Site Products
Ask The Experts: Larry Thoman No. 375

Ask The Experts: Larry Thoman No. 341

Posted on

Butterfly Table Tennis Question and Answer

Question:

What do the different colors mean on the control panel LEDs for the 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:

The Ball LEDs are the LEDs above the buttons marked 1–8. #1 and #2 have a S appended after the number. That S means those two buttons can be designated as serves, which to the robot simply means a brief pause is added before that ball is thrown, much like you would experience in a real game where you are waiting for your opponent to begin the serve. A normal ball is indicated by a lit orange LED. A serve is indicated by a lit green LED. Ball 1 LED and Ball 2 LED can both be either orange or green. You change it by repeatedly pressing the associated button for that ball.

 

If you have a single ball drill and that ball is programmed as Ball 1, and Ball 1 LED is green, you are telling the robot to insert a pause before every shot it delivers. Press the Ball 1 button repeatedly until that LED turns orange and then the ball feed will use the setting of the Ball/min knob.

 

Here’s an example—let’s say you have 3 balls programmed. Ball 1 LED is green and Ball 2 and Ball 3 LEDs are orange. Ball/min is set to 60 (1 second interval between ball throws). This is telling the robot:

 

Pause for a few seconds

Throw Ball 1

Wait 1 sec.

Throw Ball 2

Wait 1 sec.

Throw Ball 3

Pause for a few seconds

Throw Ball 1

Wait 1 sec.

Throw Ball 2

Wait 1 sec.

Throw Ball 3

Repeat

 

If Ball 1 was orange (instead of green), then the sequence is:

 

Throw Ball 1

Wait 1 sec.

Throw Ball 2

Wait 1 sec.

Throw Ball 3

Wait 1 sec.

Throw Ball 1

Repeat

 

If you only have Ball 1 programmed, and you have it designated a serve (green light), then the sequence is:

 

Pause for a few seconds

Throw Ball 1

Pause for a few seconds

Throw Ball 1

Repeat

Latest News

Butterfly Players Hold Both World No. 1 Spots

November 7, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins) Butterfly has signed Wang Manyu of China, and the timing couldn't be better. Butterfly players… Read More

WAB CLUB FEATURE: Central Florida Table Tennis Club

November 6, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins) Located on South Orange Blossom Trail, just south of downtown Orlando, Central Florida Table Tennis… Read More

3 Germans and 3 Japanese reach Quarters in Frankfurt

November 6, 2026
(by Steve Hopkins, photo ITTFWorld) The top two seeds avoided early upsets as both Matsushima and Harimoto reach… Read More

Yu Di – Forehand Loop Timing

November 5, 2026
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Yu Di is demonstrating exact dynamics of the timing of… Read More

Shashin Shodhan Amicus Training Series – Forehand Flip

November 3, 2026
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Amicus Training Series, Shashin Shodhan In this Amicus Training Series, Shashin Shodhan is… Read More

Sunny Zhang Pan American Senior Table Tennis Championships

November 2, 2026
(by Coach Raymond (Zhaowei) Zhang) Seventeen-year-old Sunny Zhang of Three10 TTC represented Canada at the Pan American Senior… Read More

Jerky Strokes and Jerkyitis: World’s Most Rampant Table Tennis Disease

November 2, 2026
(By Larry Hodges, Member of US Table Tennis Hall of Fame) Many players have jerky strokes that make… Read More

Rachid El Bou Bou – Wide Angle Push

November 2, 2026
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Rachid El Bou Bou is executing the Wide Angle Push… Read More
View All News

Get the latest from Butterfly

Stay “In The Loop” with Butterfly professional table tennis equipment, table tennis news, table tennis technology, tournament results, and We Are Butterfly players, coaches, clubs and more.