Someone asked a question in regards to 'Our experience with the Proton' but I just can't find the question anymore. If you are the one seeking this feedback, I hope you can find the answer. Here it goes: Overall the Proton is a very good portable tennis ball machine. We didn't have major problems with the machine in all this time of using it. Here are the key features that make this machine unique: 1. Custom Drills. It is very easy to program custom drills using your Smart Phone. 2. Light to carry around. 3. It has a very good natural ball feel. It feels more like a sparing partner. 4. The included drills are very good as well. 5. Once, a ball got stuck in the mouth of the machine. We sent it back for repairs and they replaced most of the parts. We had extended warranty BUT this repair went under an additional Service/Repair deal that they had at the time. Take a look at their website and see if that deal is still valid. Overall, this machine has been one of the best investments we've made in our tennis training. We use it as an additional practice technique to our professional tennis lessons.
I own a Proton as well as my buddy. Do not leave the shoulder strap attached like in this video. Take it off completely. It can get hung up under the back wheels and jam the machine causing it to shut down. Just a suggestion to everyone.
In terms of operating the machine, you can use the control panel located at the back of the machine. But this doesn't give you remote control option which as far as I know is only through a smart phone or apple watch.
Awesome! We hope you enjoy your Proton at least as much as we are enjoying it!!! I have pants with pockets for phone :) But if you don't, I keep something like a cooler or a chair if you have by the fence at the back of the court so it is handy when you need it. Try different things and see what works best for you. Good Luck!!!!!!
The noise level is very low for the Proton. From the other side of the court we can hear it when it starts up, other than that it has a very soft sound. I guess you can also tell from watching the video - the noise you hear is exactly how it sounds on court. To us, it is less noisy than other ball machines.
How do you like Proton compared to some other machines you have used? I own a SpinFire and I want something that can give me custom drills with backspin/topspin like the Proton does. Any issues since purchasing your Proton? Did you get the extra one year warranty? Regarding the strap to carry it, I am thinking you can just buy something on wheels like a small shopping cart then you do not have to waste time removing and placing straps back on. I imagine one day the strap might break and then your machine will fall. There are two ball machines from what I can see that can do variable spin, your Proton and something called Titan Ace. But the Titan app is not as good as the Proton and the reviews on it are minimal as it just came out this year I think.
We own only two tennis ball machines: the Proton and the SpinFire. We actually tried the Silent Partner but it was too heavy to lift or handle up and down from the car. These 2 machines are both good but in different ways. The Proton is light and easy to move. It has the phone app which is awesome and yes, the custom drills are priceless. Even the feel of the ball is more human like not at tough or spiny as the Spin Fire. We like the Spin Fire for its robustness. Other than that, we haven't tried other ball machines so I can't speak to that. In terms of problems with Proton: - the side to side or random mechanism is not as robust as the SpinFire. It has something like a drift. It depends on your acceptance level. - we had only one problem when one of the balls got stuck in, because one the players sent it with power on target and it got stuck inside the machine. We were not able to remove the ball and we sent it for repair to Hydrogen. We were very lucky at that time they had something like a "service plan" I can't remember for sure but it was not expensive only 150 USD and shipping included. They replaced a lot of parts and when we got the Proton back - it was like a new machine. They also fixed many things so it is a new Proton version for $150 - basically for free. - we did purchase the warranty, but that would cover the cost if something breaks. The case when the player returns the ball and it gets stuck in the mouth of the machine, that wouldn't have been covered. - I could say that the main problem is the drift from side to side movement - but we've adapted to it and don't expect much precision on that level. They've fixed a few things but because of the way the Proton moves on horizontal it drifts a bit and you will have to reposition the machine from time to time. When we want to have a more precise lateral movement we use the SpinFire. I think that this is basically it. Hope this helps! Any more questions, we are happy to help if we can. Good Luck!
And one more thing. Yes, if you can find a way like a shopping cart or a bigger travel bag on wheels that would make it even easier to carry it around. If you have to walk from the parking to the tennis court and you carry other gear as well, definitely it makes it easier to find something on wheels.
@@TrainLikeAProDaily Thanks for replying. I was looking for a machine to help me further improve and I feel like spinfire is no longer helping me. I need something that can replicate as you mention more variety in the drills. For example, forehand cross court with backspin, then topspin then backhand cross with slice. I can customize the drills this way to help me practice different strokes whereas with my Spinfire, its either you practice topspin, flat or slice but I do not want to hit an entire basket of balls knowing in advance the spin type coming to me. For the lateral shots from Proton, is the delay low enough that you feel pressure to get to each ball. For example, how does it compare to spinfire wide feed? I am well familiar with spinfire as ive owned it for 2 years now.
