Chrony chronographs

[wch]

Does anyone have an opinion of the Chrony ?

There are so many models and add-ons available that I'm a bit confused with the menu, so if you would recommend a particular set up I'd really appreciate knowing your opinion(s).

[WFO2]

I got the Master Beta for Christmas as soon as hunting season is over I will try it out .

[Vann]

Honestly there isn't much to a chronograph, it's just a pair of light senser's hooked up to give a timer start and stop signals. The main difference is how things are set up and what little bells and whistles you get. I guess that just makes it a matter of preference.

I had a Chrony years ago, it was ok. Now I have a Pact, which works ok. Not really much difference in what they do, just what they cost.

[LUBEDUDE]

I have the Alpha Chrony and the elaborate, expensive Pact Chronograph.

Since the Alpha is so simple to setup and compact, I have never even used the Pact that I bought 15 years ago.


http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160119/2817790b6318713e8432e76d0fa0cb41.jpg

[C. Latch]

Mine is 20 years old this coming summer and still seems to work fine.

YMMV.

[blpenn66502]

I bought the Alpha Master a number of years back and like mine and haven't had any reason to look at the new non-Chrony models that have come out in the last 5-10 years. Having the remote/display at the bench was a big plus to me over the basic model. It holds 30-60 rounds in memory IIRC until you disconnect the battery and also calculates ES, StdDev for each string. I normally write down the individual velocities from each string while at the bench between strings so I have had the need to be able to download the info later like some of the more expensive Chrony models do.

[tazman]

I have 2 older chronys. Not certain of the models. One is old enough that it has the cardboard windows to shoot through. I would have purchased the first one in the late 70's to early 80's. It wandered off somewhere and I purchased the second one. The first one eventually wandered home so now I have 2 of them. They both still work.

[MUSTANG]

I have a 20 year old chrony. If I ever replace it; a remote cable to bring the digital display to the shooting bench - plus memory of the last 10 shots will be on the list of requirements. I use a set of binos to read the digital readout after each shot, then record the velocity after each chart on a paper chart.

[Don Fischer]

Only one I ever had is the Pact MKIV championship timer. It has a chronograph function, all that I use and it will read out trajectory's to, well I' don't know how far. 500yds is far as I've used. Also has a printer so I can print out trajectories farther than I'll ever shoot. Then I can also do it sitting at the shooting bench and set up my rifle and shoot against it's data right there. I have never found it to be wrong! You cannot get one for $100 I don't believe but they are worth the money for me.

[Don Fischer]

I have a 20 year old chrony. If I ever replace it; a remote cable to bring the digital display to the shooting bench - plus memory of the last 10 shots will be on the list of requirements. I use a set of binos to read the digital readout after each shot, then record the velocity after each chart on a paper chart.

I didn't see this post. My sky screen's are hooked to the chrno from 10' away. Every shot is in the machine and shows on my unit plus gives high shot and low shot and average and extreame dieavition. I've done trajectory in 5 yrd increments to 500yds just to see if it could, it can!

[cwheel]

Not sure what chrony I have, but I do have the one with the remote read-out. Only trouble is error messages in direct sun light. The cure for this is a strip of 2" duct tape across the screens, no more error messages and you are good to go. After 15 years of use, I'd buy one again if needed.
Chris

[dragon]

I have the Chrony F1. It works great but I hope to upgrade to an Alpha model soon so that I can just download the whole shot string to the computer instead of manual entry. I have found it useful and accurate from bows to airguns to centerfire rifles.

[jsizemore]

I've had my Delta Chrony for 20+ years. It's a little fussy when using it near sunrise or sunset or the battery is low. I stuck it in front and behind an Oehler 35. It was never more then 10fps difference then the Oehler. Cost a whole bunch less then the Oehler.

[C.F.Plinker]

The "master" has the remote readout on the bench whereas the "non-master" models have the readout on the unit itself. Which can mean that if you have the non-master models you may need a pair of binoculars to see the readings. IIRC the F1 just shows the current velocity measurement, the alpha models can store one string of 10 shots, the beta models can store 6 strings, and the gamma models can store 10 strings.

