UPM 45: Tips/Tricks

[catwood2]

Hi All -
Purchased the UPM 45 this week based on discussions here and reviews on Amazon. Pleased with the purchase but we are having an issue with consistency on height of the pitches. I am going to the same location (very level) and am using extra stakes to keep the machine stable. We seem to have to adjust the pitching arm level (level 3 or 4) and the lever to release the ball (level 2 or 3) between each session. Maybe this is b/c the spring is still getting broken in? Are you supposed to adjust the spring that the ball rest against on the arm to fine tune? I thought I read that somewhere but it's not in the documentation and I haven't had much luck when tweaking it.
Thanks in advance for any advice!
catwood2

[cps]

Hi All -
Purchased the UPM 45 this week based on discussions here and reviews on Amazon. Pleased with the purchase but we are having an issue with consistency on height of the pitches. I am going to the same location (very level) and am using extra stakes to keep the machine stable. We seem to have to adjust the pitching arm level (level 3 or 4) and the lever to release the ball (level 2 or 3) between each session. Maybe this is b/c the spring is still getting broken in? Are you supposed to adjust the spring that the ball rest against on the arm to fine tune? I thought I read that somewhere but it's not in the documentation and I haven't had much luck when tweaking it.
Thanks in advance for any advice!
catwood2

Make sure you consistently orient the ball to get four seem spin. It will always vary height to some degree, but usually you can get it to stay in the strike zone 80 % of the time.

[mudvnine]

Same advice as "cps" wrt the seams, but I eventually went to "dimple" balls with it because even the inconsistency of the used baseballs (seam wear, cover tightness, weight small cuts.....) when aligning seams properly, were putting the balls outside of where I wanted them more times than not.

Now the only problem with the dimples was when there was any moisture on the ground and they became wet....they lost their consistency when wet to the point that it was better to go back to the leather balls for that practice.

Note: In full disclosure, this was years ago when the UPM was relatively new, and I don't know if or how much they may have changed it, but it sounded like you were experiencing the same things that I did when I first got one, so thought I'd throw out what worked for me at the time.

[Richmond Coach]

One other thing to offer:
Be sure that you are pulling back the arm consistently and smooth. In our 8U machine pitch league the coaches would set up the machine to throw perfectly every time. The teenage umpires would arrive and it would be all over the place. It's all about the consistency of the pull...

[NoonTime]

Buh Bye BBF!

[mudvnine]

I'll second this ^^^^^. It's like squeezing the trigger vs. pulling the trigger. There is a smoothness and sometimes directional pressure to the handle during launch... i.e. sometimes it's a pullback with a slight back-right or back-left pressure. Maybe a slight downward pressure on the handle as you pull through the release. Play with it for your particular machine. You'll find a release technique that works much more consistently than just yanking the handle back

Dayum, so maybe I didn't need the Casey Pro after all....don't tell the wife.

[catwood2]

I appreciate the input and will put it into practice when I'm out this weekend.

[rodnok1]

Yes use the spring behind the ball to fine tune it. Also on the slower settings it seems to be less acurate, esp with the cheapos I use most of the time. Now that we use it maxed out it throws 90% + in same area. Make sure the front spikes are in the ground fully and check them from time to time. I have thrown a sand bag on the bag leg to help also.
Make sure the bolts and nuts are all tight with just a little movement allowed, mine loosen up and starts throwing them all over.

[catwood2]

Yes use the spring behind the ball to fine tune it. Also on the slower settings it seems to be less acurate, esp with the cheapos I use most of the time. Now that we use it maxed out it throws 90% + in same area. Make sure the front spikes are in the ground fully and check them from time to time. I have thrown a sand bag on the bag leg to help also.
Make sure the bolts and nuts are all tight with just a little movement allowed, mine loosen up and starts throwing them all over.

Excellent. Thanks!