Chronograph Questions

[Mal Paso]

1. BLT and I have been having way to many reliability problems with Shooting Chronys. We've done all the posted troubleshooting. The units are far enough from the muzzle, lenses cleaned, etc and I carry a sleeve of fresh Duracell 9 volts. Has anyone done modifications that increase reliability. I have BLTs Chrony apart on the bench and was thinking maybe light baffles, adding a lighted sky screen or a regulated power supply. I search the archives and didn't find much but maybe one of you has information.

2 What other Chronographs are good. Oehler is expensive and in limited production and I'm wondering if they will be around in the future for parts. CED M2 has new sensors and claims 40% better sensitivity. PACT has a couple models with the same sensors, sensitivity wize the Professional model just has a faster internal clock. Any thoughts?

Thanks and I will certainly post what I come up with.

[Lloyd Smale]

My pact is a much better unit then the two chronys i had previously but still doesnt hold a candle to my buddys ohler. Mine is much more sensitive to light conditions. Most of the reliability problems with it would be cured by infered screens but i dont have power at my range to run them. Overall though it isnt a bad setup.

[Westwindmike]

My Chrony runs great as long as I am in the shade. In open sun, I think it needs bigger sky screens.

[Firebricker]

I've only owned and used one and it's a Pact. It has worked well for me and would recomend them but I have never used another brand. FB

[GLShooter]

I've been using the CED Millennium for several years and have been happy with the results. That 2" fold out screen holder is fast to set up. Mine is the one with the IR port so I print everything out with a little HP printer for my records.

Greg

[Doc Highwall]

I have an older PACT and I just purchased a new CED Millennium M2 along with a pressure system with strain gages but I have not had a chance to use it. The CED Millennium M2 gets high ratings which is why I bought it. I am planing on using the PACT to measure the down range velocity to determine the B.C. of my cast bullets.

[405]

My Chrony is very reliable. I think you may run into odd results from any chronograph if they are not set up right. The stored programming functions can be a real PITB. That's why I use the simplest and cheapest F1 model. Plus if it gets shot it won't break the bank to replace.

In full sun look at the sensor slits. If the sun is hitting those slits it can foul up the readings because the sensors are "trying to see" a very faint bullet shadow as it passes overhead. In low angle, bright sun days the fix is very simple. I put two 3x5 cards in my Chrony box. Under those conditions I simply tape the cards on the sunscreen rods so that they shade the sensor slits from direct sunlight. Another common cause for chronograph error is the alignment and attitude of the unit itself. It should be aligned with the axis of the bullet's path and where the bullet will track directly over each slit. I set mine up so the bullet passes about three inches over the center of each slit. I use a cheapo adjustable tripod to make these adjustments easier.

[TonyM]

I use the cheapy RCBS AmmoMaster... and have used it in all conditions except for rain, and I have yet to have any issue... it is chincey though... it is ALL plastic...lol

[Mal Paso]

In full sun look at the sensor slits. If the sun is hitting those slits it can foul up the readings because the sensors are "trying to see" a very faint bullet shadow as it passes overhead. In low angle, bright sun days the fix is very simple. I put two 3x5 cards in my Chrony box. Under those conditions I simply tape the cards on the sunscreen rods so that they shade the sensor slits from direct sunlight. Another common cause for chronograph error is the alignment and attitude of the unit itself. It should be aligned with the axis of the bullet's path and where the bullet will track directly over each slit. I set mine up so the bullet passes about three inches over the center of each slit. I use a cheapo adjustable tripod to make these adjustments easier.

Thanks. I think BLT Sandwedge found that problem too. By the time I got to the range yesterday he had his Millennium 2 all dressed up with cardboard and plastic. And getting results.

I am happy with the Shooting Chrony after my Mod: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=95846 but I'm going to add sensor shading to the Kit. Our range faces North and the sun angle may be a part of the problem.

Sandbags strapped to the tripod legs seem to be a good idea too. Besides wind even at 15' the muzzle blast and bullet passage affect the machine.

Maybe at some time we could put the info from a couple of threads into a sticky. The manufactures fall short in troubleshooting and it's a valuable piece of equipment.

[JIMinPHX]

I've had good luck with my Chrony for over 20 years now. My only problems came when 1) I was too close, 2) I was shooting some .357 ammo with HUGE muzzle flash, 3) I didn't have enough light, 4) it was a sunny day & I didn't use sky screens, 5) I was shooting very small caliber bullets more than 8" above the sensors.

[Tazman1602]

My wife bought me a master gamma chrony with ballistic printer about ten years ago for Christmas. I tried it and HATED it. First off it took me two days of reading the manual before I could figure out how to use it. I then ran into the same problems you did with erroneous readouts, undependability, etc. Tried everything, the skyscreens on sunny days etc.

I let it sit on the shelf for almost five years..........................then I got mad one day and shipped it back to Chrony with a NICE letter explaining the situation. They replaced ALL the electronics in it, tested it, and shipped it back to me for FREE.

That thing works flawlessly to this day. Don't know what the problem was but even after all that time they fixed it and made it right. I'd buy another in a heartbeat for the price.

This is just my experience, I know plenty of people who hate the chrony but mine is OK now.

Art

[Potsy]

I've had my basic, cheapest, chrony for about 10 years. It has to be in the shade and I have to use the sunscreens, but outside of that, it's always been dependable.
It also helps not to put it back in the box with the unit still on. Batteries don't run forever. Took me one trip to figure that out.

[Shooter6br]

Pact N0 1 have used mine about 20 yrs Works Great. Had a Chrony F-1 Gave it away, It was an early model but i did not like the "guts" of the machine in harms way down range if you get what i mean, See thread of what did you shoot your chronagraph with?

[GP100man]

I took a big square trash can & cut the bottom out of it laid it on my table set the chrony in it & had almost perfect readings since , if I do my part !!