Looking to get a chronograph, I was thinking about one of the shooting chronys.
What is everyone using and what do you recommend?
I have been using a Oehler 35P for 21 years. Friends of mine also purchased one after trying others. It works great!
allie
Skip the shooting chrony, for the same money get the Pro Chrono by Competition Electronics. It's user friendly (buttons are labeled with their actual function) and far more reliable. I've owned both and will not buy another shooting chrony. They are old tech that should have been updated 10-15 years ago.
I bought a Pact timer years ago with the chrono option for around $300 total. Dumb. It is too elaborate with all the other range gear, what a PIA. I never used it.
So I spent $89 a month later for a chrony. Simple, compact, easy to use.
That was was over 10 years ago. I don't know what's new. Check things out and depends upon how elaborate your needs are.
I use the Pro Chrono . No problems till I shot it. :o Ordered another of the same model.
I have a Chrony. I don't want any controls on my chronograph. I wanted power and I wanted to see the velocity. I write it down and then perform my own calculations on the data. This allows be to remove any obvious anomalies, etc.
The Pro-Chrono looks like it is probably a more user friendly unit, and a better value. To be honest, most of the $100 units will probably be just fine for your needs.
Oehler 35P is the best
Quote from: setsuo on September 04 2012 01:34:03 PM MDT
Oehler 35P is the best
Not going to dispute that.
But, it isn't 3.5 times as good as the other's mentioned, and I really don't know that most of us here could justify how we need the additional precision the money buys.
Just sayin' :)
I'd end up shooting it
Bidding on a 35p on eBay, pretty sure I won't win but who knows.
CED M2
Works well even in low light conditions, or get the infrared skyscreen and don't worry about light conditions. Over 1000 shot capacity with up to 500 string permanent memory. Offers edit and omit functions. Built in calculator using the keypad on the base unit itself. USB interface to download data to your computer. Runs on one 9 volt battery. Low battery indicator so you don't have to guess. Has a speaker that can be turned on or off where the unit will tell you each recorded velocity out loud when your setup doesn't allow for easy screen viewing or whatever. Also calculates power factors for both IPSC and IDPA. With the push of a button it will also tell you the average of the 3 fastest velocities of a string. Plus lots more. Anyway, love mine.
I also especially like it that the main base unit is completely separate from the sky screens.
Quote from: REDLINE on September 06 2012 12:03:09 AM MDT
CED M2
Works well even in low light conditions, or get the infrared skyscreen and don't worry about light conditions. Over 1000 shot capacity with up to 500 string permanent memory. Offers edit and omit functions. Built in calculator using the keypad on the base unit itself. USB interface to download data to your computer. Runs on one 9 volt battery. Low battery indicator so you don't have to guess. Has a speaker that can be turned on or off where the unit will tell you each recorded velocity out loud when your setup doesn't allow for easy screen viewing or whatever. Also calculates power factors for both IPSC and IDPA. With the push of a button it will also tell you the average of the 3 fastest velocities of a string. Plus lots more. Anyway, love mine.
I also especially like it that the main base unit is completely separate from the sky screens.
What is the software interface like? Can you take a screen shot?
Hope it turned out good enough.
(http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s271/glock20c10mm/Guns/P1000068-crop.jpg)
That's pretty cool.
I like the simplicity, without it being simplistic.
Quote from: Rick1987 on September 05 2012 01:56:13 PM MDT
Bidding on a 35p on eBay, pretty sure I won't win but who knows.
Did you get one yet? If so, which one?
Nope, I lost. It went for close to $400. I think a little over with the shipping.
For that much I would just get a new one.
I think it will be a couple more weeks till I get one. The sway bar in my hot rod took a crap so I have to fix that first.
Dang! Why someone would pay that much, I have no idea. With four Benjamins you can buy two CED M2 chronographs.
Still using the Oehler model 33 I bought back in 1980.. Still works great. Sent it back to Mr. Oehler last year 'cause the LED's were starting to go out. It was fixed and calibration is still right on..
CED Pro Chrono. Less than $100 and works great. Ran it next to my friends Shooting Chrony and he was spending more time messing with the settings than shooting over it!
Also, if you want, the CED can be 'updated' with the USB cable and digital program for your laptop.
BTW, how does one go about calibrating a chronograph?? :'(
Thanks!
