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01-28-2015 04:39 PM #1salblzGuest
My budget DIY OptiShot simulator barn project
This is my first post here, but I've done a lot of research on setting up an sim using OptiShot and most of my sources came from this forum. I just wanted show some appreciation for this forum share my project with everybody.
A little background: I've got a 26x30 barn that I cleared a dedicated space for. I decided to go with the OptiShot based on reviews and budget. I wanted to complete this entire project for under $1200. It helped that I already had an older projector and computer.
My first step was to build out the impact screen. Since I did this on a budget, I didn't want to invest in dedicated impact screen material. My DIY screen consists of some insulation, a heavy moving pad with bungees covered by a heavy canvas cloth and then finally some white muslin. I decided against using real balls because of the material and the setup. I planned on using "Almost Golf" balls instead. They feel great and do the job just fine. Total cost less than $150.
This is a 10+ year old projector that I had laying around and figured it'd do the job for now until the bulb burns out. I mounted it using some plywood and eye hooks for less than $20.
First time firing it up!
To make it look better and possibly catch some errant shots, I bought about $60 of fabric from JoAnns to make some curtains.
I researched buying a pre-made stance platform but the prices were more than I was willing to spend so I decided to build my own. It's 5'x9'x, made out of 2x2's and OSB. I purchased some putting turf on eBay to cover it. I haven't yet built the putting extension, but that should be done soon. Total cost of the stance platform: < $150
Based on reviews, I ordered the jagmanjoe mat for the optishot.
After laying down the OSB and turf, it's was time to install the OptiShot and jagmanjoe mat. Like a glove!
The unfinished walls were bugging me, so I had some fabric left over from another project and decide to use that. I put some heavy plastic sheathing behind it to help retain some heat on the cold winter nights.
I installed some $30 track lighting I purchased from Home Depot that mounts directly over the OptiShot unit to help increase accuracy. I don't have proper flood lights installed yet, but I'm still testing out some different lighting and bulb types.
Here's what the back of the area looks like. I had some furniture taking up space so I decided to put it to good use. I also threw up some tarps to partition off the other side of the barn for now.
Here's a video of the OptiShot in action.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxNb7yzRbcI
I've still got some final touches to complete, but I'm pretty happy with the result and I'm under budget! Thanks for reading my post. If anybody has any suggestions or questions, I'll be happy to respond!
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01-28-2015 06:26 PM #2
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01-28-2015 10:53 PM #3
- Join Date
- Nov 2013
- Location
- Calgary
- Posts
- 323
That all came together very nicely. Great post!
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01-29-2015 11:06 AM #4
- Join Date
- Jul 2013
- Location
- Hamilton
- Posts
- 122
Hey Salblz!
Very nice job and nice post.
I'm almost done my sim build and was toying with how to show off the work, etc. in a similar post. Did you just start writing and add in the pictures as you went?
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01-29-2015 11:32 AM #5
- Join Date
- Dec 2012
- Location
- San Diego, CA
- Posts
- 86
Very nice job! My set-up in the garage is very similar to yours. Don't worry about the lighting too much. I actually turn off all the garage lights, and use the reflection from the projection screen. That way, I don't have to worry about errant light affecting the IR receptors of the simulator.
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01-29-2015 05:48 PM #6
- Join Date
- Oct 2011
- Location
- PA
- Posts
- 100
hands down the best thing I did was get rid of all the cfl bulbs, flood bulbs etc and added two overhead LED shoplights. They work great and the Optishot sensor agrees!
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01-29-2015 08:57 PM #7
I agree completely with madspeed. i also swapped out the cfls for leds. Excellent results!
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01-30-2015 10:48 AM #8
Excellent job! I too am just about to start my build, will post details in another thread.
If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.
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01-30-2015 10:50 AM #9
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01-30-2015 11:06 AM #10
- Join Date
- Oct 2011
- Location
- PA
- Posts
- 100
Here's a few more shots showing my lighting setup...
Carpet was just set in place last evening, letting it settle before tacking it down, that's why it has an unfinished edge here
I picked up these LED shoplights at Lowes on sale for about $40 each. By far the best purchase I've made, as the sensors seem to really like them. As you can see, I have two sensor pads, one for lefties and one for righties, and one light is mounted directly above each pad. No shadowing, and the projector has no problem sending the image through the light output and onto the screen which is 18 or so feet from the projector.
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01-30-2015 11:08 AM #11
- Join Date
- Oct 2011
- Location
- PA
- Posts
- 100
Here's a shot of my setup from behind. This is with just the LED lights and projector on, no other lighting in the room. As you can see, image quality is excellent and light output is fantastic!
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01-30-2015 11:20 AM #12
wow looks awesome and seems very bright. Can you tell me what the brightness or watts value of your shop lights? And the lumens of your projector - not sure mine will be bright enough. thx.
If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.
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01-30-2015 11:26 AM #13
- Join Date
- Oct 2011
- Location
- PA
- Posts
- 100
The LED shoplights are listed as 3800 lumens each. My projector is an Epson Powerlite Home Cinema 730HD which is rated at 3000 lumens
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02-18-2016 03:58 PM #14
- Join Date
- Feb 2016
- Location
- new jersey
- Posts
- 2
sorry for bringing up an old thread but what type of material did you buy for the hitting platform, and do you recommend it? also do you have a link? and what type of curtains for the sides did you use
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02-19-2016 11:02 AM #15
- Join Date
- Dec 2012
- Location
- San Diego, CA
- Posts
- 86
Very nice job ! Better than my garage Optishot set-up. I did mine for about the same price. It's amazing that we can have a great golf simulator for $1200. I love going to mine during lousy weather, and "escaping" to exotic golf courses for a while. Well worth the investment !
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02-19-2016 08:35 PM #16
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02-21-2016 11:26 AM #17
- Join Date
- Dec 2012
- Location
- San Diego, CA
- Posts
- 86
Yes, believe it or not ! Sometimes the temperature gets out of the 70's. We call that "inclement", and retreat to our simulators.... (snicker)
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03-09-2016 08:40 PM #18
- Join Date
- Mar 2016
- Location
- Canyon Lake, Ca.
- Posts
- 13
Salblz, nice set up. Can you tell us anything about how the Muslin is holding up? Are you using Real Balls or Almost Golf Balls. Going to be doing a setup soon and wondered about the Muslin. Anyone else have any experience with Muslin?
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03-20-2016 11:10 AM #19
I'm using muslin for my screen with doubled-up painters cloth behind it. Perfect for almost balls but would not expect it to last very long with real balls.
optishot-muslin.jpgIf at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.
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03-20-2016 11:47 AM #20
- Join Date
- Mar 2016
- Location
- Canyon Lake, Ca.
- Posts
- 13
Thanks, I considered going with Muslin but I think I will bite the bullet and go with some type of "real ball" impact screen. I believe I will be purchasing a SkyTrac unit or possibly a ProTee unit. From what I understand you MUST use real balls to get the accuracy. Just trying to decide which of these units will be best. Both now have the TGC software for simulation play.
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