I don't know on top of my head because I didn't try different ball feeding delays side by side. But, this is a very good question. One of these days I'll take both machines on court and see how they compare as far the timing on the lateral movement drills. Sometime next week I'll get back to you with the results. I am very curious as well.
I just looked up the delay on the Proton. Min is 2 sec and Max is 20 seconds. I've just added 3 pictures showing the min and max settings for Custom Drills: www.youtube.com/@TrainLikeAProDaily/community
Hi there! I have just looked up the Hydrogen website and the price right now is $ 1695 USD. We bought the machine early when the Proton was introduced on the market.
Yes, it can throw a backspin. The Proton has a Max Spin feature of 3000 RPM. For backspin just set a negative value up to 3000. For example set a - 500 for a backspin 500 RPM.
@@TrainLikeAProDaily Thank you. I saw that there is an accessory for lobs. Is it included and the extra battery in the package for the total price of USD1,695? Also, Is the app available in android?
@@darwingamara1806 Actually let me add this to my comment. At the time when we bought the Proton there was nothing like an accessory included in the price. You might need to check with their website and see if anything has changed. Good luck!
The minimum speed is 37mph or 60 kph. Now, is this good for a beginner? Yes! The balls have a softer feel than any other ball machine we've experienced so far. My understanding is that it can't get higher than 70mph - but there is a lot to add to this if you also add the spin variables. Now, keep in mind that on the minimal speed the ball won't clear the net. So you would have to work out what works for you best as a softer feel and still clearing the net. I hope this helps.
@@tajm5006 The best balls are Wilson Triniti. Dunlop Grand Prix are also good. Otherwise you can go with Ball Machine Manufacturers such as SpinFire, Slinger, etc - but those balls tend to be expensive. Your safest bet is to go with Wilson Trinity as they last forever.
Short answer: It depends. Long answer: Pros: Less expensive than other portable tennis ball machines. It has a soft feel which feels more like playing with tennis sparring partner You can use the smart phone to control it You can create your own custom drills The machine is light and it is very easy to carry it around Cons: It drifts quite a lot; you have to adjust it after each load Cleaning is not easy The balls in the hopper don't always fall into the carousel - you may have to stop the machine, and manually adjust the balls Overall, this is not a bad machine for the price and the features it offers. The overall experience of the machine is positive. I've seen others with the Proton and they were extremely happy with it. To a beginner the shots are very friendly - more like playing with a sparring partner. Others deliver powerful shots which can be intimidating to a beginner. Our first ball machine was the Spinfire. While we continue to like that ball machine, we prefer the Proton for a light training day or for the days when we create custom drills which the Spinfire doesn't provide. We hope this helps you decide which ball machine is best for you. Best of luck!
@@TrainLikeAProDaily thanks so much for your reviews. now i don't know if it's worth to swap my lobster G5LE for the proton. the bluetooth disconnection + the drifting would drive me insane. i've had my lobster for 8 yrs, and the wifi remote controller was useless from the start so i used the rf controller. regrettably after 2 tune ups by the company, the programming board no longer works. but it's got enuf juice for 75-80 mph shots and it works for certain advanced drills in manual mode.
@@nellatech4523 Yes - this decision is always tricky. We wanted the Proton from the start but it wasn't available and we wanted to start training right away. So, we bought the Spinfire hoping we won't need the Proton anymore. Once the Proton was available, we were so drawn to it, as it is much lighter and the custom drills were a must have for us. If we would've known about the problems with drifting and other smaller issues (like the balls don't always get into the feeder - you would have to stop, rearrange balls in carousel, start again) I am not sure we would've considered it right now. It is new technology and hopefully the future models would solve these issues which definitely can be very annoying. If you can still use the Lobster it might be wiser to wait and see if these problems are solved. In case someone from Hydrogen addresses these problems we will definitely add their solution or recommendations to this thread.
@@TrainLikeAProDaily sorry, i misunderstood the "some balls are not feeding into the machine" issue. i thought there was some jamming of the balls in the carousel, which appears not to be the case. all portable balls machines have the issue where some balls remain in the feeder, some more pronounced than others. with the G5LE, 3 or 4 balls stay in the hopper because of insufficient angle for the balls to roll down, plus some friction with the surface of the hopper. frequently, one ball ends up sitting on the center pylon of the G5LE carousel because it's got hole that is wide enough to balance the ball on it! the ability for balls to roll into the feeder depends on the trajectory incline of the machine determined by the elevation post. in any event, this is not a deal breaker. even the drifting might be reduced by using a rubber or neoprene sheet under the elevation post. but the line of sight/disconnection of the BT remote is a big NO for me.
