Tag Archives: gear

the blog, the tools

Bring that screen – Roccat Tusko

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Having a big, rugged trunk filled with all your technical gear transported safely across the continent would be nice when you travel with your team. But it’s expensive.

So what do a small club, with limited funds, do when it’s analyst needs to have a bigger screen with him on the road, than the one that’s already on his laptop?

Look no further. Roccat Tusko are bags for transporting LED screens. It’s mostly kids attending LAN parties who uses them, but they are just as handy for a analyst on the road.

Roccat Tusko

And they’re not too expensive. I bought my 24″ version (They come in two sizes – 15-19″ and 20-24″) for $55. A bargain compared to the big trunks to keep your screen safe.
Of course it’s nothing like those big, padded trunks since you can safely check them in on an airplane but the Tusko can be brought as carry-on-luggage on some airlines and be checked in as fragile goods at the rest. and the screen is protected by the padded case. Still a nice solution to the problem.

Check out the bags here: http://www.roccat.org/Products/Gaming-Accessories/ROCCAT-Tusko/

Disclaimer: This is not an ad for Roccat and I haven’t been paid to write anything. It’s just my thoughts about a bag I recently bought.

gather data, measuring & KPIs, the process, the tools

Improve tackles using a Wii remote control

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Sounds weird?
Well, not all teams have the economy to buy “G-force measurement gadgets” to use in analysis of forces involved in tackles. So they haven’t been able to use that kind of data when they’re working to improving tackle techniques….
Unless they’re ready to think a little outside of the box.

The Wii remote control has an accelerometer built into it and can send data about it’s pitch, yaw, roll and acceleration in X, Y and Z over a bluetooth connection. Usually the receiver of that data is a Wii console. That is, of course, the whole idea with the Wii remote – to be able to play the games based on how you move the control.

But – if you connect that remote to a computer and record the data it sends, you can graph the registered acceleration and visualize the G-forces the remote is exposed to when moving it around.
A bit nerdy? Yes! And useful for a PA with a tight budget.

So fasten the remote to a tackling bag using some classic duck tape, connect the remote to the computer and then record it’s data while performing tackle drills. You would then get the G-force data onto your computer, and the rest is up to your usual analysis and coaching process…

I’ve tested software from Eziosoft to record the data and it works just fine. A little unstable sometimes, but at no cost at all, what can you expect? Info on how to connect a Wii remote can be found either at the Eziosoft webpage or at the Wiimote Project.
I’m sure there are other Wii remote solutions, or other cheap ways of measuring impact force/acceleration/G-forces out there. Please let me and the rest of the PA community know by telling us about it in the comments below or tweet about it.
By the way – you do follow me on Twitter and Facebook, right?