SPINSHOT Player Tennis Ball Machine Owner’s Manual

June 9, 2024
SPINSHOT

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Player Tennis Ball Machine
Owner’s Manual

Player Tennis Ball Machine

SPINSHOT Player Tennis Ball Machine - fig 1

Spinshot Player – Pickleball
Thank you for purchasing a Spinshot ball machine.
We recommend you visit our YouTube channel where you will find a range of videos including drills, operational instructions and machine set up videos.
Scan the QR code using your phone camera and follow the link to our YouTube channel.
Share your Spinshot experienceyoutube.com/c/spinshotsports
Tag us @spinshot.sports when you post photos and videos on social media and use the hashtags #pickleballmachine #spinshotsports #lovespinshot

Before Using Your Pickleball Machine

Thank you for purchasing a Spinshot Pickleball machine. This manual contains important information concerning the proper use and care of your ball machine. Please read the owners manual completely before operating your machine.
Important Warnings
Do not reach or look into the ball exit hole without turning the main power off, and only after both wheels come to a complete stop.
Do not stand closer than 10 meters in front of the ball machine when the power is on.
Do not place balls or foreign objects into the ball hopper while the feeder tray is moving. It could cause jamming and damage the feeder motor.
Overloading of balls into the ball hopper may result in jamming of the feeder. No more than 85 balls should be put inside the ball hopper.
Do not use your machine while it is raining. Do not use wet Pickleballs.

Operating Your Pickleball Machine

SPINSHOT Player Tennis Ball Machine - Control Panel

Your Pickleball machine can be operated via the machine’s control panel, Drill Maker app, Spinshot Remote Watch (optional accessory), or Apple Watch.
Starting Your Machine
Machine Position On Court
The standard placement for the ball machine is either at the baseline or kitchen line at the opposite end of the court.
Pickleballs
Fill the ball hopper with up to 85 Pickleballs. Do not overfill the hopper.
Powering Up The Machine
Use the Power switch to turn on the machine.
The machine will perform an initialization sequence for about 10 seconds. During this time the machine will turn left and right and the service wheels will begin to spin. The current battery voltage will be displayed on the LCD screen. The machine will beep three times to signal it is ready.
After the initialization sequence, reposition the machine so it is centered. This will ensure balls are delivered the full width of the court when horizontal oscillation is used. Press Start to start the ball feed. After a few seconds the feeder tray will begin to rotate and the ball delivery will start. If the balls are being delivered too far to one side, turn the machine slightly to the opposite side.
Stopping the Ball Feed
To pause the ball feed using the control panel, press the Stop button. To pause the ball feed lusing the Remote Watch, long press (over two seconds) the button. The Remote Watch is an optional accessory. Not all machines are fitted with this feature.
Control Panel
Start Button
The START button will start the ball feed. Every time you switch the machine power on, and once the initialization is completed, you need to press the START button to start the machine. Your machine will not accept any setting changes until you have pressed the START button.
Stop Button
The STOP button will pause the ball feed. The main motors will continue to run until you power off the machine. You do not have to stop the machine to switch between drills.
To completely turn off the machine switch the Power to off.
Drill Buttons 1-12
After the machine is powered on and the initialization is completed, press the Start button before you select a drill.
Press buttons 1 – 12 to select the machine’s programmed drills.
You can use the factory set programmed drills, or customize your own drills using the Drill Maker App on your phone. Please refer to the Drill Maker App section for how to use the App.
Charger
To charge your machine plug the charger cable into the charging port and the other end into a power outlet.
Please read the Battery Charging section for full instructions on charging your machine.
Motor T and B Buttons
The motor T and B buttons will activate (pop out) if the machine detects a ball jammed inside the machine.
When activated, the button pops out approximately 6 mm. In the event the button is activated, turn off the power and push the button back in. Wait for the service wheels to stopped spinning and then check and remove any balls jammed inside the machine. Turn the power back on to resume normal operation.
Remote Watch
The remote watch is an optional accessory. The watch requires a CR2032 battery to be fitted.
Switch on the machine and then press the remote watch button to connect. The red light will blink while the watch is trying to connect to the machine.
The red light will go out once the machine is connected.
When the button is pressed the light will flash once to indicate the command has been sent.
If the red light starts blinking this indicates the signal has been lost and it is trying to reconnect.
If the machine is turned off the remote watch will go into sleep mode.
Remote Watch Functions
The remote watch can be used to start and stop the ball feed and switch between drills.
Starting or Stopping the Ball Feed
A long press (over two seconds) on the remote watch button will start and stop the ball feed.
Switching Between Drills
A short click of the remote watch button selects the drill number equivalent to the number of clicks. ie, 2 clicks = Drill #2, 12 clicks = Drill #12.
Battery Charging
To extend the life of your battery please follow these guidelines.

