Coaching Forum Tip
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Tip of the Month Winner |
Congratulations to Tom Ko of Lake Forest, CA for his contributions to the Coaching Forum contest. The winning entry is listed below for your review and implementation into your training program.
Reduce Static In Your Table Tennis Room
Tom Ko
Lake Forest, CA
Under dry weather conditions, a "high static" environment builds up, causing fibers and/or other dirt to cling to the balls. These foreign contaminants get entangled in the Ball Feed Transfer Gears (Editor's note: this is true only for Newgy robots manufactured before 1999. After 1999, all Newgy robots have "dust-free" ball feed mechanisms that prevent dirt from entering the gear area.) and prevent the machine from pushing balls up the ball chute. The Discharge Wheel and Friction Block also can become dirty and need to be cleaned more often.
Here are some steps for reducing static buildup in the table tennis play area:
- Sweep or mop the floor clean. For carpeted area, vacuum it thoroughly.
- Use liquid fabric softener (such as Downy Fabric Softener). Mix one part of fabric softener liquid to 5 parts of water and put the mixture in a spray bottle.
- Spray the play area lightly. Make sure you cover all the corners that tend to collect more dust.
- IMPORTANT: To avoid injury and ensure safe playing conditions, make sure the play area has dried thoroughly before you begin play.
This method can reduce static buildup for a couple days before you need to spray again.
(Editor's second note: With winter rapidly approaching, this is a good time to consider this tip as static problems intensify during winter. Also consider reading the following article that was an Ask The Expert column a few months ago: Archive/June2002ask.html. The above tip deals with treating the floor of the table tennis room whereas this referenced article deals with how to dissipate static from the robot itself.)
