Finding Lost Discs

[CJ1998]

I was thinking that it would be pretty slick to be able to use RFID tags and a handheld receiver to find a lost disc. Usually when I lose a disc, I'm in the general area so all I'd want to do is pick up a signal from it to confirm that I am indeed close. I'm not trying to triangulate the position or anything, just a positive confirmation that I'm close. That way I don't spend 45 minutes walking up and down the fairway. Maybe I just have to move a few dead leaves.

Probably cost prohibitive, but I'm just curious. It would be worth a couple hundred bucks to me to be able to reliably find discs I lose.

 

[southpawFADE]

i'd say no...what can't you replace for that $$?

 

[JHern]

Use a spotter. They're cheaper. 8)

 

[CJ1998]

Use a spotter. They're cheaper. 8)

Depends on how much money you have to give them to go golfing with you. . .

I'm pretty bad about losing discs. I've lost two putters and we spent 20 minutes one time looking for my second shot. Usually people are losing their drives, not upshots! Maybe I just need something extra special when it comes to locating lost discs.

 

[terazen]

You could always buy really loud pink discs.

 

[JHern]

My wife and I often spot for each other, especially on blind holes, or on courses in the countryside. Its worth spending the extra 30 or so seconds or a minute or two sometimes, and you also get the confidence that somebody has their eye on it and you aren't as afraid to crank on it to try and make that money shot work. Of course, we also use bright discs, when possible.

 

[CJ1998]

Cost prohibitive indeed. Apple will probably come up with the idea in about 5 more years and it will catch on like wildfire.

When I come up with stuff like this, I'm usually thinking about all the discs I just lost when playing by myself. I should probably be more open to inviting other solo players I encounter on the course to join me.

A friend of mine is all about the pink discs. They seem to work great for him.

 

[nohr]

This is a great idea and someone with tons of money should invest in it. I think you could have a sticker maybe a little bigger than the gold weight sticker. All you need is a general location of the disc not an exact spot. If I could have something that would tell me over this way and not over there it would be great.

I have heard many people think that the weight stickers are bad luck. Well I keep them on there. Hopefully one day I will be called out for an illegal disc in a tournament. Then I can argue that it is legal and a sticker on the bottom of any kind should be allowed. Oh well it is just a dream. Btw if you play in a tournament with me most likely I have stickers on my disc.

 

[VictorB]

I pretty much only use bright colored discs...if you throw it where you want to, you shouldn't need a spotter!

 

[stoneman]

It's been years since I messed with rockets (kids got bored with it), but if you google rocket locator, there are some things available that might work for ya'. I can't remember how big the beacons were, so maybe it won't work well on a disc.

 

[Greatzky]

the idea is great and has already been talked about and discussed on many other forums.

It's the legality of it that is the problem as much as the cost. You can't tape anything to your disc or drill a hole and put anything in the rim. This would be something like post-production modification or something along those lines.. This is like how you can't use paint markers on your disc because you are adding weight/thickness to that section of the disc.

For playing by yourself you can do whatever you want and you could probably get RFID's for cheap as they are in ALL new passports and possibly driver's licenses.
I believe they are also put into federal prisoners now(which is messed up).

The tracking device/receiver might be the expensive part. Hope this helped.

 

[Spence2551]

I always wondered about noise making stickers. If your disc beeped every 30 sec or so I think it would be easier to find. I haven't really looked into it much, so i am not sure if something exists.

Maybe I should take apart one of those singing greeting cards and see if I can rig the mechanism to keep playing. It would probably be really annoying to any other players if your discs sung happy birthday or some random sitcom theme

 

[Greatzky]

that would be funny. It would definitely sound interesting while flying past someone like how an ambulance sounds different as it's going past you.

just remember all is fair in casual play. Tourney play is a different story . anything added to the disc would basically make for an illegal disc.

 

[stoneman]

It would only be illegal in a PDGA tournament...if that's your thing, no singing discs for you. :lol:

 

[smarkquart]

Here are two options:

1) Feasible and economical but not practical- Black Jax sports creates 10g pods that can be screwed into your discs. This does permanently "damage" your disc if you intend to take the pods off. However, one of the features of a single-colored pod is to blink. While this feature is annoying at night, it is quite visible during the day and will definitely catch your eye. Side note - this does work well in snow of shallower depth, thus making it at least more practical for these kinds of events.

2) Not as feasible but interesting and practical - The stickers they use to track electronics and DVDs are very light weight and stick very well. I am sure some kind of portable device can be rigged up where it will beep if pointed in the right direction. It may not tell you distance but it would set you on the right path. I do not know the range of such a finder. The big expense would be the finder but the stickers for each disc would be acceptable.

I always use the gripe, "they can find a whale in the middle of the Atlantic but I cannot find a disc in a 50 foot radius."

 

[DagG]

The RadarGolf folks have the right idea but at $200, their system is a bit pricey. They claim detection range of "30 to 100 feet depending on the terrain". Wonder if that figure would hold for rough "rough" as opposed to the norm on many US ball golf courses.

 

[SkaBob]

RadarGolf's system is most likely just an RFID chip and scanner...you could buy/build the same for far less with a visit to Make Magazine's site and the appropriate online storefront, and put tags in/on all of your discs...

 

[DagG]

RadarGolf's system is most likely just an RFID chip and scanner...you could buy/build the same for far less with a visit to Make Magazine's site and the appropriate online storefront, and put tags in/on all of your discs...

I had thought just that, more or less, and had spent an evening searching for how to do it. Not being particularly electronics savvy left me with more questions than answers and the thought that what I really needed to do was learn to not throw the discs in the briar patch. Mebbe some day.

 

[nohr]

Until they change the rule to allow post production modifications you can't do anything. I highly doubt a sticker on the top or on the bottom of the disc would change anything.

Having something like this PDGA legal would change the game. And maybe not in a positive way. Lets say you had a device that it was very hard for you to lose a disc. Having this device would allow a player to take riskier shots. Also the player with this would probably never have to take a penalty stroke for this risky shots. Not taking any penalty shots means lower scores and could mean more pay out.

 

[smarkquart]

Not sure about others but I would not be talking about sanctioned play. There is something about losing discs in sanctioned and the thought in the back of your mind of losing that disc. Do you go with the riskier shot at a chance at winning? Is the risk/ reward worth it if you are down by a throw or two?

However, I am thinking more along the lines of practice and fun rounds. That is the time to try those riskier shots, to learn what you can do. Who really wants to risk losing a disc when you are playing for fun? Especially if it is one of those times when you are alone. I think some kind of economical way should be found so it can temporarily alter a disc without altering its flight (as you are practicing to throw it in such a way where it will fly the same with the "patch" or sticker).