  • Charge the battery after each use.
  • Don’t leave your battery in a flat state for extended periods.
  • Don’t leave the battery plugged into the charger after it is fully charged.

Your battery will take 8 to 15 hours to fully charge. The LED on the charger pack will turn green when the battery is fully charged. If the LED stays red leave it charging.
A fully charged battery will provide approximately 2-3 hours of use. High ball speed and spin requires more power and therefore will drain the battery faster.
Internal Battery Model
Plug the battery charger into a electrical outlet and insert battery charger cable into the charger socket on the control panel.
Hybrid Power / External Battery Kit
Unplug the battery from the machine. Plug the battery charger into an electrical outlet and then connect the battery charger cable to the battery cable port (as pictured).

Additional Information

Installing or Replacing the Battery
If you need to install or replace your battery you can do so by opening the battery cage.
To access the battery cage please follow these steps:

  1. Remove wheel that covers the access panel to the battery cage.
  2. Unscrew the four screws of the access panel.
  3. Connect the battery to the terminals inside the battery cage – connect the red wire to the red terminal and the black wire to the black terminal
  4. Insert the battery into the battery cage.

Transporting and Storage
Remove all balls and close the ball hopper flaps before transporting your Pickleball machine. Store the machine in a clean, dry location.
Never store the machine in a vehicle where temperatures can be very high. Extreme temperatures and conditions can affect the machine’s electronic board and battery.
Never store the machine outside in extreme cold or wet weather. Exposure to rain and snow will shorten the life of the machine.
Static Electricity
It is possible that the action of the Pickleballs rubbing against the throwing wheels will cause a small static electric shock when you touch the control panel. Machines have been fitted with a small chain on the underside of the base to ground the machine and eliminate this issue.

Drill Maker App

SPINSHOT Player Tennis Ball Machine - Drill Maker App

SPINSHOT Player Tennis Ball Machine - Drill Maker App
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SPINSHOT Player Tennis Ball Machine - Drill Maker App
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SPINSHOT Player Tennis Ball Machine - Drill Maker App
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The Player can be controlled via the Drill Maker app on Android or iPhone.
App Download
Download the Drill Maker app from Google Play (android), or App Store (iPhone) and select Player model.
Using the Drill Maker App
Power on your machine. Using you phone’s WiFi settings, connect to the machine’s Wifi signal. Open the Drill Maker app.
Press the Start button on your machine’s control panel. Then press the Connect button on the Drill Maker app.
You can use the Drill Maker app to start and stop the ball feed, select a drill, edit a drill, rename a drill, play in manual mode or reset to factory settings.
At the bottom of the screen the selected drill, connection status and battery voltage are displayed.
If you lose WiFi connection check that you are still connected to the machines WiFi network in your phone settings. Press the Connect button to re-establish your connection.Power on machine and press Start on control panel before pressing Connect on app.
Machine connected and ready for Drill selection.
Drill 4 (Backhand Volley) selected. Press Start to begin ball feed.
Custom Drills
There are 12 drill presets. You can use the factory settings or customize each drill with your own preferred settings and drill name.
To select a drill press the Drill number and then press Start.
To edit a drill’s settings or name, long press on the drill number. This will open the drill edit screen where you can change the drill settings. Please read the Editing Custom Drills section for more details.
The factory drill settings are:

  1. Deep Serve to Backhand
  2. Deep Serve to Forehand
  3. Backspin Return to Backhand
  4. Backspin Return to Forehand
  5. Deep Forehand
  6. Deep Backhand
  7. 2 line wide
  8. 2 line narrow
  9. Overhead
  10. Random Dinking Slow
  11. Random Dinking Medium
  12. Kitchen Dinking

