A little help from the more experienced in Chronys, pls.

[Beagle333]

I just got a new F-1 Chrony yesterday, and after assembling it and waiting for the never-ending rains to stop here, I have noticed that the 3-piece snap-together diffuser assembly is quite flimsy and falls apart at just the slightest touch. Would it have any detrimental effect on the performance or purpose of the diffuser strips if I ran a layer or two of clear packing tape across the top (or outside of the loop) to hold those 3 pieces firmly together? I won't be disassembling the thing for storage, so it being permanently bonded as one long strip won't be a problem. I'm asking this before I tried it out, because it would be a bear to get the packing tape off, if it was a bad idea. (Actually, if it really didnt matter.... I could run a strip of Gorilla Duct Tape across it and it would be really tough.)
Thanks for any replies.


(I did do a couple of varied searches for this, and was unable to find my answer.)

[khmer6]

Are you talking about the white plastic pieces? If so they are suppose to simulate clouds on a bright sunny day. If you have a air soft gun or something do some trials. Get use to it with cheap ammo and predictable results. If you are getting results that are way lower or higher than the toy gun is rated check the diffusers. Try with them on, off, with tape

[Beagle333]

Yes, it is the white plastic pieces. I was hoping perhaps somebody has already done the testing and might offer their results and or verdict on the "fix".

[Full Mold Jack]

The diffusers are rather fiddly and tape sounds like a great idea. I can't imagine clear packing tape would affect anything.

On cloudy overcast days I just poke in some drinking straws for guides, no diffusers.

[KYCaster]

Hmmm.........I haven't noticed the sky screens to be too flimsy. Are you sure you're getting them snapped together securely?

Chronys are VERY sensitive to light conditions. It may take some experimenting to get good results. If you get a reading that's anywhere near believable, it's probably accurate. An error message (no reading) or extremely high readings (15,000 fps) are good indicators that your set up isn't working.

Bright sun with the screens or uniform overcast without the screens seem to work well. Partly cloudy or mottled shade will cause intermittent problems and one screen in sun and the other in shade doesn't work at all.

I finally gave up and put the Chrony inside a big box with incandescent lights above the sensors and never have any problems. Of course that's not a very portable set up, but works very well for me.

Clear packing tape shouldn't have any effect on the readings.

Jerry

[Beagle333]

Maybe "flimsy" wasn't the right word..... but it is made from a brittle sort of plastic that cannot be described as precisely molded to fit perfectly. When the pieces were snapped together, the plastic tabs and holes for the buttons clearly had some bright white areas appear in the plastic, showing that they are stressed and will not handle repeated assembly and takedown. I figure that with one good strip of clear wide packing tape across it, they will be good for a long time. I am not disappointed with the purchase, but I can already see that a couple more times of snapping them together will result in a glue session. I just didn't want to tape them up if the tape would affect performance, but it looks like I will be okay.
Thanks for the replies, and Happy Shooting!

[Bent Ramrod]

Those plastic diffusers will definitely break to pieces under the stress and ultraviolet light when they are used long enough outdoors. Get in touch with the Chrony place in Canada and buy a couple extras against the inevitable time.

As mentioned, they do not like direct light. When one of our rare overcast days occurs out here, my first thought is, "Hey, great chronograph weather." When the day is bright and I want to chrono some loads, I tape a paper target over the diffusers so it shades the entire unit from front to back. I make sure whatever angle the sun assumes will not shine direct light into any part of either of those skyscreens. With this setup, I've not had any error messages or impossible readings except when the battery has run low.

[fouronesix]

You can do whatever works. The only function of the diffusers is to create a bullet shadow for the sensors to detect. I solved the problem you describe. I use only one steel leg at each corner. I put a slight bend in the leg about 1" from the top of each. I "locked" two of the translucent sky screen plates together then pop riveted them solid- creating two solid flat plates, one for the front and one for the rear. Use the plates that have the rod sockets.

Easy set up- Insert the four single legs one at each corner with the slight bends at the top turned inward. Slip on the front and rear sky screens. They are flat and not under any tension.
Presto

pics added

[NSP64]

clear tape or not affect the performance I don't use the screens at all .

[Lloyd Smale]

i use black duct tape on my pact screens.

[olafhardt]

We had a contest as to who hit theirs at the closest range. I claimed the title. Of course ICheated because my F1 still works, sorta. I take the readings with a grain of salt.

[olafhardt]

PS I ran the contest, but nobody objected to me claiming the title.

[Oreo]

Go get some wooden dowel rod to use in place of the metal rods for the sky screens. WHEN you eventually accidentally shoot the rods the wood dowel will be much kinder on the chrony base then the metal rods.

[Artful]

Go get some wooden dowel rod to use in place of the metal rods for the sky screens. WHEN you eventually accidentally shoot the rods the wood dowel will be much kinder on the chrony base then the metal rods.

+1

And paint the rods with bright colors - do one color/coat over the entire rod then with a different color put in the area where the boolits are supposed to go.

And remember with any scoped gun your boolits are going to be are barrel height - NOT the scope height which will be higher so you HAVE TO COMPENSATE.

[Garyshome]

I lost one half of 1 rod, picked up a stick got out the pocket knife ans was back in business in no time.

[TXGunNut]

I don't bother with the screens at all, just shoot over it in early morning or on overcast days. Hope my Chrony lasts until they come out with a wireless control/display.

[Maven]

Another vote for the clear tape when you can't shoot in the early AM or on overcast days. It's a mystery to me why Shooting Chrony, Inc. hasn't improved this rather glaring design flaw.

[c1skout]

Maybe "flimsy" wasn't the right word..... but it is made from a brittle sort of plastic that cannot be described as precisely molded to fit perfectly. When the pieces were snapped together, the plastic tabs and holes for the buttons clearly had some bright white areas appear in the plastic, showing that they are stressed and will not handle repeated assembly and takedown. I figure that with one good strip of clear wide packing tape across it, they will be good for a long time. I am not disappointed with the purchase, but I can already see that a couple more times of snapping them together will result in a glue session. I just didn't want to tape them up if the tape would affect performance, but it looks like I will be okay.
Thanks for the replies, and Happy Shooting!

Mine were the same way. I used the edge of my pocketknife and scraped a bevel on each edge then test fit until they fit nicely. When they each fit properly I marked the edges with a "sharpie" so I can reassemble the same way each time. Took about 10 minutes.