**BreakDemon** **Prototype Documentation** # What's All This, Then? If you've received a BreakDemon device, you should already know what it's for. Here are some things you may not know: * Know that your Demon was lovingly hand-build by me, Paul. * This is a **prototype**. Some aspects may not feel like a fully polished final product. * I am actively adding features and polishing what's there. * Your Demon will receive updates automatically (see the Demon Updates section.) * Your Demon comes with a companion app (see the BreakDemon Review App section.) * Your Demon was designed to be "Always On, Always Ready". It will sleep after 15 minutes and automatically wake up if it registers a break. # Turn It On Start by just plugging it in using the provided adapter. !!! Note: Please be patient You're probably vibrating with excitement to see your Demon in action, but your prototype Demon needs your patience. Give it a few minutes to start. Production models will likely cut this time in half (or less.) After a couple minutes, you should see something like this:  Notice the Red Dot in the bottom-left corner. This indicates that it is not connected to the server, so it's time to setup WiFi. Before we go further, let's cover what you're seeing on the screen. This is your Demon's Dashboard View. The large speed gauge in the center is the most recent break. As you break, this is where your break speed will register. The timer on each gauge shows the age of the break. This can also be a userful indicator of how long a game takes, since they begin with the break shot. The three gauges on the right are your recent history, with the most recent on top. As you break, the new break will appear in the large central gauge. The break that just previously occupied that gauge will be shifted over to the top gauge on the right. And the top history gauge will be shifted down, and so on. The gauges on the left show your Average speed (top gauge) as well as the Minimum & Maximum speeds (bottom gauge) over the most recent 10 breaks. # Setting Up WiFi Setting up WiFi is simple. Here are the steps: * Open up your phone or computer and look for a WiFi access point called _BreakDemon_ * If you don't see it, just give it a few minutes and try again * Connect to the _BreakDemon_ access point * You should see a list of WiFis in your area, select yours and enter the WiFi password * This securely stored on your device and never shared (not even with me) * Wait for the Red Dot^TM to turn into the Green Dot^TM * This may take a few minutes (did I mention this is a prototype?) Your work is done, but your Demon probably has an update waiting... # Getting Your First Update Updates come frequently so its likely that your Demon isn't fully up-to-date. Just give it a few minutes. If the screen goes blank, that means it is updating. Once the screen returns, your updates are complete. If you don't see a blank screen in ~5 minutes, there wasn't an update. You're done. Your Demon is ready! # Hooking It Up To Your Table Because of the Demon's "Always On, Always Ready" motto, if you have the option of providing constant power (that is, even when your light box is off) then that is recommended. !!! Note: Powering your Demon Every home setup is different. I won't instruct you on how to provide power to your Demon. But here are some things to keep in mind: * Your prototype Demon can take a couple minutes to get to a working state after turning on. So if you can provide constant power, you'll enjoy your Demon a little more. * If it is more convenient to use a different USB power adapter, make sure it provides at least 3 amps. For tips on mounting the unit to your light box, see the Mounting To Your Table section. # Mounting To Your Table We haven't yet formalized the way in which a BreakDemon can mount to light boxes. However, we have a simple solution that has proven thus fat to work pretty well. On the sides of your Demon, you'll find a pair of mounting tubes. These tubes can receive 15 gauge wire (similar to coat hanger wire) which can be bent to the desired shape. Here is one example: For those that prefer to set their device up, you'll find that touching the screen becomes a delicate procedure to avoid knocking your Demon down and angering it. However, the mounting tubes can also be used to form a very stable stand. While the following image shows a rather crude and oversized implementation, it shows that the solution can be quite effective: # Configuring For Your Table Size The gear icon in the upper-right corner of your Demon's screen will take you to the settings (more info in the Demon Settings section). At the top of the settings screen, make sure to select your table size. This, combined with the cue ball position, is important for BreakDemon to properly calculate the speed of your break shots. !!! WARNING It is very important to configure your table size. Not doing this will lead to incorrect break speeds. # Before You Break Speed calculations require distance and time. Your microphone will provide timing, but the distance is calculated based on the table size and cue position. If you change the position where you break, be sure to update the settings before you break. If you forget to change the cue position before your break, don't worry, it is simple to edit the settings for a break that has already happened. See the Editing A Break section for more information. # Editing A Break If you need to change the settings for a