skiboyny

@DkLkSkr I struggled with the same all summer. As responsive as the folks at perfect pass can be they aren't much help with the background settings. I was most successful with methods that @DanE gave me. Look for his posts. Long story short start by getting two ball right by adjusting the one ball setting. Three ball setting is where most of the runaway occurs. That number usually has to be lowered quite a bit. Look to four ball time to verify that's right. Unfortunately this has to be done with a skier running passes. It take some trial and error. Everyone's final solution is all over the place so it's hard to give you a better starting point for your boat. I hope this helps...

@greghind I believe that what is coming out is a GPS for the 3 event. It probably will be a mode I wouldn't think they would re-write the whole system. Like the simple slalom there will be no baselines. I was going to add z-box but skiing is about over here. I thought it best to wait till the software is updated.

@GregHind I've been in contact with Perfect pass throughout the summer. I was told that they are working on GPS only version. It's in testing now to be released latter this year. Hopefully good news?! How does the simple Slalom feel as compared to the current 3 event?

@tallskinnyguy I don't think that version you speak of is out yet. It's due out this year though....

Have been struggling with the same problems on 2 boats all summer! We have made some improvements but still it's a moving target! I've adjusted background settings endlessly but it's very hard to intelligently adjust something that is different every time. End times are always spot on. Spent my summer adjusting speed control instead of skiing!

Thanks everyone for weighing in. I think I'm going to have a tough time getting off the old A-1!

Hey everyone, been skiing a HO A-1 and really like it, but have always wondered about the A-3 I know it's quite a bit different from the A-1 design wise. For those that have skied both comparisons?

@tdub you can add and subtract RPM and the baselines stay the same.

@tdub section 2 page 3 on the bottom. "once calibrated, the calibration settings are transferred automatically to the other modes" This is referring to the Cal Baseline mode. It's possible it doesn't work in the other direction. I'd at least write them down if you have good Cal numbers just to be on the safe side.

Hi Tom, Great questions. Try this link. The software remains the same. Highlight the time box on the bottom with the menu key, press the down arrow, should bring up all ball times. I believe that changing the rpm value will change it throughout the system. Not positive on that one. Still trying to find out how to get better ballance on Stargazer myself. Haven't really gotten there yet. Not quite ready to give up! http://www.perfectpass.com/sites/all/themes/perfectpass%20-%20Copy/images/digitalpro65mechanical.pdf

@alex38 If you also set up baselines without a crew weight, lowering your base line by 50 would explain why it's working better. The missing crew out skiing. See my above post.....

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@Ed_Obermier the new software is very different the pre-gate setting is gone. The current literature is very different then you version. Seems like it would have been easier to work out with the version you have. @DanE will give that a try. They also said in the literature that it didn't really matter if the crew weight was at zero. They did say if you were a high line skier (and I'm not!) to add crew weight. I was thinking totally wrong about the background settings and your right based on the all buoy charts ball 1 is time to buoy 2 ball 3 time to buoy 4. Understanding how something works is the only way to fix it. The way I did baselines with a crew of 0 crew weight is wrong, because when one person goes out to ski, the crew weight has essentially dropped requiring less RPM! The light bulb just went off. I have to say on the whole this system is not very intuitive! Thanks everyone for your help. I will put these ideas to work and report back.

@DanE I set the baselines with zero in the crew weight. Same people in the boat as there were when we ran cal mode. Lowering the crew weight would decrese the rpm I would think. Does that mean lowering the baseline will slow the ball one time? Thanks for clearing up the ball one background setting. I did take it to mean a movement in that setting would alter the ball one speed. That's how the description in the book reads. They say to go down about 5 to slow. Yet the factory setting is 8. Not much room to adjust for a slow ball.@alex38 how many rpm did you lower by? Did that affect the ball 1 times?

Finally got a chance to try the suggestions over this weekend on both boats (carburated, and efi). Engaging the system once the boat is straight on get's a good speed at the 55s. The one ball times on both boats was pretty consistently fast.(between .02 and .04) Still a bit of a rodeo ride it seems at times. I have to believe if the one ball time is off, it starts a chain event with the rest that isn't pleasant to ski behind. We did try to lower the background setting from factory setting 8 to 3 and it really had no affect. Is possible that @Ed_Obermeier methods would work even with the newest software update? This has been a tough summer for us to try and get good water. Spending lots of time thinking about speed controls instead of skiing. Not good! I still believe this system can work.