The only problems I have had are with 22LR ammunition which would occasionally fail to record. I found that using a black felt pen on the bullets made them easier to "see" and virtually eliminated the failures to record. The instructions that came with mine were not the easiest to understand so I made up a cheat sheet that shows how to clear the unit, clear a string, clear a reading, and toggle through the menus.

I have the beta master and it has been more than adequate. I have a blank spreadsheet on the bench and record each velocity as it is shot. This is a backup in case I accidentally erase a string or forget to go to the next string when I change loads. After I finish a string I go through the calculated data (high, low, and average velocities, standard deviation, etc.) and enter them into the spread sheet. This way I can get a better feel for what is happening. If I am testing more than six loads the hand written copy is essential because string 7 will overwrite string 1. When I get home I get on the computer and enter the data into the spread sheet which calculates the data again and gives a printout of the results which I file with my load workup sheets. This gives me a check on the calculation that the chrono makes.

[triggerhappy243]

I have an F-1 all I care about is the velocity. I write the velocity on a pre-printed sheet provided by the people at chrony. I also write down the particular reloading info of the batch of ammo I am testing. I write a code number on the target I am shooting at and the same code number on the corresponding chrony sheet. when I get home, I match the target with the chrony sheet and I can do whatever down loading I need to do. Hope this helps.

[fgd135]

I've got an F1 that I upgraded to (almost) Alpha with their simple corded push-button remote. It upgrades the software a little bit and enables you to recall one string of up to 32 shots, measures High, Low and Average Velocities, Extreme Spread and Standard Deviations. It will not let you delete single shots from the string, as the Alpha will. At the time I bought it, there was a huge price difference in the F1 vs. the master with the remote readout, but in retrospect, that remote readout is worth the extra $$.
Chrony instructions are awkward to navigate, as is their website.
Fwiw, I also use lexan splatterguards on my Chrony, as I shoot lots of BPCR and muzzleloaders, and the shields keep bullet lubes off the readout screen.

[jmorris]

I use mine more than my other chronographs, I was only out $20 with a coupon I had.

Simple and works. Even use it at night with a sheet of cardboard and a flashlight.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/jmorrismetal/tools/chronylight.jpg

[dubber123]

I use mine more than my other chronographs, I was only out $20 with a coupon I had.

Simple and works. Even use it at night with a sheet of cardboard and a flashlight.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/jmorrismetal/tools/chronylight.jpg


That is a slick idea!

[jmorris]

That is a slick idea!

Sometimes I just sit, other times I sit and think.

[aspangler]

I bought the F1 when Midway had them on sale over a year ago. Works for what I wanted one for and didn't cost an arm and a leg.

[Greg S]

I've got a Chrony something or other 'Master' it has a substantial memory, better than mine with the printer. The printer option is nice when working up ladders ect. I just shoot, print, log target/group# and load data on the print out for later review.

I've had it 20 years or so, the skyscreen rods took.ome bad hits from a 375 H&H and one screen got cut by a 458 Lott projo but it basically has been solid till the last year. Got some great numbers last time shooting 75 Amax, Sierra 77 & 80 gr MHP out of a Rem 700 Police with a 26" tube. 75s were 3100+, 77s 3k and the 80s were 29 and change. Got to looking at the #s and ran some Wolf MT Extra outta a 40x and came up with 1180. Humm.

Read the difficult instructions three times and tried to set it up for the different 'speed zones' 0-1k, 1-2k, ect but still the reading are high. Granted I'm in the hills, 2500 ft elevation but I don't think it is accurrate. I'll be sending it in under their refurbishment program.

Other than that, get some rechargables (2 sets) cause with periodic use they tend to be dead when ya need them and someone needs to make the user interface controls alot easier to use and understand. Other than that, great unit for the $.

Always wanted an Oelher (sp) but they stopped making them when I bought one.

I think the printer is the way to go for later review. Granted, you can go home and curser through the brain and record the data and if like me, delete it ect.... It's a no brainer, print, record group# and load data. Done.

JMorris. Good idea on the alternative sky screens. Also +1 for the black sharpie the boolit so it can get picked up.

