Silent Partner Scoop Smart - AC/DC

The Silent Partner SMART is the highest-performance portable tennis ball machine you can buy. The AC version weighs only 40 pounds while the AC/DC is still an easily transportable 50 pounds. Whether configured for battery operation, plugging into an AC outlet, or as an AC-DC hybrid, the Silent Partner SMART has more speed and spin potential than any other portable machine in the world. This extraordinary performance capability is harnessed by a microprocessor that has been programmed to provide exceptionally sophisticated features.

Here is a description of these features and of the design philosophy behind them:

Control Panel: Take a look at the panel of the SMART. Although the machine is computer-controlled, you won't need to go searching through menus to find the features you need. Right there on the panel are 24 buttons, two display windows, and 38 little lights that provide you with all the control and feedback you need to operate the machine easily. Absolutely nothing is hidden, and the buttons are springy to provide excellent tactile feedback.

Remote Control: Nice as the control panel is, our intention is to allow you to control all machine functions conveniently from the remote control. The 22 buttons on the remote control are a little smaller than on the panel but are also springy for tactile feedback. For additional feedback, the machine will beep every time it receives a command from the remote control, which is essential communication when you are standing on the opposite baseline.

Memories: The "SMART CONTROLS" section of the panel has a MEMORY button that allows you to store preferred settings into three different memories. You can, for example, save your preferred settings for practicing the types of shots produced by three different opponents. Or a family can use one memory for Dad, one for Mom, and one for little André. Saving settings in memory is easy. You hold the memory button down for 2 seconds, just like when setting stations in a car radio.

Match Play: The SMART provides three PRESETS that simulate points you would play during a match. In all cases, the machine starts a sequence of shots with a short ball in the deuce or ad side, followed by a series of shots that replicate real match rallies. The difference between the three presets is in the length of the rally, the amount of spin on the ball, and the rest interval between points. Short points with relatively flatball delivery. Could you be playing on the grass at Wimbledon? That's the idea for Preset 1. More spin and longer rallies? Could that be the hard courts of the US Open? Go ahead; the Smart encourages you to dream. Long grueling rallies loaded with topspin? Voilà Paris! But if you find that the speed, feed rate, or spin stored in a preset does not suit you, go ahead and change them by storing your preferred values in the Preset. You hold the Preset button down for 2 seconds, like setting stations in a car radio.

Adaptive All-Court Sweep: This advanced feature will feed balls randomly horizontally and vertically for all-court coverage. The vertical oscillation is "adaptive" because the computer provides the right amount of vertical oscillation for the SPEED and SPIN that you have selected. Adaptiveness works even with very high speeds, flat throws, and topspin. Depending on the speed, spin, and feed rates selected, the Adaptive-All-Court feature can provide a practice session worthy of a tour player.

Select-A-Drill: This feature allows you to create your own infinite variety of drills by pressing the balls in the Position Selector in the sequence you want. You can even introduce pauses in the sequence. The drill sequence is then played back, with pauses, in exactly the order you have entered it. Sequences repeat automatically after the last ball in the sequence is thrown.

2-Line Function: 2-Line delivery is set through Select-A-Drill by entering only two ball locations in the Position Selector. You can create two lines in any of 10 possible locations on the court, and you can introduce pauses between ball deliveries if you wish.

Angle of Sweep: The SMART allows you to select from among 10 angles of sweep. You select your desired angle by pressing two balls on the baseline of the Location Selector at the same time. This pair will define the angle of sweep for the random oscillation and for the Adaptive All-Court Sweep.