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In the market for a new chronograph and was looking what grafs had. Just want a simple GOOD Chrony with out spending alot, are these good from Grafs? COMP ELECT PROCHRONO PAL CHRONOGRAPH http://www.grafs.com/product/256579 Or is the chrony f1 or beta a beter unit Or which brand do you recomend | ||
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I have had one of those chronographs for 20 years. Works great. I would choose it over the shooting chrony units. Several of my friends have those and have experienced many erratic readings. NRA Life Member HHI Member SCI Member "get busy living... or get busy dying" | |||
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I have an F-1 and like it alot. Actually, it's my second one. I shot the first one. I think the F-1 is better than the Prochrony. JMHO | |||
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If I was an anal retentive ballistician, I probably wouldn't be too impressed with an F-1 Chrony. But I'm not and my F-1 works just fine for me. | |||
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I have the blue one. Which one is that? I haven't had it out of its tackle box in over two years. I was having troubles with it. I kept getting ERR1 and ERR2 messages. Seems the bullet has to pass over the eyes just right or you get nothing. When it did give me results, I loved it. If I could get it to work all the time, I'd use it more often... | |||
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I have had a chrony model F ever since they first became available here in NZ and have fired hundreds of pistol, rifle and shotgun rounds over it. Always has given credible readings but have found that except on days that have a good cloud cover, you need to use white plastic diffusers over the light cells. Mine did not come with these but I just cut some from a white plastic ice cream container lid. Also used a thick piece of "lexan" over the front light cell/readout to protect it from stray shots, wads etc. Don't place near fluorescent or eco lighting as this plays havoc with the electronics and gives errors. Also use a good alkaline battery and not a cheap one. My chrony has given great service over the years. | |||
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Randominator, I am not trying to start an argument with you, but I personally don't see how any descent chonograph ie. Chrony brand,etc., can not be accurate. They merely time the passing of an object from one lens to the other. If something goes wrong with the process then it should give an error message. I personally think that the erratic readings one gets (and I get them with some rifles/components also) come from the inconsistancy of the components themselves. In other words different case thicknesses, barrel fouling, etc. Perhaps Mr. Oehlers would like to chime in on this and shed some more light on it for us? Of course this is assuming he would not want to be plugging for his namesake chronograph. "The right to bear arms" insures your right to freedom, free speech, religion, your choice of doctors, etc. ....etc. ....etc.... -----------------------------------one trillion seconds = 31,709 years------------------- | |||
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Anyone wanting to buy one of Ken Oehler's chronographs would have to buy it used as he has not sold them, except his industrial units, for years. JD Miller wants the cheapest chrono he can find, not the best. | |||
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My first chrono was a ProChrono which worked flawlessly until a co-worker shot it with a 270. He replaced it with another just like it and the replacement worked just as good as the first one until I exicuted it with a 45ACP (that was embarrasing as all get out). I didn't want to spend any more than I had to on another one so I opted for an F1 and I get so many err1 and errII readings that I have considered shooting it on purpose. Dennis Life member NRA | |||
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I just got my first chrony F1...does anyone have any tips for us new-chrony-users in it's use? ________________________________________________ Maker of The Frankenstud Sling Keeper Proudly made in the USA Acepting all forms of payment | |||
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Thats is not what I said. "simple GOOD Chrony with out spending alot" I had a Chrony F1 breifly years ago but a friend I loaned it to shot it. I never replaced it untill now. Thanks | |||
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I hear ya, brutha... | |||
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Could these error reading be becuase the chrony was set up under shade of a rifle range shade roof or there was cloudy over cast weather | |||
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I just got back from useing my F1 for the first time. I set up a target at about 12 ft. from my truck and got my sandbags out to shoot a couple 22 LR shots to see what my impact point would be. I then got my chrony and tri-pod out and set it up about 2 feet in front of the target and fired a couple shots through the target to find it works perfectly. It is simple and I like it. . ________________________________________________ Maker of The Frankenstud Sling Keeper Proudly made in the USA Acepting all forms of payment | |||