This video is over-produced. There's no need for dramatic music. I can see if you're jumping off a cliff wearing a wing suit but not needed for demoing a tennis ball machine. 😝
Thank you for your feedback. I guess it is a matter of perspective. For us, being able to own and train with a tennis ball machine is exhilarating like "jumping off a cliff wearing a wing suit" ☺️
Why did you buy this new machine? Weren't you satisfied with the Spinfire? I just ordered the spinfire pro 2 v2 today, thats why Im asking about your change. Thanks and have a nice day!
@@diegof3854 Hi there! We love the Spinfire. It is robust and never broke down. We bought the Proton to try it out and also to have a different experience with the ball machine. The Proton has the coach feature where it allows you to programs your drills - we were very curious about this. Both machines are very good - it is just a matter of preference which one you like most. One more thing: I think that the Proton is a great idea, but it is still at the beginning - the balls sometimes get stuck in the carousel and the machine keeps drifting so we need to reposition it from time to time - this never happens with the Spinfire.
I've had mixed experiences with the pple Watch and Proton. I find the BT range with the watch to not be as strong as the phone. so if you're on the opposite baseline, it will disconnect after a time and difficult to reconnect at that distance. I often have to walk back to the net then it will find machine and continue.
Someone asked a question in regards to 'Our experience with the Proton' but I just can't find the question anymore. If you are the one seeking this feedback, I hope you can find the answer. Here it goes:
Overall the Proton is a very good portable tennis ball machine. We didn't have major problems with the machine in all this time of using it. Here are the key features that make this machine unique:
1. Custom Drills. It is very easy to program custom drills using your Smart Phone.
2. Light to carry around.
3. It has a very good natural ball feel. It feels more like a sparing partner.
4. The included drills are very good as well.
5. Once, a ball got stuck in the mouth of the machine. We sent it back for repairs and they replaced most of the parts. We had extended warranty BUT this repair went under an additional Service/Repair deal that they had at the time. Take a look at their website and see if that deal is still valid.
Overall, this machine has been one of the best investments we've made in our tennis training. We use it as an additional practice technique to our professional tennis lessons.
I own a Proton as well as my buddy. Do not leave the shoulder strap attached like in this video. Take it off completely. It can get hung up under the back wheels and jam the machine causing it to shut down. Just a suggestion to everyone.
Thank you so much Brian for your feedback. Yes, it is true - remove the shoulder strap when using the machine.
Is a smart phone required to operate this machine or can you use a remote control instead?
In terms of operating the machine, you can use the control panel located at the back of the machine. But this doesn't give you remote control option which as far as I know is only through a smart phone or apple watch.
It’s a great machine. Love it
It really is!
great video!! just orderd one.... where do you recommend we store our phone while playing?
Awesome! We hope you enjoy your Proton at least as much as we are enjoying it!!!
I have pants with pockets for phone :)
But if you don't, I keep something like a cooler or a chair if you have by the fence at the back of the court so it is handy when you need it. Try different things and see what works best for you. Good Luck!!!!!!
@@TrainLikeAProDaily thanks..good suggestions!!
Noise level? How would you compare the noise to that of other ball machines? (the tennis court I play is in a residential area)
The noise level is very low for the Proton. From the other side of the court we can hear it when it starts up, other than that it has a very soft sound. I guess you can also tell from watching the video - the noise you hear is exactly how it sounds on court. To us, it is less noisy than other ball machines.
Thank you very much for your reply!
How do you like Proton compared to some other machines you have used? I own a SpinFire and I want something that can give me custom drills with backspin/topspin like the Proton does. Any issues since purchasing your Proton? Did you get the extra one year warranty? Regarding the strap to carry it, I am thinking you can just buy something on wheels like a small shopping cart then you do not have to waste time removing and placing straps back on. I imagine one day the strap might break and then your machine will fall.
There are two ball machines from what I can see that can do variable spin, your Proton and something called Titan Ace. But the Titan app is not as good as the Proton and the reviews on it are minimal as it just came out this year I think.