[fred2892]

Bought a top of the range gamma master about 15 years ago. The instructions are, shall we say challenging and non model specific. Always struggled remembering which buttons to press to start a string and print at the same time, it seemed as if the same buttons did different things depending on the day of the week..
It eats batteries and if not new they can throw up some strange readouts on the display. Forget winter time, you may get a couple of strings before the batteries are sucked dry but that would be hopeful. The buttons on the remote occasionally stick down sending the display into a crazy dance.
Last summer I started looking for a new chronograph and settled on the Caldwell Ballistic Chronograph, I just bought the basic model as i already had a bag and tripod left over from the old chrony.
Wow!!!!!! It's like when colour TV first started.
It hooks up to your smartphone. There is one and only one button on the unit.
Instructions are excellent though to be honest once hooked up to your phone everything from then on is pretty much intuitive.
Real time display gives instant fps/me reading but the best part of it is that when you've finished shooting and you can add details to the string.
Calibre, powder, bullet, charge weight, primer type, wind speed and direction and a photo of the group which can be digitally measured for group size.
It automatically adds your location in lat/long and barometric pressure.
After sales support from the company is excellent, they answered all my questions and took on some software improvement suggestions I had.
Compare this to chrony, 3 emails to them over a couple of months were simply ignored. Take a look at the chrony website and it is immediately obvious that this company is not comfortable with technology.
Finally, it costs less than the chrony!!

[corbinace]

I have the F-1 model that I bought from Midway in '91. I have loaned it out many times and used it a bunch myself. I can not remember what I paid for it but I am sure I and my friends have gotten my moneys worth. It is getting a bit harder to see the screen though:oops: Yeah, must be the screen getting dimmer, couldn't be my eyes.

[hermans]

For me Chrony is a bit like Lee....you get what you pay for. Chrony's are ok if you want to more or less know the muzzle velocity of most hand guns.
If you need to do proper load development for high velocity rifles, then you would be wasting your time with a Chrony.

[dudel]

I looked hard at the Chrony's; but ended up with a CED M2. More money; but I felt it was well spent.

I don't like shooting at the main electronics, I liked having the display and controls on the bench, I liked the larger skyscreens, and I like the ability to import the chronograph data into my spreadsheets. They have kept the software updated through Windows 10 (though it took a while). Manual is only fractionally better than the Chrony one.

I didn't think I'd have much use the power factor calculation or the voice telling me the result of the last shot; but I've found both of them very handy.

[jmorris]

I don't like shooting at the main electronics

That never works out, always shoot over​ them ;)

[ukrifleman]

I have had a Chrony F1 for a number of years and it has always been reliable.
ukrifleman

[popper]

Plain Jane F1 plus binocs does the job. Big trick is getting a good sturdy tripod that locks the head in place. I hook a 3# weight to it so the wind doesn't blow it over.

[JeffG]

I have one, only hit the edge of the frame once with the bullet and it didn't die, so that must mean something..[smilie=1:

[corbinace]

I have one, only hit the edge of the frame once with the bullet and it didn't die, so that must mean something..[smilie=1:

Sounds like improper shot placement to me.:kidding: A properly place shot would have done the deed, don't ya know.

Once after mine was returned from a friend, it had a little nip of metal bent back just above the readout.:( He was lucky, or maybe I was lucky he did not kill it.

[noisewaterphd]

For me Chrony is a bit like Lee....you get what you pay for. Chrony's are ok if you want to more or less know the muzzle velocity of most hand guns.
If you need to do proper load development for high velocity rifles, then you would be wasting your time with a Chrony.

Agreed. But, not just Shooting Chrony. Any optical chronograph under $500 is in the same boat.

I own 2 Chrony's, both Master F1's. I like them.
I own the Caldwell unit. I like it.
I own a PACT. Meh. I really couldn't care less about the doodads.

And, somewhere along the way, I finally got the Oehler 35p.

I have probably spent more time fooling around with chronographs in my lifetime than I have spent sleeping.

Here is the deal man: Chrony, Caldwell, PACT, CED, etc. - they work fine, each has their quirks. None of them are accurate. I don't mean wildly inaccurate, but if you are trying to work up benchrest loads you will have totally wasted your money on anything other than the Oehler. It made me sad to figure this out the hard way, but there is no way around it.

Just need a general ballpark idea of your velocities? Awesome, any of the above will work perfect. My favorite is the Chrony based on build quality, and I like that it folds up.

