RADAR GUNS

[Biggest fan bar none]

GIVE ME opinions on radar guns,from the top brands to the ones to get by with

[DonnieS]

GIVE ME opinions on radar guns,from the top brands to the ones to get by with

How do you want to use it ?

[Biggest fan bar none]

mainly pitching speeds

[DonnieS]

BF, what I mean, are you tying to measure your kid's pitching speed improvement/changes? Are you trying to measure a bunch of kids at tryouts ? Are you trying to scout pitchers on opposing teams ? that kind of stuff - I have bought them for different purposes - and spent way too much money - had I defined my need earlier, probably would have bought only a couple.

[ontheblack]

Pocket Radar - $199

[AlwaysImprove]

This is some of what I have found. As someone mentioned, how you use the gun will help you understand which gun is correct.

From low to high:
$12-18$ - Mattel Hot Wheels Radar gun - Does not do too bad, but any angle, any fences, pitch hits the ground, it will miss. Also drifts a lot over time, temperature humidity. But you can at least get some sense of faster vs slower from pitch to pitch.
$75 - Glove Radar - Attaches to the back of the glove. Nice because you always have it. I had one of these at one time, it seemed to have a ton of accuracy issues. I think it has something to do with the glove that you use. I use the nokona catchers mitt which is solid and seemed to throw this unit off.
$90 - Bushnell Velocity Radar gun. This gun is always tuned 3-5mph high. Get a $10 tuning fork and tune your gun, instead of running around the field looking like a moron telling everyone your kid is pitching 60mph.
$150 Speed Trac This is a pretty cheap gun, but it has a nice display. I have had nothing but problems with the speed trac.
$200 Pocket Radar Gun I have never used one of these. I think this gun always reads low, well at least it did when the college coaches were scouting my kid . I actually hear it is a pretty accurate gun. You can store it in your pocket. It is discreet.
$359 RevFire This is not a radar gun, it is a special ball and a receiving unit. Revfires actual design is to measure the spin rate on the ball. It measures speed, but does not do it well. You have to enter the pitchers distance, the distance from where the ball leaves her hand, not the pitchers plate. Revfire times how long it is in flight, then divides that into the distance to approximate speed.
$600 Jugs Pro gun. This is a very accurate gun. Holds a tuning a long time. Works in a lot of conditions. It is actually a Decatur handheld radar gun, so if you ever want accessories you can get the Decatur accessories.
$600 Stalker Sport. This is a very accurate gun. Holds tuning a very long time. Works in a lot of conditions.

The stalker sport can get speed readings from a long way away, as if that is important. The jugs is more reasonable priced, and available accessories. You often see MLB scouts using the Stalker sport at baseball tournaments. BB fields sometimes are outfield to outfield and you can get speeds from multiple fields from the outfield using the stalker.

The stalker can be complex to buy. There is not a standard package. Even for their normal handheld police radar gun there is not a standard package. As a result people will throw together different packages on ebay, including giving a non-battery handle, and a side battery, which end up sucking. If you see the packages that are less than about $600, they do not have the battery handle, you will end up wanting a battery handle and a charger.

Also Stalker has introduced a Sport 2, but I have heard people are not excited about the sport 2, it is a cheaper gun, but since it is from stalker it is way more expensive than the other cheaper guns.

With the Stalker and Jugs you are not going to sneak up behind the fence nonchalant and get speed readings. You will become the focus of everyone, especially the pitchers parents as soon as they see it. I have seen a lot of guys who try to hide them under a blanket, but pitchers parents seem to be able to smell a radar gun.

Before the pocket radar gun, most college softball scouts used the Jugs pro.

I have found with my daughter a display can be nice. She always turned negative towards the person reading the gun. With a display she focuses down on the number and improving her number.

A lot of the other $10-$100 guns are actually different plastic around the Mattel guts. I would stay away from them. http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-hack-toy-radar-gun-into-real-one-425543/ shows how to build the Mattel gun into a better gun.

Hope this helps.

[DonnieS]

Glove radar is one more - their accuracy depends very much on catching the ball consistently, the good thing , its always there. And it cost $70 bucks.

The speed trak, like jr said, can be a pain but the important thing is that dd can see it. Also like jr said, if DD doesnt think she is throwing properly, she will get mad, and since you are the closest almost living object, you will pay.

I have the bushnell, dd's pitching coach has the 'spin' something - that measures both speed and spins. I dont like it because it has a special ball and the ball is an expensive thing to damage, and I have this picture of my kid, finishes her workout, some kid says - 'hey soft toss me" and she flips over this 100 dollar ball, 300 dollar bat trumps 100 dollar ball.

[thor2173]

the stalkers are good. but the are expensive and bulky

Bushnell Velocity are easy to use and inexpensive. under around $80 online. sports authority has them for 130.

I like the pocket radar gun. they are 199 in the stores. I got mine for 140 online. they are accurate and very small. the same size as my phone. slide right into your pocket.

[Omsoftball]

Radar guns we see and use in sports are all relative in my opinion. You get what you pay for. I use a Bushnell and think it's pretty close relatively speaking. Expensive guns I've worked with professionaly in the past are put through very extensive and frequent testing, and are expensive. I'm not sure how much testing low cost guns go through, but in the fastpitch game they're good enough in my opinion. I've heard and experienced anomalies with most common guns used in the fastpitch scene. I think the Bushnell is a good instrument relatively speaking. It also depends on the user and their experience. If you want exact readings, break the bank and spend a couple thousand dollars. If you want relative results, one girl vs the other, spend a $100 bucks.

[NuNu's Dad]

mainly pitching speeds

Yeah, we realized that!

Specifically for what purpose? If it is for measuring your own DD's pitching speed and effectiveness in a practice environment, get the Rev Fire. If it is for game situations, don't.

The reason is that the spin is so much more important than the speed! Buy a roll of electrical tape and learn to tape the pitching balls and recognize the spin orientation of the different pitches.

Pluses: Allows you to catch your DD and still get the readings without getting killed. Set it up on the ground within visual distance. Let her know the spin and speed after every pitch for immediate feedback. Speed is relatively accurate as long as you don't keep moving where you are catching her. Works best in a semi-permanent pitching area where the pitcher plate and home plate are fixed!

Minuses: Any speed reading is bad if it hits something or bounces, since it thinks the shorter distance is where you caught the ball. If you are obsessed with speed you may find yourself moving closer and closer until it tells you what you want to believe (Hey my 9 yo just hit 67mph! ). Peak spin rate is still accurate even when it bounces, except in limited cases. Use your common sense, if the readings look wrong, they probably are wrong! Each ball is $39.99 and will not survive a bat!

Even with the limitations, it is still a very useful tool for helping develop your pitcher!