We own only two tennis ball machines: the Proton and the SpinFire. We actually tried the Silent Partner but it was too heavy to lift or handle up and down from the car. These 2 machines are both good but in different ways. The Proton is light and easy to move. It has the phone app which is awesome and yes, the custom drills are priceless. Even the feel of the ball is more human like not at tough or spiny as the Spin Fire. We like the Spin Fire for its robustness. Other than that, we haven't tried other ball machines so I can't speak to that.
In terms of problems with Proton:
- the side to side or random mechanism is not as robust as the SpinFire. It has something like a drift. It depends on your acceptance level.
- we had only one problem when one of the balls got stuck in, because one the players sent it with power on target and it got stuck inside the machine. We were not able to remove the ball and we sent it for repair to Hydrogen. We were very lucky at that time they had something like a "service plan" I can't remember for sure but it was not expensive only 150 USD and shipping included. They replaced a lot of parts and when we got the Proton back - it was like a new machine. They also fixed many things so it is a new Proton version for $150 - basically for free.
- we did purchase the warranty, but that would cover the cost if something breaks. The case when the player returns the ball and it gets stuck in the mouth of the machine, that wouldn't have been covered.
- I could say that the main problem is the drift from side to side movement - but we've adapted to it and don't expect much precision on that level. They've fixed a few things but because of the way the Proton moves on horizontal it drifts a bit and you will have to reposition the machine from time to time. When we want to have a more precise lateral movement we use the SpinFire.
I think that this is basically it. Hope this helps! Any more questions, we are happy to help if we can. Good Luck!
And one more thing. Yes, if you can find a way like a shopping cart or a bigger travel bag on wheels that would make it even easier to carry it around. If you have to walk from the parking to the tennis court and you carry other gear as well, definitely it makes it easier to find something on wheels.
@@TrainLikeAProDaily Thanks for replying. I was looking for a machine to help me further improve and I feel like spinfire is no longer helping me. I need something that can replicate as you mention more variety in the drills. For example, forehand cross court with backspin, then topspin then backhand cross with slice. I can customize the drills this way to help me practice different strokes whereas with my Spinfire, its either you practice topspin, flat or slice but I do not want to hit an entire basket of balls knowing in advance the spin type coming to me. For the lateral shots from Proton, is the delay low enough that you feel pressure to get to each ball. For example, how does it compare to spinfire wide feed? I am well familiar with spinfire as ive owned it for 2 years now.
I don't know on top of my head because I didn't try different ball feeding delays side by side. But, this is a very good question. One of these days I'll take both machines on court and see how they compare as far the timing on the lateral movement drills. Sometime next week I'll get back to you with the results. I am very curious as well.
I just looked up the delay on the Proton. Min is 2 sec and Max is 20 seconds. I've just added 3 pictures showing the min and max settings for Custom Drills: www.youtube.com/@TrainLikeAProDaily/community
How much this machine
Hi there! I have just looked up the Hydrogen website and the price right now is $ 1695 USD. We bought the machine early when the Proton was introduced on the market.
I would like to sell a proton ball machine here in the philippines, where can I contact the dealer?
We are not affiliated with the Hydrogen sport manufacturer. But, have you looked up their website?
Can it throw a slice or back spin?
Yes, it can throw a backspin. The Proton has a Max Spin feature of 3000 RPM. For backspin just set a negative value up to 3000. For example set a - 500 for a backspin 500 RPM.
@@TrainLikeAProDaily Thank you. I saw that there is an accessory for lobs. Is it included and the extra battery in the package for the total price of USD1,695? Also, Is the app available in android?
@@darwingamara1806 Accessories for lobs are not included. No extra battery included :(
@@darwingamara1806 Actually let me add this to my comment. At the time when we bought the Proton there was nothing like an accessory included in the price. You might need to check with their website and see if anything has changed. Good luck!
@@darwingamara1806 the lob accessory was included in mine (recently purchased).
What is the minimum speed on this? Will this work for beginners?
The minimum speed is 37mph or 60 kph. Now, is this good for a beginner? Yes! The balls have a softer feel than any other ball machine we've experienced so far. My understanding is that it can't get higher than 70mph - but there is a lot to add to this if you also add the spin variables. Now, keep in mind that on the minimal speed the ball won't clear the net. So you would have to work out what works for you best as a softer feel and still clearing the net. I hope this helps.
@@TrainLikeAProDaily thank you so much!
What balls do you recommend?
@@tajm5006 The best balls are Wilson Triniti.
Dunlop Grand Prix are also good.
Otherwise you can go with Ball Machine Manufacturers such as SpinFire, Slinger, etc - but those balls tend to be expensive.
Your safest bet is to go with Wilson Trinity as they last forever.
