but not spend $ 800. The pocket radar coach edition is $ 300. Is it worth it? Not looking to do anything other than put a radar on my son pitching and exit velocity on batting.
Are these radars sold used, or too much of a risk?
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I purchased the pocket radar ball coach last spring. Highly recommend!!!!! The older version received some poor reviews because you had to push the button before every pitch. Now you just select the appropriate mode and it will register every pitch without any additional work. I have checked with scouts in the stands and it has always been spot on. The only drawback, which was not a problem for me, is that you need to be behind home plate for best angle to provide accurate pitch speed. The greater the angle, the less accurate it becomes. This is why coaches, scouts, etc. prefer radar guns like Stalker 2 because they can make an adjustment based on angle to get an accurate reading even when not behind home plate.
I would just get to my son's games a little early and setup behind home plate. I purchased the pocket radar on Amazon because they had a package deal which included a tripod, tripod mount for device, batteries, and battery charger for same price as pocket radar on their website.
Here is a link to the package deal on amazon.
Check ebay. Lots of used ones on there.
I got pocket radar coach to measure exit velo off the tee. What we measured during practice was what he got in the showcase, so seems to be accurate.
Wow, my son would have killed me if I had shown up at his game with a gun of any kind.....lol.
I did get to play with the original pocket radar a few years ago at a show. My son was throwing in a cage with no warmups...but it seemed like it had to be pretty close. If guys here have used it sitting around scouts and it's close, I think you'll be ok with it. 1 or 2 MPH off isn't that big of a deal for velo or exit velo.
Really like the pocket radar; I'll occasionally bench mark it against a pro's radar gun. I'm normally close to his mph and if I'm directly behind the plate I'm patching up to his mph. Easy to carry around and get mph incognitio ...
I also got the package deal referenced above... and I'd stick to a new one.
Buy a Stalker, its worth it.
I have a pocket radar and a stalker sport. When you are directly behind and 40-50 feet away, they are dead on the same 95% of the time. Once you get ANY angle, even as little as 5 degrees, the pocket radar fails. The Stalker has been fantastic, I love that it allows you to account for angles
I agree with the others. I have a stalker and a pocket radar. Pocket radar is very convenient and accurate--if you're looking at it just for training at home, it's sufficient. But, if you want to be sure you're getting good readings, especially in a game situation, go with the Stalker. You'll rest assured that you're getting readings similar to what scouts would get.