Laser Score Steel-Tip Electronic Dartboard

(No longer in Production)

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Well, it's finally here, a steel-tip board that will do your math for you. It had to happen eventually since the electronic soft-tip scene has grown so large. Now I consider myself a dart purist (even though I do participate in soft-tip events) and believe that calculating your score is a LARGE part of the sport of darts. But I'll have to admit, it is nice not having to take the time to mark your score.

When I got this board, I knew that the most important thing would not only be it's accuracy, but the ease at which an incorrectly scored dart can be corrected. For those soft-tippers out there familiar with the phrase "The machine is always right!", you know what I'm talking about. This would be unacceptable, especially considering the cost of the board ($500+). Of course, this like everything else, will come down in price as time goes by and there are more out on the market.

Below, I will be keeping stats on the darts thrown and the number/% that were scored correctly. The stats, as well as the pros and cons listed below. If there is anything that I do not list that you would like to know, just drop me an email me and let me know.

Ok, now the first question that will come to most peoples mind is "How does it work?". Unlike electronic darts whose sensors are behind the panels the darts stick into, this has a laser that spins around the outside of the board that determines where the dart has scored. I'm no engineer so that's about all I can tell you on how it works. :-)

Pros:

1. It works! I know, that sounds pretty simple but after all, that's what counts most.
2. It uses a "modified" DMI Bandit Dartboard.
3. It's easy to mount though you may have to do what I did and stop by the hardware store and get a board to mount it to (it does weigh 32 lbs).
4. You can adjust it's volume.
5. Correcting an errant score is simple once you get the hang of it. It was a little confusing at first because the directions refer to an "enter" button and there isn't one. Kind of like "press any key" to continue, there is no key marked "any" on a keyboard. The button you're suppose to press is the "Start/Stop" button. :-)
6. You can play up to eight players at a time. Granted, with this many throwers you will usually form teams but it's nice that you don't have to.
7. You can play 14 different games, each having a number of different options to choose from.
8. It comes with two cables of different lengths so that you can have a better range of how far you feel you need to mount the display from the board. It wouldn't take more than an errant dart or two to ruin it.
9. You can rotate the board to make it last longer. I have done this and it is very easy to accomplish.

Cons:

1. There's not much space between the double ring and the plastic case that surrounds the board. It can be a bit distracting (and loud when you hit it) while you're aiming your dart. I'm sure this is done so that a dart can't "deflect" it's way into the machine possibly breaking it.
2. The display is easy to read but you have to adjust a little to cricket since the numbers are marked with a small green horizontal bar each time it's hit until it is closed. A little different when you're accustomed to slashes and circles.
3. It doesn't keep stats. At a minimum, points-per-dart in the '01 matches would be nice to know.
4. It comes with a 1 year/200 hour warranty (200 hours is not a long time in my house). I will find out more details on this and what it does/does not cover.
5. It's cost. You can buy a lot of chalk/markers and replacement boards for the $500-$600 this board costs (at least at the time of this writing).
6. It requires a little more maintenance than your standard bristle board. You need to periodically check the surface of the board for bristles that may be sticking out, they can affect the boards ability to accurately score your darts. These bristles will need to be either pushed back in (if it's a clump of bristles) or cut off (finger nail clippers will do the trick).

Recommendation: If you're a serious dart thrower or just someone that has to have all the neat "dart toys", this is really cool. You will want to regulate who throws on it though. New throwers that throw darts like baseballs or are very errant with their throws could easily tear up or the board or break it's display. There are no special weight restrictions on your darts like there are with the soft-tip boards.

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