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JD Miller, I have made a black plastic one piece sky screen to use when shooting in bright sunlight and use the opaque two piece sky screens to use in the shade and now do get some readings besides ERR. I would recommend the ProChrono at a little over $100 though to save yourself some grief. I would like to buy a CED MII at about $200 when money isn't so tight. If I would have bought this in the first place all that would have been shot is the pick-up and not the whole unit. Dennis Life member NRA | |||
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I have been using the Shooting Chrony Gamma model for over 15 years & it has been great. The first one I shot on the range after 6 months and I replaced it (they give a good discount for repeat / replacement order). A few issues I found - 1. I tape on a 1.5 inch strip of stiff paper at the bottom of the shade rods to make sure that I aim 1.5 inches above the unit. Amazing how many times I still nick or shoot the paper! 2. Mine comes with shades. However in bright hot sun, the display becomes difficult to read. I have asked the company & they say that this is normal if the unit gets hot. I plan to insulate the box with styrofoam. I have compared it with my friend's ProChrony & mine has been very reliable. His gives 200 to 300 fps variation for the same loads and on one occasion it was even more. He lost complete faith in it. Good luck. "When the wind stops....start rowing. When the wind starts, get the sail up quick." | |||
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Quote: Randominator, I am not trying to start an argument with you, but I personally don't see how any descent chonograph ie. Chrony brand,etc., can not be accurate. They merely time the passing of an object from one lens to the other. If something goes wrong with the process then it should give an error message. I personally think that the erratic readings one gets (and I get them with some rifles/components also) come from the inconsistancy of the components themselves. In other words different case thicknesses, barrel fouling, etc. Perhaps Mr. Oehlers would like to chime in on this and shed some more light on it for us? Of course this is assuming he would not want to be plugging for his namesake chronograph. I have seen many arrows shot over a Shooting Chrony that gave false readings. The ProChrono that I have used for 20 years starting giving me erratic readings when I started shooting large caliber handguns, i.e. 375 JDJ, 378 GNR, etc. I believe this was due to hot gasses or the heavy blast generated by these big bottleneck cartridges. 5 shots would read in the 2400 fps. area and one would read 1200 fps. I have since switched to a Oehler Model 33P and have never had a bad reading. I will still use my ProChrono when using regular handguns and rifles. I believe the major advantage with the Oehler is the skyscreens used. JMO. NRA Life Member HHI Member SCI Member "get busy living... or get busy dying" | |||
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A good freind would have replaced it for you. | |||
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Very true, I should have said "former"  | |||
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I own a small electronics design & manufacturing business .... there are many reasons why something can go wrong. * Distance from muzzle to chrony is one. * The type of sensors used & its sensitivity to light, shaddows etc. * It could be affected by the reflection form the bullets, or off any other surface nearby, shadow of bullet across a reflection etc. * Could be a bug in the program / chip * Could be the math used in the program for rounding, calculating variables etc. * Could be the electronics design that reacts to low battery voltage My technical team would probably come up with a lot more possibilities. I have certainly seen strange readings from a Pro Chrony on more than one occasion. "When the wind stops....start rowing. When the wind starts, get the sail up quick." | |||
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any is far better than none. all of the commerical ones have a state 0.5% error i've used several, and personally keep a shooting chrony with remote use the screens, every time.. be sure to shoot over the sensors ... if you get err1/err2 you have missed front or rear sensor, in that order .. muzzle blast can affect them all opinions vary band of bubbas and STC hunting Club Information on Ammoguide about the416AR, 458AR, 470AR, 500AR What is an AR round? Case Drawings 416-458-470AR and 500AR. 476AR, http://www.weaponsmith.com | |||
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All of these things you mentioned would more than likely show a pattern of some type of consistancy. In other words erratic patterns all of the time with all calibers under either full sunlight or cloudy conditions. As other posters have mentioned the only time I have seen anything goofy is when the sun goes behind a cloud and I have the plasic diffusers (I believe they are called) in place. If you are shooting a 3 or 5 shot group in 5 to 10 minutes, at the same point of impact with the same bullets and not moving the chronograph then some type of pattern will develope, either good or bad and it will show up again and again, unless of course lighting conditions change dramaticly. Low voltage in the circuitry should also show a pattern. On arrows I can see a possible problem due the the length of the arrow and the different possible angles the tail end of the arrow could exit the chrony. Just my opinion guys. "The right to bear arms" insures your right to freedom, free speech, religion, your choice of doctors, etc. ....etc. ....etc.... -----------------------------------one trillion seconds = 31,709 years------------------- | |||