There is no way to calibrate them. They either work or they don't within some easily corrected limitations outside of wear and tear which could include scratched sensor lenses which would need to be replaced.
What most users don't realize is what is required to get the most accurate readings possible no matter what chronograph they use. And some chronographs will work better in some situations than others by virtue of overall design.
Examples:
1) Bullets should pass evenly over both sensors. That means centered over both, and at the same height over both. So if you are set up on uneven ground, and your sensors are different to parallel of flat ground you should shoot through the sensors on the same upward or downward angle they are positioned from each other.
2) Bullets should pass over the sensors as close to the sensors as possible within reason, and each bullet in your string should pass over the sensors at as close as possible to the same height as the last for best consistency. Owning a Ransom Rest would be the ultimate.
3) The lighting over the sensors (with or without the skyscreens) must be balanced. Therefore sunlight should not be coming from either in front of or behind you. The sensors or skyscreens (if you are using them) should be positioned underneath of, or at a right angle (90 degrees), from the light source (sun or incandescent). So as the sunlight position changes, so will you adjust the angle of your sensors/skyscreens to it.
If you are attempting to work with sunlight that is low on either horizon you can usually tilt your top white diffuser skyscreens evenly toward the angle of the sun to allow for continued use. Of course your shooting angle will have to be adjusted too.
4) Two things that will throw off accuracy or total use of any chronograph are: electro-magnetic interference and excessive electrical static (noise). These same issues are what causes AM radio to crackle. Examples of causes include: florescent lighting, nearby weather conditions, powerlines, electric fences, radar, electric motors, cellular telephones, transmitters..... Many photo-electric sensors, just like those used in our shooting chronographs, are susceptible to these interferences.
5) This isn't something that affects accuracy of the chronograph, but is something to still be aware of: Changing barrel temperature affects velocities and different ammo temperature itself affects velocities. It isn't usually by much, but when trying to be as consistent as possible is something to keep in mind. For example you may notice minor differences in the velocity of ammo you've just unpacked to start shooting with, compared to ammo that's been sitting out in hot sunshine for a while. Though if the ammo you are shooting isn't that consistent to begin with, you probably won't notice much of anything anyway.
6) Altitude also minorly affects velocities, also unrelated to accuracy of the chronograph itself. So if you are up in the mountains one day and down in the valley the next, differences may be seen, just depending on how great the difference in altitude was.
7) Muzzle blast will interfere with chronograph readings, to the extent the velocity readings won't be accurate, all the way to not getting a reading at all (except for possibly an error message). Therefore make sure your skyscreens are far enough out. For most handgun rounds that equates to 7-10 feet away. Many rifle cartridges will require 15-18 feet.
8) And then there are Glints. Glints happen when your chronograph sensors are sitting over reflective ground (water, sand, snow, bright concrete,...). What happens is the reflection from underneath lights up the bottom of the bullet enough to keep the sensors from seeing it. She chronograph sensors are looking for a shadow passing over them. Little to no shadow = no velocity reading, or an incorrect one. The easiest ways to remedy this are by putting a dark colored tarp on the ground underneath the chronograph sensors, or changing location all together.
9) Except for not keeping your sensor lenses and skyscreens free of dust and debris, those are all I'm aware of.
Kind of makes one wonder just how many people are getting correct chronograph readings through the correct use of their chronograph.
One thing I like about my CED M2 chronograph is that it incorporates features that help to reduce some of the issues compared to all other chronographs. For example it uses relatively high speed digital circuitry incorporating a microcontroller that runs at 48 MHz, which is also the reason it has an operating range of 50-7000 fps. It also has an expanded digital chip design that allows it to record velocities at much lower light levels than most other chronographs, basically all the way from early morning to sunset. It also uses custom designed dual lenses over the sensors for greater accuracy.
I'm getting good results with the CHRONY Master with the remote display...the target mount helps keep bullets at the correct level. Here it is shown without the protective steel plate.
(https://s20.postimg.org/t6abvwkuj/IMG_0567.jpg)
Quote from: Rick1987 on September 18 2012 10:18:25 AM MDT
Nope, I lost. It went for close to $400. I think a little over with the shipping.
For that much I would just get a new one.
I think it will be a couple more weeks till I get one. The sway bar in my hot rod took a crap so I have to fix that first.
Have you snagged one yet?