Vintage Shooting Chrony help

[metricmonkeywrench]

As a part of an estate sale of shooting equipment I received a red box Shooting Chrony in pretty decent shape. All I have is the chrony itself which still seems to work. I went to the website and contacted customer support to see about getting a sky shade but was informed that it is an early F1 model that has not been supported for several years and they could not help or offer any assistance. The on/off switch is inside mounted to a plate with the 9v battery, but no connector for p/c or printer connections. The display plate simply has lo batt, error and f/ps markings. I found a picture of a similar unit on the web but it must have been a newer and used the rods to support the screens.

Here's the frustrating part, the sensor blocks for the one I have does not have holes for mounting sky screen rods. The box does however have what appears to be slots in the sides next to the sensors which I assume are the mounting points for a screen. I think I can cobble something together but have no idea of what height the screens must be above the sensors to be effective.

So I now turn to the go to the shooting knowledge source of antique, archaic, obscure, vintage and cheap a$$ folks like me that won’t let anything that works go… Does anyone have an early Shooting Chrony with slip in screens that I can get an assembled picture of and possibly a copy of the Owner’s Manual?

[bosterr]

I don't use the steel rods at all for fear of hitting one with a boolit. I use 1/8" wood dowels and marked them with felt tip pen for guidance in lining things up. I don't remember when I ever used the white plastic screens last. If you think you need screens, they can be made from plastic milk jugs. I installed the rods in mine and with the screens attached they measure 8" above the sensors. I hope this helps.

[metricmonkeywrench]

My google-foo was strong this morning and I came across an image of what I am looking for.. Does anyone have a set that I can get measurements off of?
Attachment 206610

[tazman]

I think I still have one of those in the basement. I'll check and get back with you.

[tazman]

Here are the pictures of the screens from the chrony with a tape, measure.

You can use the sides from a plastic milk carton for the diffuser screen material. They work quite well on another Chrony I use.
You can get the measurement for the folded sides of the support from the slot size on your Chrony base.

[metricmonkeywrench]

That's them.. LOL I see yours have been ventilated a bit here and there. Are the standoffs cardboard? I was actually thinking of using flexible cutting board for the top which starts out a little flatter than my local milk cartons.

Any chance of getting a full size scan of the two pieces (side/top) sent electronically? it would save me some time of figuring out the back ears on the front piece.

[tazman]

They are cardboard. Looks like slightly heavier than cereal box cardboard. I don't currently have a scanner, sorry.
You don't really need the front surface of the cardboard. It just serves to provide an aiming point. Put a couple of cardboard strips in the side slots and staple some translucent plastic to them.
What I would do, since the height is relatively short, is just use long strips from a gallon milk jug. I did that on a newer version of a Chrony and it worked perfectly.

[HeavyMetal]

I have a Red Chrony that must be a little later made than yours, it has holes for steel rods to hold shade/ sky screens.

What I will suggest, and has nothing to do with your current problem is building your self an armored base to set this on!

I had an old gumball machine base and welded up a steel plate with and angled steel plate that covered the front area of the Chrony, this will deflect a bullet up and over the Chrony should you let loose a low shot and you will!

I put a mirror in the area under the angled plate and a bicycle mirror mounted on the side to give me a periscope type view of the screen, this way I can see each velocity for round fired with out getting up and walking down range use a scope or binoculars for this and you'll never have a shot Chrony!

HM

[backhoe]

Never needed the screens, I just put drinking straws in the holes instead of the metal rods.

[tazman]

On overcast days, the Chrony works fine without the screens. On bright sunny days, if the sun shines directly on the sensors, it doesn't work well. As long as the sensors are shaded it will work fine, even on sunny days.
The bullet holes in the cardboard screen of this unit are the closest I ever came to shooting a chronograph. It was the first one I owned.

[metricmonkeywrench]

Thanks taz and all who replied. I will try to cobble something together tonight, I have a range day planned for Friday and may try to take it out to see how well it works.

Having gotten it for basically nothing, I think its worth trying out at least since I don't have one at all. The better half after hearing that this is an old and discontinued model has authorized the procurement of a modern system... Think I may go with the Competition pro and maybe move this along to a new reloader.

[BUCKEYE BANDIT]

If you still need them, I just scanned them , let me know with PM and e-mail

[metricmonkeywrench]

Bandit, pm sent

[metricmonkeywrench]

Ok folks, thanks for all the great assistance with all the examples provided I was able to cobble together a proof of concept to take to the range to see if this works. Construction consisted of printed scans taped to thick cardboard and difusers cut out of an old flexible cutting board. Range day tomorrow!Attachment 206694

[Beerd]

I used to have one just like that.
The Chrony folks took mine in as a partial trade on a newer model.
..

[metricmonkeywrench]

Range report: So in preparation of heading to the range I pulled out a cheap tripod that I got with a spotting scope, it appeared to be too low to use while standing so I ended up packing out my “good” camera tripod with more height. Setup and assembly were easy enough and I positioned myself the minimum 5ft away. Then the fun began, I realized immediately even with the taller tripod why the diffuser stand pass thru design didn’t last long and the rods and wings design came about. My standing shooting stance with a .38 put my natural POA well above the chronograph and the angle would not be the desired horizontal path but rather an angle path that would mean skimming the top of the front target hole and exiting just above the bottom of the rear which put the rear sensor in jeopardy. By spreading my feet way apart I was able to lower the height of the pistol to a better horizontal path. Shooting thru the two holes took about as much concentration as bullseye target shooting and even then I clipped the front diffuser stand up top on the final shot. I fired 15-20 shots or so and did not receive any errors and the displayed values appeared reasonable for the wadcutter load I was shooting so I believe it is working properly.
For the future I’ll switch tripods to protect my good camera tripod and shoot from a supported position from a bench as the Owner’s manual (Thanks Bandit!!) recommends. I have a rifle/pistol rest that should minimize consistency issues and simplify the process of shooting and recording data.
Again all, thanks for all the assistance in getting this old tool running.

[charlie b]

A rest is recommended for shooting through any tripod mounted chronograph. It is too easy to hit them even from a rest

The Chrony was designed to be super portable, including those screens that would 'store' folded around the folded Chrony. I bought an early one because they were less than half the price of any other chronograph on the market. I really never liked the folding box and all that went with it or the carboard screens, which fell apart after a short time. Supersonic bullets make them 'flex' and break eventually.

I have another one now, simply because they are still inexpensive and reliable. It has rods and plastic screens that are a bit more robust. The metal rods are more robust, but, if you get a bullet strike on a rod it will break the plastic sensor cover. The bamboo rods are a good alternative.

[Shiloh]

Shot my red F1 a dozen or more years ago. Have the blue one. F1 worked great up until the front rest sank.

.30 cal. 220 gr RN does a job.

Shiloh