break that has already registered, simply tap the gauge for the break in question. You'll be presented with a pop-up that will allow you to change the break settings. When done, simply tap an area outside of the pop-up. !!! NOTE Editing a break will only affect the single break being edited. If you want to change the settings for future breaks, you will still need to make that change in the Settings. This can also be done in the Review App (see the BreakDemon Review App section.) Any changes to a break will be reflected across all devices. That is, if you edit a break from your Demon, that change will be reflected in the Review app (and vice versa.) # Demon Settings From the main Dashboard view, use the Gear icon to access the settings screen. This screen allows you to configure your Demon in vairous ways. To exit the Settings, use the Back button. ## Break related settings The following settings are applied to all incoming breaks. They do not affect previously registered breaks. To edit a previously registered break, see the Editing A Break section. At the top of the settings are the table size buttons. Use these to select the size of the table that your Demon is mounted to. You generally will not need to change this unless moving your Demon to a different table or adjusting your rack position to simulate a different table size. The table view allows you to adjust the cue position for the break. Simply drag the table around to perform the adjustment. Note that you drag the table and not the cue ball. Dragging the cue ball would be difficult as your finger would be covering the ball as you drag it. Enable grid snapping. As you drag the table around, the cue ball will snap to the following locations: * Each intersection of the diamond grid * A spot just left and right of the head spot (common for 10-ball breaks) * A spot on the head string just inside the side rails (common for 9-ball breaks) Enable precision movement. As you drag the table, it will move at 1/2 speed, allowing you twice the precision of cue ball placement. Enable when using a second ball break. As the second ball is farther than the head ball, this can affect timing calculations. Enabling this allow for more accurate timing calculations for break speeds. Note that when enabling this option, the 9-on-the-spot option will be disabled. Enable when the racking the center ball on the spot (for 9-ball, often referred to as "9 on the spot".) As the location of the rack can affect the travel distance of the cue ball, this can affect timing calculations. Enabling this allow for more accurate timing calculations for break speeds. Note that when enabling this option, the second ball break option will be disabled. ## Other settings **Show speeds in KPH** -- Shows all speeds in Kilometers Per Hour instead of Miles Per Hour. # Demon Updates I prioritize bug fixes over feature development. Bugs get fixed right away and pushed out to all Demons. Your Demon will start downloading updates the instant they are pushed. Once the update is fully downloaded, it will install them. During this time, your Demon's screen may go blank. In some cases the update may require a restart. All of this is automatic; you don't need to do anything. !!! Note: Update frequency Update frequency depends on the complexity of what's being updated. Sometimes a feature takes only a couple days, sometimes they can take 10 days. Just know that updates are pushed within minutes of a feature passing validation and QA. # BreakDemon Review App This is going to change in the near future (the Review app needs a face lift.) So here are some tips on navigating and using the Review app as it stands today: Tapping the device at the bottom of the screen (next to the Yellow dot) will pull up a list of devices. Select yours from the list and stay there. You're welcome to peek at what others are doing (as they may with you) but please don't edit their breaks. User management will be added in a future version but for now, you're all in the same pool, as it were. Tapping on a speed will toggle between the speed view and the waveform view. This waveform view will allow you to edit the selected "tip" and "rack" positions in the audio waveform that are used to determine timing (and thus, will alter the speed.) Tapping on the table size at the top of the screen will allow you to edit the table size and cue ball position for the current break. Tapping on the round "list" icon at the top of the screen will pull up the break history for the currently selected device. Note that if you select a break from the list, it will disable the auto-update (see the next paragraph). Tapping on the round Play button at the top of the screen will enable/disable auto-updates. An orange button means auto updates are enabled. If this is disabled, new breaks will not show up until this is re-enabled. Note that whenever you edit the settings for a break, those changes are propagated to the cloud service, which will then push those updates to other devices associated to the break. That is to say, your Demon should reflect the change as well as other apps running on other devices that are monitoring the same device. !!! NOTE Getting access to the app The app only exists for iPhone and iPad devices (no Android version yet, sorry.) If you want access to the app, simply email me. You will receive an invite which will require that you install Apple's TestFlight app. Instructions will be included in your invite.