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I have the F1. Mine stops giving me readings when the sun hits the unit, sky screens or not. Also on occasion have come back to the range another day with the same loads, same gun and the readings are 150 to 200 fps different across the board. Haven't done it yet but have considered placing the chrony in a translucent tube that extends a good distance over the front and back of the unit. This would hopefully give a more uniform light around the unit, therefore more uniform readings. | |||
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As I said earlier in the post I have great success with my old Chrony F1 and I am just wondering if it is the aiming 'shutters' for want of a better word. They came with the unit and consist cardboard shutters that slip over the front and rear light screens with an oval shaped cut-out to aim through. On the edges of the cut-out are two references, one for lining up vertically with open sights and the other slightly higher for scopes. You can see these references easily through a scope. I think this ensures that the bullet flight is horizontally and vertically over the same path each time. I have seen the later chronys with the wire guides but to me these seem to be a bit hit and miss and perhaps a cause of some inconsistency if not careful to reference each shot. I generally set up my chrony about 3 metres from the muzzle and have used it with large calibre pistols, shotguns and my 404. Doesn't seem to be effected by muzzle blast, even with the bellowing 404, cast bullets, a wool wad and a slight smoke haze. Perhaps I've got a lucky one. | |||
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Eagle, I wonder if you can post photos of the old "shutters and screens" if the new ones dont come with that stuff. | |||
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Here is a scan of one of the cardboard aiming reference shutters that slot over the light cells on my early model Chrony F1. As you can see the oval bullet window requires reasonable precise aiming but is easy to see through a scope which is the upper reference.  | |||
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The "clock" in most chronographs is essentially identical -- and very, very dependable. The difference is in the screens and how precisely those screens detect the shadow of the bullet and trigger the clock. The Skyscreens on the old Oehler systems were great -- everybody has been trying to match them ever since, with varying degrees of success. Some screens require the bullet to pass very close overhead, while others require a certain degree and defusion of lighting. The Chrony is famous for "insensative" screens which often miss or misread the bullet's passage, however shooting in good light and shooting low over the sensors helps this. The other source of error is in screen spacing. The Oehler system allows some very long screen spacing (I use four feet with mine), while the Chrony and some others are as short as twelve inches. The longer the screen spacing, the less the potential error (and any an error in reading the bullet causes proportionally less error in velocity readout.) A problem you can have with a system like the Chrony which folds is to have the hinge not rest in exactly a 180 degree opening. Anything more or less points the screen detection fields either closer together or further apart, thus introducing spacing error. Yet another potential spacing error is to shoot through the screen fields at an angle. This is where the Oehler is actually potentially a little less accurate in that its wide, tall detection field allows you to shoot at an angle, thus effectively increasing the distance the bullet travels between the two screens and making the registered velocity lower than actual. Regardless of these comments, the Chrony is an economical machine that does a *pretty* good job for hobbyist reloders. It can be a little slower, sometimes frustrating, and a bit less accurate than more expensive models, but, like a good friend of mine says about Bud Lite, "If that's all you've got, it's not too bad". | |||
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Yep, you'venailed the biggest shortfall in the Chrony, the crappy scrfeens. They are small & shallow. You need to put the bullet directly over the center & really close to the screens to get reliable readings. I have an Oehler but have shot over the CED, Chrony & PAct. The CED has the next best setup to the Oehler IMO. LIFE IS NOT A SPECTATOR'S SPORT! | |||
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Could it be that the cheaper chronys don't have the skyscreens far enough apart for fast velocity rifles? Mr. Oehler recommends a minimum 2 feet apart and 4 feet apart for high velocity cartridges. Just a thought. Maybe the bullet is traveling too fast to give it time to compute the velocity, Thats why we get errors? | |||
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Yes, longer screen spacing would play a part. But, IMO it's Oehler's patented photodetectors that make the difference. | |||
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