Flip 58 AP switch experiment
 

Trying out the Flip 58 for the first few games this season.. For those not familiar with this, it is a small piece of plastic with a 2 sided movable switch ( black for visitors, white for home) that fits on the underside of your whistle. It does take a little bit of the performance out of the Fox 40, but a little more air seems to do the trick.

I've tried the "whistle in the pocket" method, just does not seem to work for me to keep track of AP. Hoping that as I get more years behind me, knowing the AP status will just become natural. One of my goals for the season, ( small as it may seem), is to not have to look one time at table for an arrow check.

Wish me luck... :)

Alternative Approach
 

Rather than that goal, try this:
Keep your head filled with other more important things, and don't look at the table every time.
Pregame it that the one facing the table when the held ball occurs glances at the table and gives an immediate direction signal. The guy(s) with back(s) to the table cue(s) off the guy opposite table.
It works well for us.
Lots better than always trying to keep personal track of whose possession it will be next time.
Just an idea.

What is the solution for the OP if there is no AP arrow at the table?

By Rule . . .
 

. . . there must be a device indicating AP direction at the table.

When there wasn't a lighted device, I've had the table use a shoe even. Also a water bottle. One time a PhyEd pylon.
There's gotta be something, by rule.

I have no problem with using a device to keep track of the arrow. But I do think it looks much smoother if you don't need to check your pockets before signaling the direction of the held ball.

One trick I heard at camp was to remember the arrow as you're counting. For example, when you have a backcourt 10-second count, instead of counting "1 one-thousand, 2 one-thousand. . .", try counting, "1 red arrow, 2 red arrow, 3 red arrow". This has actually worked great for me. I can still take a quick peek at the table to make sure I have it right if I need to. But when a held ball happens, I've beaten the arrow into my memory so I don't have to check the table or my pockets or the switch on my whistle.

As far as having an arrow at the table, I read a story (I think it had to be on this website a long time ago) about an official who used to carry a child's stuffed animal in their equipment bag. It was a toucan, with a long beak. And if there was no arrow at the table, he would leave the toucan at the table to be the arrow. There were jokes about having to "flip the bird" after every held ball. :)

Nice!

Is That A Whistle In Your Pocket, Or Are You Just Happy to See Me ???
 

Here, in my little corner of Connecticut, as opposed to the entire State of Connecticut, that I can't speak for, because I don't know what the other parts of the State do, we have to, by local mechanics, keep a whistle in our pocket to keep track of the arrow. We've been doing this since the introduction of the alternating possession rule. It's become so second nature to me that I don't have to actually physically "check" my pockets. Since I never keep anything else in my pockets, I can just "feel" the whistle in one pocket, or the other.

Now, I will admit that it would look a lot "smoother" if I didn't have to change the whistle after each alternating possession. This is an easy switch at the beginning of a game, but as the game moves along, and gets more intense, and I start sweating, it's gets harder to get the whistle out of one sweaty pocket into the other sweaty pocket.

Several years ago, when I arrived on the court to do the first game, boys soph, they had no arrow. I got a Coke can from a fan, who was sitting close to the table, and we used the can for the direction indicator for our game.
Since I live just 3 miles from the school, at the end of our game, I went home and made a wood arrow, that could be flipped and got it back to the school at half time for the JV game. They used it for half of the season, until they got an electric arrow and then they used my wood arrow in their auxilliary gym for a few seasons.
Last year I fashoned an arrow out of a white box, that originally had some short stem roses in it, to use on AAU and wreck games, that usually have no arrow available.
I've tried the "whistle in the pocket" but just haven't been able to get accustomed to it.

King Tut
 

Another solution would be to always have Steve Martin serving as a table official. :D

Pasted image by BillyMac no doubt forthcoming.

Or not to Tut..... that is the question.
 

Ran some V scrimmages yesterday with the whistle switch, I think I'm gonna like it! Didn't have to look over at table, and got every AP correct.... This is a keeper. Thanks for the comments and suggestions guys!

Though if we could get Steve as a table official, I'd lose the switch.. :D

My only suggestion is to be careful. If the officials working the games you want aren't using it, you might not want to use it.

A good point Snaqs and thanks. The switch itself is barely noticeable under the whistle, and I didn't let on to my P's yesterday that I was using it.

What about using a flesh colored rubber band on your wrist? Might be able to switch that faster than a whistle?

There must be one. So your question is moot.

This.

Only one official -- the one facing the table -- looks at the arrow after an AP. He/she signals. The other mirrors, if necessary / desired. Nobody turns a back to the court to look.

I'm only concerned that the arrow be set properly. And changed properly after an AP situation. But memorizing its status at all times? Not really necessary, IMO.