Lobster Tennis Ball Machine – Elite Liberty

10 reviews for Lobster Tennis Ball Machine – Elite Liberty

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Electronics lover – February 10, 2020

   I bought this liberty machine(like new for $827) to practice tennis alone on the court without any hitting partner. I can practice my shots for long hours without need of anyone in my opposite court. I got it delivered it yesterday and tested the functionality without balls. Everything works as mentioned. The is one discrepancy in the elevation markings. In the http://www.lobstersports.com it is clearly mentioned that liberty machine has 50 degree elevation, but machine it is printed only 40 degree so kind of wrong impression about their honesty in giving the correct specification in actual machine. I will test it on the court tomorrow and give further feedback on elevation and top spin and back spin and speed. For 10 degree less elevation on machine then what is on Amazon.com and lobstersports.com, i can give only 4 stars.I stay on second floor and it is not easy to carry machine 36lbs every day for charging internal battery. So I decided to check the internal circuit layout and found a solution to connect the battery externally and carry only the battery home for charging. Lot of relief as I can keep the machine in my car. Let me tell how to separate the battery from machine, it is quite easy if you know how to check the polarity for +ve and -ve terminals.Please be careful before connecting the battery externally and connect correct polarity for XLR cable and battery.I have made a custom XLR cable to connect to battery. I modified the XLR connector and using only two pins of the XLR cable . 1 & 2 pin only. XLR Pin 1 is +ve and 2 is -ve.Lobster machines have an XLR connection port to plug in external battery pack. The lobster battery pack 12V 18AH with fast charger is $179. So I decided to buy a cheaper 18AH battery an Amazon for $37. Bought an XLR cable cut it and used the male side connector to battery. We can buy XLR connectors separately without cable and make our own cable. Please check the continuity of the +ve and gnd wire using multimeter. I made the connections wrong twice and two 7.5 A fuse blown away. Thank God, I have connected the fuses in line to protect the machine PCB board in case I make the wrong connections. I found out that the lobster machines has reverse battery connection protection circuit. So I saved my brand new machine from getting fried due to components burning on the PCB.I am using two battery chargers one 1.5 A schumacher charger from Amazon $25 for the 18 AH battery and another battery tender .75 A charger ($27) for the 8.5 AH battery which was previously inside the machine but now it is outside the machine in the external battery BOX. I bought this BOX from amazon for $12. I bought the XLR CABLE for $10 Monoprice brand . The cable is not 16 AWG as mentioned by Monoprice only the outer sleeve is thick making it 16AWG, So if you can solder and make your own XLR cable that would be great using 16AWG or 18 AWG wire. I posted the pics also for everything. Please do not forget to make the XLR cable correctly and with correct polarity.Use 16 AWG wires for safety as 18Ah battery has higher current than internal 8.5 Ah battery. Connect only one battery at a time to XLR cable and another when first one has depleted.Enjoy court time of 6 to 8 hrs . More review on the way. Please let me know if any questions.I took the machine to the court yesterday and after messing around with the adjustments with elevation, speed, feed time, spin control and finally started playing. I am really amazed as the balls were consitent in their desired spot and i was able to practice for 6 hrs continously as I have total 2 batteries. I left with 2 more hours of juice left in battery. I tried the horizontal sweep but stopped it after 15 mins as it made me tired very fast. I have not tried the overhead lob yet but will try it next weekend and will update my review. The top spin and underspin is great, though need some adjustments on the control panel for speed and elevation. Overhead lob is great, I practised at max elevation and speed around 50MPH , need to adjust as per wind blowing. Overall great machine and true partner so far.

2. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Charles S. – February 18, 2020

   I was looking for a tennis ball machine that was small enough that I could load it up myself and take it to the tennis court. This model is very light weight. Since it has only one battery is is about 10 lbs lighter than the more expensive model. The battery lasts longer than I need for one person to practice with it, and it charges quickly with the standard charger. My only wish would be that the side to side mechanism did not have such a wide pattern as it is difficult for me to keep up at age 70+. The Lobster waits about 30 seconds till it launches the first ball with is enough time to get to the other side of the court.

3. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   atl-reviewer – February 22, 2020

   This is a great machine. I have been using it for about a month, usually an hour to an hour and a half at a time. I charge either every other or every 3rd use, and I haven’t run out of battery yet. I initially used the Penn pressureless balls, but something didn’t feel right. Someone recommended I switch to the Gamma ones. They had a few there at the court I tried and they felt much better, more like hitting a normal ball. Then Penn’s seems heavy or something. As for the machine, definitely spring for the Liberty version for the extra $100 to get spin functionality. As far as I can tell I see no point in spending the close to $200 on the remote. Between the time you turn it on and the time the first ball is ejected, you have about a minute which is plenty of time to walk across to the other end of the court. So the on/off of the remote is kind of pointless. I think its only other function is adjusting the feed speed, which I would consider a nice to have, not a must. Only real downside I have so far is that every time I reach down after rounds to turn it off I get shocked (very lightly, just enough to be annoying). So I now use my racquet handle to turn off. After a few weeks of use I can already tell a difference in my forehand top spin.

4. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Superfluouschap – March 24, 2020

   So here’s the deal. I am a 40 year old 3.0/3.5 player with a goal of being a 4.0/4.5 player in two years (that’s what my coach says is a reasonable goal). I wanted to buy a tennis ball machine so I could practice my forehand and backhand over and over and over again without having to go to a drill or lessons.I bought the machine after spending two hours at the club with a machine at $40 per hour, and doing the math. The resale of these things on craigslist also appears to be pretty high, so it seemed like a relatively low risk purchase, that would pay for itself if I used it 25 times or so, and which I could always unload if necessary with little financial loss.I bought the elite liberty on November 2, 2016. So far I really like it. The machine throws out relatively consistent shots in quick or slow intervals. You can add topspin or backspin or keep it neutral. The dial says 0-80 mph — though the official product description says it tops out at 70mph (not sure if it really goes 80 or if it just says 80 (that is, if they didn’t want to create a specific 70mph dial for this one machine or whatever)). It can do random horizontal back and forth shots as well, though the sweep is pretty wide and will keep you running like crazy. Battery works fine…my one objection is that you never really know how much juice is in the battery…it’s either solid green (charged), blinking green (kinda charged) or red (needs charge) but there’s obviously a lot of variance in each of those categories that you are effectively blind to. Effectively does pretty high lobs.Only a couple of downfalls I can see so far:1. When you add a lot of topspin to the delivery, the speed goes down pretty significantly. I wasn’t expecting that to happen as much as it does. When you set max speed and zero topspin, the balls are coming out pretty darn fast, but when you put a lot of topspin on it, they slow WAY down, maybe even 15-20mph or so. I’m only a 3.0/3.5 player, and full speed at full topspin doesn’t seem particularly fast to me (though neutral spin top speed is pretty fast). I usually practice at almost top speed and a little bit of topspin.2. There’s no way (that I can see) to limit the degree to which it spits them out horizontally, or to make it alternate forehand-backhand-forehand etc…That is, the only setting is random delivery (not alternative), and the only width setting is the entire court (not more narrow). There’s no way that I can see to narrow the tosses so you’re not running from side to side in the entire court, or to make it alternate forehand to backhand. The playmate machine at my club does this, but i’m sure it’s a far more expensive machine. So the liberty may deliver two identical forehands in a row, or a forehand on the extreme right line, then a backhand on the extreme left line. You never know. It’s a good workout, but not best for alternative practice shots. It looks like you have to go up to the elite 3 to get the two line alternative narrow oscillation…not sure if that’s worth the $700 upgrade. (And to be clear this is no fault of the machine; it’s my fault for not researching it enough on the front end, though the illustrations on the Lobster website are not 100% clear on this point.)A couple of things I was worried about that are fine:Some folks complained about the wheels and I was worried that they were going to be some cheap, breakable plastic. They’re not. They’re big and tough rubber wheels. I haven’t had, and doubt I’ll have any problems.I was worried about not getting a remote, but it’s not that big of a deal. When you turn it on, it gives you a good 10-15 seconds before it starts shooting balls, so you don’t even have to run, you have plenty of time.Lots of folks say it just tore the fuzz off of the balls. It does a little bit, and I’m sure it will do it more over time, but it’s not extreme or anything. (For reference, i bought a bucket of Penn pressureless balls and they work great.)So overall I’m really happy with it. I wish it were a little faster, and it would be nice to have it alternate left/right and have the sweep be a little more narrow. But I’m sure to get my money’s worth with the lobster elite.

5. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   AJ94 – April 15, 2020

   We received the unit on May 3rd 2019. The unit was packed in good condition. After removing from the packaging the unit was put for charging. It displayed that the battery was charged and did not need charging. We took it to the courts on Monday May 6th and it was satisfactory. We played for 1.5 hours and the unit still had charge. I will update my review as we use it more.

6. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   J. Blakey – April 17, 2020

   I have used this machine for about one year and have been happy with it. It has never jammed despite shooting thousands of balls during this time. Customer service was excellent for two problems I had after purchasing it. The only design problem with the unit is the tall handle which makes it difficult to transport in a regular car trunk. On the other hand, it is relatively light, and the handle makes it very easy to move the machine around the court and on other paved surfaces. I use only pressureless balls as recommended by Lobster. It’s a good machine for the money.

7. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Jimmy James – May 22, 2020

   I have been playing Tennis for more than 25 years. I played with intermediate and advanced consistent players. I used this machine many times since I bought it last month (July 2018) and so far I’m happy with it. Depending on which angle of Shot that you need to get good on, this machine can deliver to you what you need. You just need to make the right adjustment to the speed/frequency of the ball to attain your desired result. I like to set to the max the speed and the top spin/underspin when I practice receiving serve both left and right, Overhead shot, attack with a Volley and baseline shots with and without topspin. One of the most important feature of this Lobster Sports Elite Liberty is I get a good workout within an hour. So when I go to my Gym, I already have my cardio so I only do the machines and stretch. Sauna, Steam room, Whirpool and swimming pool. A very good day for me:)

8. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   D. B. – June 18, 2020

   I’ve had my Elite Liberty for almost 3 years and have used it an average of once a week, sometimes twice. I didn’t buy the remote and don’t feel I need it. When turned on, the machine gives you 20 sec. to get to the other side before it starts firing balls — plenty of time. I buy pressureless balls online from WalMart with in-store delivery. I’ve been very pleased with the machine’s durability and reliability. Admittedly, $1,000 for a ball machine seems pricey to me, but all good ball machines are expensive. If you ever have a question about the machine, Losbster’s customer hot line folks are very helpful. Most importantly, it’s really improved my game.

9. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Daniel – June 27, 2020

   Love, Love, Love my new practice partner. He’s never late, never complains, never tires. I’ve had my red-armed buddy for 4 weeks now and I’m out there practicing every morning for about 1.5 hrs. It functions exactly as described. The design is really well thought through. The ball hopper flips and hugs the body of the machine, taking no additional room. I’m 60 yrs old and have no difficulty lifting it in and out of my car’s trunk each morning to head to the tennis court. The wheels with the swing up handle make pulling it a breeze. I bought the remote which, while more expensive than a remote should be, is very practical. I would not want to be without it. Absolutely no issues with the ball machine as of yet. I have had one ball jam (that’s after over 6000 ball tosses) which wasn’t difficult to clear. Occasionally some balls in the hopper find ways of avoiding being tossed by not funneling downward. But that’s very occasionally (and I’m getting very picky). My biggest complaint is the remote (see separate review)… I sometimes have to click it 3 or 4 times before it works… I expect better for such an expensive component).

10. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Amazon Customer – September 17, 2020

    I absolutely love this machine. I have had it a little over a month now.I have only missed 1 day of playing because the courts were wet.The fact that I can go out and hit balls ANYTIME that I WANT TOis SOOOOOO worth the $$$$$.This machine is whipping my behind back in shape and it is alsogreatly improving my game.My only complaint is that the folding arm is poorly designed. The armbrackets broke after only 2 weeks, However Lobster & Amazon weretotally wonderful on speedily replacing them. BAM-made a phone calland BamBam the brackets were at my door.After reading all of the reviews, I chose not to buy the overpricedremote. I don’t need it because the lobster has about a 20 seconddelay built in that allows you to get to the other end of the court. Thisworks fine for me.All I can say is that I should have treated myself to this machine manyyears ago when I first say it. Thank God, I let go and did it.