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Ask The Experts: Larry Thoman No. 375

Ask The Experts: Larry Thoman No. 314

Ask The Experts: Larry Thoman No. 314 Butterfly Table Tennis Question and Answer Question: 1 What is the difference between Amicus Prime Refurbished Robot Grade A and Amicus Prime Refurbished Robot Grade B? 2.What is the difference between Amicus Prime Robot and Amicus Professional Robot? Answer: 
Larry Thoman
Larry Thoman
This Ask the Experts question was answered by Larry Thoman. He is a Table Tennis Robot Guru. Larry’s response is below:
Michael,
 
A Grade A Refurbished Robot is one that was returned by a customer soon after receiving it. The robot was damaged in transit or had a defect that prevented the customer from using it. The Grade B Refurbished is one that was used by the customer for a while before it was returned (typically less than 30 days).
 
All refurbished robots are inspected, anything wrong is fixed, and then they are fully tested to verify they are functioning as they should. They are then re-boxed and come with the same 2-year warranty and 30-day money back guarantee as a new robot.
 
The difference between a Prime and a Professional is mainly the interface. The Professional comes with a Control Panel with buttons, knobs, and indicator lights. The Prime comes with an Android tablet with the Amicus app reinstalled on it. The software interface of the Prime has several advantages over the hardware based interface of the Professional:
 
 
·         Software can easily be updated to fix bugs and add features.
·         Show video clip of drill.
·         Name drills anything you want for easier recollection instead of being limited only to a number.
·         More customized settings. For instance, with Professional, Cycle is restricted to 20/10, 40/20, 60/30 or 80/40 play/pause periods. The Prime has those settings as quick set options, but you may also customize them to any amount between 10 and 120 seconds for play periods and 5 to 60 seconds for the pause period. You may also set the play period by number of ball thrown instead of elapsed time.
·         Rearrange drills in any order you desire instead of being forced into a strictly numerical order as on the Pro.
·         Email technical support direct from the tablet.
·         What is called Cluster Mode on the Professional is much more elegantly implemented and much easier to understand on the Prime, where it is now called Sequence Mode.
·         Provide visual diagrams of each drill, making it easier to visualize exactly where the balls will land and what spin type, spin amount, speed, trajectory, and position each ball will have. Top view and side view diagrams change in accordance with each ball as it is added to the drill.
·         More easily make changes to existing drills as you can re-order, delete, and duplicate the existing balls in an easier manner.
·         Use the search function to quickly locate a drill. Especially handy when a large number of drills are saved.
·         Share drills with, or send messages to, your Facebook friends direct from the tablet.
·         Prime includes a Mirror Switch to allow drills to run correctly for either right or left handed players; or alternatively, to instantly produce a new variation of an existing drill.
·         Drills can have more balls (10) per drill than the Professional (8).
·         More drills can be saved with Prime. Number of drills is only limited by amount of storage on the tablet. And that storage limit can be increased by adding a SD or TF Card. Professional is limited to 99 drills.
·         Prime has a more complete and better written Owner’s Manual in English (written by native English speaker) than Professional (translated from Hungarian).
·         Drill can start with one of 3 different serves with the Prime rather than one of 2 different serves with Professional.
·         Wireless (Bluetooth) connectivity between controller and robot for neater appearance and more flexibility. Professional uses a thick, heavy cable to connect controller and robot.
·         Onscreen Calibration process that takes you step by step through Calibration.
There are other differences as well as can be seen in the Robot Comparison Chart.
 
Thanks.
 
Larry 

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