SPINSHOT Player Tennis Ball Machine - Drill Maker App
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SPINSHOT Player Tennis Ball Machine - Drill Maker App
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SPINSHOT Player Tennis Ball Machine - Drill Maker App
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SPINSHOT Player Tennis Ball Machine - Drill Maker App
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Editing Custom Drills
To edit a custom drill long press on the drill number you want to edit. The drill edit screen will open and the settings for the corresponding drill will be displayed.
The custom drills play six sequential shots which you can adjust the settings for horizontal placement, speed, spin, height and feed rate.
Horz
Set the ball’s horizontal placement from 1 to 20, 1 being a far left backhand and a 20 being a far right forehand. When you set Horz value to `R’, the machine will deliver balls in a random horizontal direction.
Spin Set a negative value to produce backspin or slice, or a positive value to create topspin. A setting of 0 will deliver a flat shot. Spin ranges from -9 (max backspin) to 9 (max topspin).
A high level of either topspin or backspin will slow the ball speed. To increase ball speed reduce the amount of spin on the ball.
Height
Set the ball height from the lowest position of 1 to the highest position of 50. If you set Height value to “R”, the machine will deliver balls at varying random heights and also random speed. The feed rate will be automatically set to 6 when using the random vertical setting.
Speed
Set the ball speed value from 1 to 20.
Feed
Feed rate ranges from 1 to 10. At the rate of 10 a ball will be fed at a rate of one ball per second.
Save
After selecting the desired values, press the Save button.
The machine will save the settings on the phone and also download the settings to the machine.
The machine will switch to the new saved settings directly after the user has pressed the Save button.
Restore Default Settings
To restore a custom drill back to it’s factory default settings, go to the drill edit screen and select Restore to default from the drop down menu (as pictured). Press Save.
Set New Default
To save a drill as the new default drill go to the drill edit screen and select Set as default from the drop down menu. Press Save.
Rename Drill
To rename a drill go to the drill edit screen and select Rename drill from the drop down menu. Press Save.
Manual Mode
The machine will deliver balls consistently to one spot when using manual mode.
Press the Manual Mode button to adjust the horizontal placement, spin, height, speed and feed rate.
To change the horizontal placement press Manual Mode and use the + and buttons to deliver balls to the forehand or left hand side.
To change the Spin, Height, Speed or Feed rate press the respective button then use the + and – buttons to adjust the settings.

Maintenance & Trouble Shooting

SPINSHOT Player Tennis Ball Machine - qr code 1

Maintenance and Cleaning
Shake off excess sand and dirt from the Pickleballs before putting them into the hopper. The build up of debris in the hopper can cause excess wear on the feeder motor which powers the spinning of the feeder tray. Use a vacuum cleaner to clean dirt, sand and debris from the inside of the machine and in and around the black feeder tray. Remove any balls that are inside the machine as these can become jammed against the service wheels and cause the machine to stop. To clean the exterior case, use a damp cloth. Do not use chemicals or abrasive cleansers. The use of compressed air for cleaning is not recommended.
Annual Maintenance
We recommend cleaning the ball throwing wheels every year or after 150 hours of use especially when the machine is not throwing the balls consistently. Clean the ball throwing wheels only when the machine is powered off. Firmly rub coarse sandpaper across the throwing wheels to remove the dirt and ink build-up. Sand the entire circumference of each wheel and use enough pressure to rough-up the rubber surface of the wheels.
Trouble Shooting
If at anytime the machine malfunctions, turn off the power to reset the machine’s control logic.
Low Battery
In many cases, the improper working of the machine is caused by a low battery. If the machine is not functioning as expected recharge your battery.
Balls are not being delivered / delivery wheels have stopped spinning
Pickleballs maybe jammed inside the machine. Check to see if the Motor T or B button on the control panel has been activated (popped out). Turn off the power and push the button back in. Wait for the service wheels to stop spinning and then check and remove any balls jammed inside the machine. Turn the power back on to resume normal operation.
Ball speed too slow
Ball Spin – A high level of either topspin or backspin will slow the ball speed. To increase ball speed reduce the amount of spin on the ball.
Build Up of Dirt and Ink on Service Wheels – Excess dirt and ink on the service wheels can cause slow and inconsistent ball throws. See the Maintenance and Cleaning section for more details.
Balls landing too far to left or right
Position the machine on the baseline at the far end of the court.
After the initialization sequence the machine will need to be realigned to be facing center.
Adjust the angle of the machine if is favoring one side more than the other. If there is a cross wind over the court you may have to face the machine towards the wind direction to allow for the wind affecting ball direction.
Making these small adjustments will allow the machine to deliver balls evenly across the court when the Oscillator function is in use.
Alarm Codes
A long beep will sound when an error is detected, and the alarm code will flash on the machine’s LCD screen. A full list of alarm codes is available on the website.
Scan the QR code below with your phone camera and follow the link to see a full list of Alarm codes, search for Spinshot Player Alarm Codes on the website.
https://spinshotsports.com/pages/spinshot-player-alarm-codes