If you need truly accurate readings, don't waste your money. Put it toward an Oehler, or maybe the new Doppler units. There is a Norwegian company making acoustic chronographs too.

[kokomokid]

noisewaterphd, Have you ever tried a ced millennium? I have been reading reviews on it and may try one? My cheap-o chrony jumped up and grabed a bullet, best thing it ever done.
OOPs I see you included the CED .

[imashooter2]

At my local range, there can be long periods between cease fires. I got the F1 Master for the remote readout. Well worth the extra cost in my situation.

[hermans]

Noiswaterphd,
I absolutely agree on everything you said. I designed and built my first chronograph about 35 years ago, and the last one about 20 years ago, which I still use to this day. It uses Oehler screens(sensors), and the unit itself is based on the Oehler 35 concept, and I still believe it is just as good as the Oehler 35.
However, if you put the CED Millenium's sensors in a coffin box with artificial lighting, you can get very close to the accuracy of the Oehler 35.

[JeffG]

Hahahaha, exactly!


Sounds like improper shot placement to me.:kidding: A properly place shot would have done the deed, don't ya know.

Once after mine was returned from a friend, it had a little nip of metal bent back just above the readout.:( He was lucky, or maybe I was lucky he did not kill it.

[jmorris]

I designed and built my first chronograph about 35 years ago, and the last one about 20 years ago, which I still use to this day. It uses Oehler screens(sensors)


I I remember my Father giving me information on making one that used a timer with aluminum foil sheets (4) separated and electronically isolated so as the bullet made contact with the first two, started the "clock" and stopped it with the second two sheets. It was a little above my knowledge at the time (think it might have used vacuum tubes) but he did show me some very cool photographs he made using the same concept, activating a flash with an open aperture on a 35mm camera, hitting light bulbs with a hammer.

In some of the photos you could see the glass bending with the hammer on top, yes before breaking. Neat stuff and well before high speed cameras.

[jmorris]

Talked to my Father and not only did he remember taking the photos he sent them to me (captured in 1965).

http://i664.photobucket.com/albums/vv5/qvideo/gn/light_bulb_zpsg9ns4dkt.jpg

IIRC the concept came from a popular science, "back in the day", I seem to remember a kids scooter powered by a starter motor and car battery in the same issue.

Guess it had already broke but not all the way, pretty good memory for 30 something years ago, when he showed them to me.

[noisewaterphd]

noisewaterphd, Have you ever tried a ced millennium? I have been reading reviews on it and may try one? My cheap-o chrony jumped up and grabed a bullet, best thing it ever done.
OOPs I see you included the CED .

Yes. Again, I like it just fine. It does it's job as long as you understand what to expect out of it.

It also sounds like you can probably modify it to be much closer to the Oehler (read down a few posts). That could end up being a pretty nice chronograph for a heck of a price.


Noiswaterphd,
I absolutely agree on everything you said. I designed and built my first chronograph about 35 years ago, and the last one about 20 years ago, which I still use to this day. It uses Oehler screens(sensors), and the unit itself is based on the Oehler 35 concept, and I still believe it is just as good as the Oehler 35.
However, if you put the CED Millenium's sensors in a coffin box with artificial lighting, you can get very close to the accuracy of the Oehler 35.

That is really interesting idea. I may look into it a bit more. I don't have too much motivation to actually build one right now (too many damn projects as it is), but I'm certainly intrigued.

[hermans]

jmorris,

Those pics are really amazing being taken back in 1965!

And yes, my first chronograph work exactly the same as the one your father described to you, so basically the unit just measured the time in micro seconds it took for the boolit to go from the start to the stop screen, then out came the good old HP-35 calculator for the final step to obtain your muzzle velocity!
With the finicky tin foil screens, it took a while to get it to run smoothly, but once setup, you got very accurate and consistent readings....in any light conditions, even in the dead of night! Those were the days!

[fgd135]

It eats batteries and if not new they can throw up some strange readouts on the display. Forget winter time, you may get a couple of strings before the batteries are sucked dry but that would be hopeful.

I feel your pain...I switched over to 9V Lithium batteries and cured the cold-weather problem, and the battery life is quite a bit longer, too.
There is no cure for the undecipherable Chrony instructions, but I did make up my own cheat-sheet, and that helps a bit.