Regular Member

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    I'm jealous :eek:
     
  2. Trinhity

    Trinhity Regular Member

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    Sure Darth! I'll let you know and you are welcome to take pics and videos.

    I can't wait to try it out too! I hope it does arrive without any issues. :)

    COSTLY!!! :p
     
  3. DarthHowie

    DarthHowie Regular Member

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    It will be a great opportunity to film:
    1) Protech 8 in action
    2) How you string rackets using the Haribito Pro Pattern (with your subtle touches to minimize hard weaves)

    15-20 minute video right?

    Or it should be a 2 part video...one of just the machine...and 2 of you stringing a racket with the machine. Want me to bring my Wise electronic tension calibrator just to verify the tension being pulled too?
     
  4. Trinhity

    Trinhity Regular Member

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    Whoa - this is getting intense!

    Maybe I can bring this to a local tournament (maybe Ryerson open) and we can check it out. My condo is a mess and the background is going to look terrible!!! lol
     
  5. Trinhity

    Trinhity Regular Member

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    What camera do you have?
    I can usually string the racquet with that pattern in about 20 minutes (including pre-weaving the racquet). I think the fastest time is about 17 minutes with full 25% pre-stretching (I think a little faster without it). This was all done on the Gamma 6004 + Wise 2086. TIME IS MONEY! ;)
     
  6. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    our eyes will be on the machine and the racket. we will ignore the dirty laundry in the background.
     
  7. Trinhity

    Trinhity Regular Member

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    HHAHAHA!

    I'll try to clean up the place and work with Howie to get some vids/pics :)
     
  8. DarthHowie

    DarthHowie Regular Member

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    I have a Sony DSC-HX10V point and shoot with a tripod. it can shoot HD video. Should be sufficient enough for youtube videos. I've used it to record badminton matches before.

    Don't worry..i'll make sure i don't capture anything in the background.
    Yes...time is money...and the money...will go to something bigger right... >wink< >wink<
     
  9. Trinhity

    Trinhity Regular Member

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    You got it!
     
  10. GaryC

    GaryC Regular Member

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    Hurry and pickup your Protech so I can pickup your Gamma :p
     
  11. Trinhity

    Trinhity Regular Member

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    LOL! Hold your horses! This machine better arrive...
     
  12. Trinhity

    Trinhity Regular Member

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    THE EAGLE HAS LANDED!!!

    Strung 3 racquets so far and it's a pretty sexy machine! I'll post some pictures as soon as I clean the place :p
     
  13. Trinhity

    Trinhity Regular Member

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    Sorry - I am not able to take any videos for now but have some pics of the machine

    ProTech8.jpg

    Some small things I noticed about the quality of the machine:

    Clamps - these are world class! Very easy to lock clamp base as well as the clamps themselves. The clamps are super light (not heavy like the Gamma ones). The base can be unlocked in 2 ways: via the button on the switch or having the clamp hit a secondary button that sits below the switch (I don't believe this is different from the ESPRO 5). I was told the replacement for this part can run to around $300!

    Chuck - this is the tension head and can be initiated to PULL using 3 methods:
    1. Chuck will start tensioning once the string is between the tensioner head and pulled in such a way to move the tensioner head forward (no need to push any buttons). This makes things extremely fast when stringing. This is only used for pulling.

    2. Sensor button on the back of the tensioner can be "touched" (not pressed like a button) and it will initiate the tensioner head to pull or release.

    3. Sensor button on front panel of machine (big silver one) - makes it easy to release "chuck" when finished clamping instead of reaching all the way to the other sensor button located behind the chuck.

    Mounts - this is very differently from the Gamma 6004 and does take some time to get use to, but after looking at the Yonex ESPRO & PRO 5, there isn't much difference. Basically you can adjust the 12 & 6 oclock mounts individually using the knobs on the ends and once they are set, you use a lever located on the side of each arm stand to lock them in place. Then you use the same knobs to adjust the arms to support the sides of the racquet.

    Digital Display - all settings are controlled by a touch screen. There are some interesting settings which are different from the WISE 2086 (i.e. multiple speed settings for pulling AND releasing). What I noticed in this particular machine is that there are no memory settings for tensions (like how you have M1 and M2 on the WISE). To adjust the settings on this machine, you touch either the top half or bottom half of the number to increase or decrease values. I read about a "timer" setting which controls how long the pre-stretching is performed for but haven't tried it (used the default time). Touch screen is easy to navigate (intuitive for IT guys) and doesn't take too long to figure it out.

    Overall, the machine is built extremely well. You can see where the money is going towards when you assemble the machine. Lots of little details when this machine was manufacturer to not only make smooth edges (prevent damaging strings) but also designed in a way to prevent strings from catching the edges or corners of the machine (like when the string gets caught on the Gamme 12 and 6 oclock arm stand adjusters - those who have a Gamma 6004 will know what I'm talking about).

    I will try to post some more pictures and maybe get some videos up. Please let me know if you like to see a picture of a particular area of the machine and I will be more than happy to share! :)
     
  14. Trinhity

    Trinhity Regular Member

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    Still interested?
     
  15. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    the string gripper (on the tension head) is now metal? i think they used to be plastic on the ES5Pro(tech)
     
  16. Trinhity

    Trinhity Regular Member

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    It appears to be metal (not plastic for sure) and there are very small teeth (smaller than WISE2086) on the gripper. :)
     
  17. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    yeah. and the huge diablo means that there will be plenty of grip/friction and that means the gripper don't need to grip as hard and damage the string. very nice.

    all the rounded edges are much improved from the ES5. the turntable and even the end posts have inserts to prevent string getting caught.
     
  18. Mark A

    Mark A Regular Member

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    Trin,

    Some pictures of the menu(s) would be nice - see how the fuctionality compares to the PT.

    I thought the ES5/PT mounting system was pretty good - the time I used it I just left the 6 o'clock billiard locked for the entire day. PT8 looks the same, but they've "domed" the adjustment knob to keep string from getting caught on it. Pretty obvious in hindsight;).
     
  19. Bigfather

    Bigfather New Member

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    Welcome to "Make The Change" !!

    Koyo
     
  20. Trinhity

    Trinhity Regular Member

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    Thanks for all your help Koyo!!!
     

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