SCATT troubleshooting; the collected wisdom of the UK Fullbore Facebook page

When you've sorted out all your setup issues and got into a routine of using SCATT or another shooter training system to support your training plan, everything seems easy; however just occasionally things will go tits up and you'll have some sort of problem. It may be that you've upgraded your laptop; it may be that you've moved house and things don't seem quite as easy as they were in your previous place; it may be just that the damn thing won't work. The point is that technology which was once a boon has now become a pain in the arse.

There is hope at hand. I and others like me have made many of the stupid mistakes so you can either avoid them or fix them pronto. With this aim in mind, I present a troubleshooting guide to SCATT with thanks to Charles Dickenson, Paul Wheeler, Bob Oxford, Christopher Hunter, Mark Bridges and all the other folks from the UK Fullbore Facebook page who have contributed to the SCATT threads.

ISSUE: Optical sensor and/or target don't register properly when plugged in:

• Try unplugging the SCATT cables and plugging them into different USB ports.
• Unplug everything, shut your computer down and start again from the beginning.
• Go to the SCATT website and download the latest drivers. Reinstall the drivers, restart the laptop and try again.
• If neither of these work then you may have a broken SCATT. Contact SCATT for technical support (support@scatt.com) and send off your SCATT to be repaired.

ISSUE: Cannot find SCATT device:

• Are you using Windows 8? If so then you may need to upgrade your firmware, see below.
• Check all your SCATT cables are firmly plugged in.
• If SCATT is plugged in then unplug the USB cables and swap USB ports.
• If swapping cables doesn't work, restart your computer.
• If restart doesn't work then reinstall drivers and plug one USB cable in at a time, watching for error messages.
• If neither of these work then you may have a broken SCATT. Contact SCATT for technical support (support@scatt.com) and/or send off your SCATT to be repaired.

ISSUE: SCATT device found, but no crosshairs or blue dot appear when I fire a calibration shot on the calibration screen:

• Are you pointing the rifle at the target? You may be pointing high (this is a common problem because the adapter which clips the optical sensor to the barrel has an incline on it which may be a bit aggressive if your barrel has a taper on it, as most fullbore rifles do).
• Check that the infrared sensors (look like clear/white LEDs but don't shine) above and below the target aren't obscured by anything. If they are, then remve the offending item.
• Check you've not got your long range elevantion on the rifle. Put your 300y elevation on maximum (I set my rifle to have about 10 minutes BELOW by 300y elevation on my adjustable foresight but this may not be an option for you).
• Try aiming the rifle above and below your aiming mark to see if you're still not on target.
• Are you using Windows 8? If so then you may need to upgrade your firmware, see below.
• If none of these work, then you may have a broken SCATT.

ISSUE: I've been using my SCATT and then it suddenly stops registering shots:

• Chances are that it's just a dodgy connection. Save your shoot, close the SCATT software, check all cables are firmly plugged in and start again. If this happens frequently, then it may be worth replacing your cabling.
• Also try increasing the sensitivity of the piezoelectric sensor which registers the click of the firing pin hitting its stop in the bolt when a shot is fired (decrease the number in the slider at the bottom of the calibration screen).

ISSUE: I've been using the SCATT just fine but I've started getting echoes, where the screen is showing two shots on a single trace, one in white and one in purple:

• Check all cable connections are tight
• Lighting or other sources of infrared (such as heat lamps, radiators etc...) can cause this, so try different lighting (or even a different room, if possible) LED bulbs seems to be the best light sources for avoiding this.
• Try decreasing the sensitivity of the piezo sensor (increase the number in the slider at the bottom of the calibration screen)
• If nothing works then your optical sensor is probably starting to go. Send it off to get it repaired or replaced

ISSUE: I've upgraded everything to Windows 8 and nothing works any more:

• Borrow a computer with an earlier version of Windows and go to the SCATT website. Download and then install the firmware in your SCATT. Then use your Windows 8 laptop as normal.

DANGER WILL ROBINSON! Apparently SCATT do not like you doing this without speaking to their technical support, so you do this at your own risk. Do not blame me if you brick the best part of a grand's shooter training system.