Warranty

Warranty Policy
Spinshot Sports warrants that each new Spinshot ball machine purchased will be free from defects in material and workmanship for 2 years from the date of purchase. Batteries purchased directly from Spinshot Sports will have a 6 month warranty from the date of purchase.
Any part of the ball machine, which proves to be defective in material or workmanship within the 2 year warranty period will be repaired or replaced at Spinshot Sport’s option with a new or functionally operative part. This warranty is available to the original customer of the Spinshot Sports ball machine.
If a warranty repair is a simple part replacement, we will send you the new part and provide technical support for installation. We will not ask that you return the machine for simple repairs. We can provide phone and email support to help you replace the part. Any repairs on your machine that you undertake on our advice will not void the warranty.
If you would like us to install the part, or if the problem is more extensive, you will need to pay the shipping to return the item to us. We will cover repairs and return shipping.
This warranty does not cover the following conditions:

  1. Damage resulting from misuse, neglect, alteration, accidents, tampering, abuse, fire, war, insurrection, civil disorder, flood, acts of God or any other casualty;
  2. Failure of the Customer to properly follow operating instructions provided by Spinshot Sports at the time of delivery;
  3. Damage caused by use on circuits or voltages other than as indicated in the user manual. Spinshot customers can have peace of mind that Spinshot Sports stand behind their products.

FAQs

What causes the Motor T and B button to pop out?****

– A ball maybe jammed inside the machine and is blocking the normal operation of the service wheels. Do not use wet, or very soft Pickleballs as these will cause a ball jam.

My machine is battery powered. Can I upgrade it to mains power?****

– Yes, you can change the battery to a main’s power module. Search for Power and Battery options on the Spinshot website to buy this additional module.

Why does my machine always serve balls too far to the left or right?****

– Your machine needs to be repositioned to center on the baseline to serve balls evenly across the court. Adjust the angle of your machine to fix this problem.

After creating a new drill, will it be exactly the same next time I use the same drill?****

– Yes, every time you use the drill you will get a consistent result if you use the same batch of balls. Charge the battery after each use. A flat battery can make the ball machine less powerful and impact the consistency of balls delivered.

I see on the website that a watch remote is an option. Is that an optional extra for the player mo del?

– Yes, you can upgrade to the Remote Watch. Search for it on the Spinshot website.

How can I adjust the setting to slow down the ball shots when I apply random height settings?****

– When user set the Height level to R or 0, the machine will shoot balls in random height angle, and the ball speed is not controllable by the user. The only way user can adjust the ball speed is by adjusting the ball SPIN. The higher spin level will make ball slower.

In Manual mode, can I adjust the horizontal direction?****

– Yes. After you press the Manual Mode button on the Drill Maker app, select the + or – button to adjust the horizontal direction of the machine.

Why does the machine move on the court in use?****

– This could happen on some slippery courts when the external battery option or AC power is used. When the battery is taken out of the machine, the machine may be too light to be stable. It could move a little bit due to recoil when the machine shoots out the balls. To keep it stable, we suggest hanging the battery bag or other weight on towing handle to increase the machine weight.

What are the pre-programmed drills for the machine?****

– The Spinshot Pickleball machine comes with all 12 drills programmed in the factory. The setting values are similar to the default values shown in the phone remote app.
– We do not publish the detailed setting values for default drills, as it is strongly suggested that the user edit the drill settings and download them to the ball machines to try out, and then create their own drills. This is most the important feature that the player machine has. Once a favorite drill is created, you can save it on the machine using the Drill Maker app for future use.

Is there any resource that explains the drill programming?****

– Yes, you can find some good video resources on YouTube explaining the programming of the drills. Please visit the Product Support – Videos section of our website for links to these videos.

Can two phones set up different drills to be used on the same machine?****

– Yes, you can edit and save your favorite drills on your phones via the Drill Maker app and download them to the machine when you connect to it. Every phone can have a different set of drills and these will download to the machine when they connect.
– The machine will save the downloaded drill data to its memory and deliver the balls accordingly. To download each drill, connect to the machine and open up the drill settings and press save.

The Spinshot Network
Spinshot is a global business bringing affordable and high quality ball machines to customers across the world.
It is our goal to provide the best equipment to players of all abilities.
Improve your game at any time without the limitation of training partners or coaches.
Spinshot aims to produce the highest quality ball machines and uses cutting edge technology to bring your game to the next level.
Our Global Network of Distributors USA: www.spinshotsports.com UK: www.spinshot.co.uk
Australia: www.spinshot-sports.com Germany: www.tennisman.de Netherlands: www.spinshot.nl
China: www.tennis-equipment.cn New Zealand: www.spinshotsports.co.nz
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References

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