So, do you still recommend ?
Short answer: It depends.
Long answer:
Pros: Less expensive than other portable tennis ball machines.
It has a soft feel which feels more like playing with tennis sparring partner
You can use the smart phone to control it
You can create your own custom drills
The machine is light and it is very easy to carry it around
Cons: It drifts quite a lot; you have to adjust it after each load
Cleaning is not easy
The balls in the hopper don't always fall into the carousel - you may have to stop the machine, and manually adjust the balls
Overall, this is not a bad machine for the price and the features it offers. The overall experience of the machine is positive. I've seen others with the Proton and they were extremely happy with it.
To a beginner the shots are very friendly - more like playing with a sparring partner. Others deliver powerful shots which can be intimidating to a beginner.
Our first ball machine was the Spinfire. While we continue to like that ball machine, we prefer the Proton for a light training day or for the days when we create custom drills which the Spinfire doesn't provide.
We hope this helps you decide which ball machine is best for you. Best of luck!
@@TrainLikeAProDaily thanks!!!
@@TrainLikeAProDaily thanks so much for your reviews. now i don't know if it's worth to swap my lobster G5LE for the proton. the bluetooth disconnection + the drifting would drive me insane. i've had my lobster for 8 yrs, and the wifi remote controller was useless from the start so i used the rf controller. regrettably after 2 tune ups by the company, the programming board no longer works. but it's got enuf juice for 75-80 mph shots and it works for certain advanced drills in manual mode.
@@nellatech4523 Yes - this decision is always tricky. We wanted the Proton from the start but it wasn't available and we wanted to start training right away. So, we bought the Spinfire hoping we won't need the Proton anymore. Once the Proton was available, we were so drawn to it, as it is much lighter and the custom drills were a must have for us. If we would've known about the problems with drifting and other smaller issues (like the balls don't always get into the feeder - you would have to stop, rearrange balls in carousel, start again) I am not sure we would've considered it right now. It is new technology and hopefully the future models would solve these issues which definitely can be very annoying.
If you can still use the Lobster it might be wiser to wait and see if these problems are solved. In case someone from Hydrogen addresses these problems we will definitely add their solution or recommendations to this thread.
@@TrainLikeAProDaily sorry, i misunderstood the "some balls are not feeding into the machine" issue. i thought there was some jamming of the balls in the carousel, which appears not to be the case. all portable balls machines have the issue where some balls remain in the feeder, some more pronounced than others. with the G5LE, 3 or 4 balls stay in the hopper because of insufficient angle for the balls to roll down, plus some friction with the surface of the hopper. frequently, one ball ends up sitting on the center pylon of the G5LE carousel because it's got hole that is wide enough to balance the ball on it! the ability for balls to roll into the feeder depends on the trajectory incline of the machine determined by the elevation post. in any event, this is not a deal breaker. even the drifting might be reduced by using a rubber or neoprene sheet under the elevation post. but the line of sight/disconnection of the BT remote is a big NO for me.
Is this an advert?
No - just to share our experience with others :)
This video is over-produced. There's no need for dramatic music. I can see if you're jumping off a cliff wearing a wing suit but not needed for demoing a tennis ball machine. 😝
Thank you for your feedback. I guess it is a matter of perspective. For us, being able to own and train with a tennis ball machine is exhilarating like "jumping off a cliff wearing a wing suit" ☺️
It is true. Thank you for watching.
- have you tried controlling it w an Apple Watch?
- does it really drift from its elevation post?
Not yet w Apple Watch - we are going to give it a try and see what happens.
In terms of drifting, yes it does a bit. From time to time we have to recenter it.
Why did you buy this new machine? Weren't you satisfied with the Spinfire?
I just ordered the spinfire pro 2 v2 today, thats why Im asking about your change. Thanks and have a nice day!
@@diegof3854 Hi there! We love the Spinfire. It is robust and never broke down. We bought the Proton to try it out and also to have a different experience with the ball machine. The Proton has the coach feature where it allows you to programs your drills - we were very curious about this. Both machines are very good - it is just a matter of preference which one you like most.
One more thing: I think that the Proton is a great idea, but it is still at the beginning - the balls sometimes get stuck in the carousel and the machine keeps drifting so we need to reposition it from time to time - this never happens with the Spinfire.
I've had mixed experiences with the pple Watch and Proton. I find the BT range with the watch to not be as strong as the phone. so if you're on the opposite baseline, it will disconnect after a time and difficult to reconnect at that distance. I often have to walk back to the net then it will find machine and continue.