@rockdog It is a floating course. We can move the island side out, the other side is actually pined on shore. The water depth on that side is 60ft deep. It was a valley that was flooded to make the lake years ago. Trees and stuff still down there. If you drop an anchor you probably aren't getting it back. @GregHind I'll see how trying to engage when straight works then explore the z-box route.

Greg I can't ski around the island it's very shallow. No z-box. I am hesitant to invest in it if I can't get stargazer to work proper. I'm going to try to get the skier up and keep it under the set point until after the turn. I'm running decent ball times all considered. By the time the boat reaches the gate it's pretty close to right even with the speed up in the turn. Makes the pull out inconsistent though.Never had a zero off boat on that site. Would it offer the same challenges?

Hey Greg here is a google earth shot of the site. The shots were taken in late fall, so I photoshoped the course and boat path in. Just so you have an idea. If the wind ever stops blowing here I'll give some of the ideas a try.

Greg, it is 8.05 there isn't an island on the other side and we usually drop. Still a slight change in directions though. Aaron from Perfect Pass recommended the same thing not to engage until the boat is straight. We will add a buoy on the one end to give us as much straight running room as possible. I'm sure the system will run great ball times once we get our driving method modified. Just never had to worry with the Classic. Still believe this is worth the bother. I'll keep you posted.

Hi Greg, mostly use 32/34 there are a few that ski slower. Were not really turning all the way. The boat starts straight alongside an island, turns in around the front then straightens out before the pre-gates. Probably have 140 ft of straight run before the pregates once the boat is re-straightened. The software is the most recent version. One of the units is a week old. The buoy marker is a good idea, it was suggested by one of the guys that last time out, and will put it to work just to give us as much running room as possible. I'll see if google earth shows an aerial view.

Jack kinne no z box as yet. Hoping to get stargazer settled in first. I did several tests with the throttle return today and it seems to work smoothly as intended.

Ed I've read all your posts with great interest. Over throttling at pull up was one of the main things both of us have worked on. My boat is a throttle body EFI and the return spring passes the visual test, I have wondered about it as it is approaching 20 years old. I wouldn't mind replacing it just to be sure. Not sure where you might get one. It's not like the spring on a carburetor engine. Pretty beefy coil type. I've tried a variety of driving methods and haven't fallen on to anything that I can reproduce.

My ski partner and I recently purchased Stargazer for our boats (within the month) and are having the same problem. (both boats) We have a slight turn in to get to our course on each end. When the boats bank, stargazer brings the speed up. It doesn't seem to settle all the way by the pre-gates. Relative to most sites, there seems plenty of time. At the gates when the timing goes off it seems to drop down a bit and result in a slow 1 ball. I just wrote a note to perfect pass tech support hoping that there is something I can do. Times are always bang on, but sometimes it's not so great how it gets there. Love the ease of operation once it's set up just hoping there is an answer. Any ideas on how to drive it differently would be welcome.

Shoot for 40-40-20 (protein, carbs, fat) you can loose weight while skiing. Use fit-day or something like it to log your food. You would be surprised how far off the mark your diet really is. Go to any online site and see what your maintenance caloric intake should be for your height, activity range, and age at 185 lbs. your target weight. When you get your macros adjusted (40-40-20) your body will change. Do it at least 6 days a week with one cheat day a week. (don't go crazy!) Skiing hard is great exercise.

I was stuck more seasons than I care to admit at 15 and 22 off. I could run 28 off hit and miss for the last 3 seasons but I more less hacked through it and it never felt like a pass that I owned. For me the breakthrough was a combination of several things. Getting wide on the boat which many have mentioned. Not losing that width. At 28 off I basically let the boat pull me through the gates, (very progressively) holding good body position, giving one quick tug right in the middle of the wake. Less seemed to be more for me. At the turn I had to really concentrate on extending for a long time and letting the ski rotate around me, regardless where I was at the ball. This gave me a tight line with no slack. Your video shows you bringing the handle in before the ski has turned rather than skiing around to it. After going around 1 with a nice tight line it was really business as usual. I never missed 28 off this season and using these methods ran a full 32 off on my second try ever!(at a reduced speed) I am absolutely thrilled with my progress this season. I only ever tried 32 off about a half dozen tries first time this year and ran it twice. I'm sure If I can start off close to where I left off I'll be able to bring 32 up to speed next year. A coach I had years ago told me "one day it will just click" It took about 10 years for that to happen! I'm glad it finally did. Hope this might help you...