ISSUE: I keep getting weird spiky traces, with my shots getting flung out into the white:

• You've got a terrible flinch! Eliminate this possibility by firing a couple of shots with the rifle held on a bench (e.g. A Black and Decker workmate).
• Can be lighting. Try changing light sources as described above.
• Shiny flooring can also be an issue. Put something nonrefelective midway between the target and the optical sensor.
• Having more than one SCATT in the room at the same time can sometimes cause interference. Use the Tools -> Options -> Firing Point menu item and select different firing point numbers for each device. Failing that, put barriers between the SCATTs midway between optical sensors and targets. Otherwise, you're going to be limited to one SCATT being used at a time.
• The lens at the front of the optical sensor can work loose and wobble when a shot is fired. You may be able to hear rattle if you shake the sensor. Youll get massive spikes in the trace, flung shots and/or a big change in the point of impact between shots.  The lens is held in place by a threaded plastic grommet which screws into the body of the sensor. You can carefully tighten this up using a thumbnail, which will solve the issue.

Please, if you read this and think that I've missed something; let me know! I'll try and keep this up to date occasionally, so it can be used as a repository of the latest knowledge.

A final note: Troubleshooting your SCATT can be a stressful experience; you're all ready to do some training but are frustrated by damn technology. If you do get your SCATT working after having some issues, take 2 minutes to stop and reflect on whether you should now train. If you're stressed or frustrated then it may not be the right thing to do. Stop and think. If you're calm and can focus on the task in hand, go ahead, otherwise it may be better to take 5 minutes to bring yourself back into the right frame of mind or even cancel SCATT training and go do some cardio or core strength exercises instead.

The art of the checklist

If you have never read The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande, you should take the time to do so. Not only is it a superb and entertaining read it is also gives a brilliant account of how the intelligent and thoughtful use of a simple tool can significant improve process repeatability and outcome quality. Incredibly useful at work, but also with value for anyone who wants to do better at pretty much anything.

While process can be a dirty word in many organisations - a certain portion of the NHS I once worked with regarded any notion of consistent process as an affront to the professionalism of healthcare workers of all types - the fact is that organisations with well designed and implemented processes produce better and more consistent results than those which don't. Checklists are a simple and versatile tool which enable organisations to implement consistent processes. By contrast with the medical organisation I formerly worked with, a number of  professions regards checklists as being completely integral to their work and complementary to their professional skillset; pilots spring inevitably to mind, as do more enlightened portions of the medical profession, submariners and astronauts also feature. The key lesson is that consistent processes and checklists allow you to get the easy things right first time and free up time and mental space to think about the difficult stuff.

Have you ever driven to the range and not been able to shoot because you have forgotten a critical piece of equipment?

Checklist.

Have you ever been in a team match where an experienced shooter on the firing point has been called on to fire a sighter out of turn as a pilot shot only for it to plough into the ground in front of the target because their sights settings weren't verified?

Checklist.

Have you ever... I think you probably get the idea by now.

Where this is relevant to me is that I'm now preparing to attend the NZ Nationals down at Trentham; I've nearly finished loading my ammunition, and I'm continuing to keep up with my SCATT, but I'm going to need to start packing up in a few days for the long trip down to Upper Hutt. As this is a full day's drive from where I live in Waitakere (West Auckland if you insist) I'm quite keen not to forget anything! Here's my checklist:

Rifle Bag

• Rifle
• Foresight
• Rearsight
• Bolt
• Bolt sleeve
• Mirage band
• Black electrical tape
• Breech flag
• Bedding bolt allen key
• Cheekpiece allen key
• Cheekpiece spacers
• Bipod
• Bipod bolt allen key
• Cleaning Rod
• Rod Guide
• Jag

I don't shoot with the SCATT optical sensor. I just forgot to take it off before I took the photo.

Equipment Bag

• Scope
• Scope stand
• Scope stand extension pole
• Underlayer
• Hoodie
• Ear defenders
• Ear plugs
• Spare ear plugs
• Pens & pencils
• Scorecards
• Headband
• Shooting hat
• Shooting glasses
• Beer towels x 3
• Glove
• Dry tissues
• Sight settings notebook
• Small weather writer
• Toolkit (spare allen keys, screwdrivers, small spirit level etc...)
• 20 round ammo boxes x 2
• Snapcap
• Eye spray
• Timer
• Hand extractor

Spot the deliberate mistake.

Other

• Jacket
• Sling (attached to jacket)
• Matt
• Ammunition
• Cleaning Kit (breech stick, 4 x 2, cleaning fluid, q-tips etc..)
• Tripod stool

 

 

 

There's always an "other" bucket in any MECE categorisation

Probably the most interesting part of pulling this together is that I was unable to remember every item without actually looking in my shooting bag by way of reminder, which to my mind is a pretty good demonstration of the need for an aide-memoire.