The StringMeter is a device used to check the tension of an individual string. There are other versions of similar functionality, but this is what we use, and I will start with that.

Interestingly, this device traces its design to a tool that is used to check mainstay tension on a sailing vessel.

It is clear that our devices are well used, so they must be a “friend,” not a “foe”! And to that, I would say yes! The two (2) units shown here are “calibrated” units. One device is “free string,” and the other is “strung string.” These are different scales and very important for accurate information.

String Tension Tester

When we evaluate string or stringing machines, one of the most important values is the string tension with only the main strings installed. Using the “free string” scale, we check every main string and record the number.

Once the racquet is fully strung, we can check some center main strings and center cross strings with the “strung string” scale and see the variation. The difference between the two is the “natural ratio” of the racquet.

In addition to the stringing machine review use of the StringMeter, we also use it to calculate our “accuracy index.”

For this, we use the “strung string” scale and check each main string tension from left to right and every cross string tension from top to bottom and compare the actual numbers to the calculated numbers based on a non-distorted racquet. This spreadsheet shows how accurately the ball will come off of the racquet face.

The “efficiency index” tells us how much the racquet needs to change shape to reach that “index.”  

These are all essential functions of the StringMeter and String Tension Tester from Gamma Sports.

But, what if the StringMeter or other device is used without knowing what it is telling the user?

This is the “foe” part!

This would be the case if a customer with such a device has a racquet strung at say a reference tension of 55 pounds. The customer then uses the method to check the tension and finds that it is not 55 pounds or even close! The customer is not going to be happy!

If the customer knows what to do, they can check the main string tension as soon as they can after stringing, then, later on, to see how much the string has stretched without regard to the reference tension.

It is what it is!

When the racquet is no longer performing it would tell the customer how much the tension can deteriorate before stringing is required.

So, these devices are very useful for individual string tension but no so much for “string bed stiffness,” which is the total string bed as a ball impacts it.

We will look at some of the “string bed stiffness” devices in a future post.