Digital Chronograph

My Competition Electronics chronograph is 25 years old and similar to the one you linked.

In all those years, and thousands of rounds fired over it, it has never failed me.

I did put a polycarbonate shield over the readout.....bullet lube and gas checks can do a job on it.
 
For pistol, the F1 Shooting Chrono or the Competition Electronics is fine based on my experience of shooting competition since the late 60's. For long range rifle, yea, you need to spend a little more. Be interesting to see how long the magneto ones last with all the muzzle blast. Like 454 said, it's a good idea to put a plastic shield in front of the readout, I wasted an F1 from lead splash, even though it was a good 15 feet away.

You can start loading without a chrono by using the powder makers load data starting low and working up .3 grains at a time to check for the tightest group with manageable recoil. The chrono just confirms your power floor.

Before electronics, we used a ballistic pendulum, like this, but it works best to have an object that the bullet doesn't exist or splash, so it's a total inelastic collision.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdwVrrnRaCE
 
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You guys ought to look at the chronograph from fifty years ago that worked by cutting wires on a grid. Technology is wonderful.
 
Breakwire chronographs have been around a lot longer than that. The Wheatstone "chronoscope" (as he called it), was invented in 1840. It used a circuit breakwire at the front of the muzzle to release a weight to start the gravity operated "timer". I don't believe it ever enjoyed wide acceptance. There were a number of other breakwire designs in the 19th century, including the Navez (1848) and more famously the Le Boulenge chronograph used in the Gavre Commission firings (circa 1880). They differed mainly by the timing mechanisms used. I didn't count the Bashforth (1865) because, technically, it wasn't wires but weighted strings that he broke, and the weights operated switches for the recording timer.
 
My wife bought that very one for Christmas and it works really great. I wonder how come I've been with out it for so many years.
 
My first chronograph was a "breakwire", except the screens were actually printed with a conductive silver paint. They cost 5 cents each, so each shot was a dime. This is about 40 years ago, when gas was $.69 a gallon. I began making my own screens using very fine gauge wire removed from motor windings.

When skyscreens came out, I was very happy.
 
I got a Caldwell Premium kit. It has been a bit quirky but I have almost figured it out and can get it t work in manual mode. The phone app looks nice but I have only gotten it to work once.

I will be taking it out again tomorrow to work up a pistol load. It work just good enough to keep me from putting a slug through it.
 
I love my Competition Electronics Pro Digital Chronograp. It has never given me a problem like my older Chrony did.Too many times I would get error messages from the Chrony but have not had any with the Pro.

I gave the Chrony to a friend and he started to get errors so often he doesn't even use it anymore.:mad:
 
I had and used a Shooting Chroney Beta for 10 plus years and it seemed to always gave trouble.Error messages or no reading at all, especially on bright sunny days.Worked pretty well on partly cloudy or full cloudy days. One day while testing .243 loads i nicked one of the sunscreen supports and it died for good.I'm glad I killed it !!!!!!! So I'm interested in all the reviews on the other brands for sale. hdbiker
 
I have and use a CED M2. I only have had one session that gave me errors and that was early, like the first session. Since that time, works without a hitch.

This one is prolly half the size of the Oehler 35P that I used to have.
 
I have a lot of rounds through a Chrony Beta Master (the invoice packed with it called it the Master Beta... insert Beavis & Butthead style laugh here) and while I will give it credit where credit is due, I will never recommend anyone purchase one. I'll do the good & bad and maybe it helps.

Good:
--Decent price compared to others in the market
--packs small and compact
--wired remote display/control is far better than going down range
--does a very good job of measuring almost all shots most of the time

Bad:
--interface is train-wreck awful: they built a machine with more mathematical computation power than the Apollo 7 space craft and THEN, they give you three simple push-click buttons with which to manipulate that mathematical power. And a four-digit display. This would have been genius in 1978 but it's a nightmare here in the 21st Century

--again, huge mathematical power -BUT- you are absolutely limited to a 10-shot string and there is no way (no possible way) you can get this unit to give you a true Standard Deviation for anything more than 10 shots. This will only matter to you if you find that an SD is is something to be explored.

--left in the dust by most newer models and updated models when it comes to being able to communicate with other devices and keep/record data. Bring a legal pad and a pen if you want to actually keep ANYTHING you see.

One day when I have a few dollars that I can't seem to get rid of, I'm going to get a chronograph that I don't loathe. This one will go away if/when that happens. But YES, if you believe your needs are simply and basic and you want to shoot a round down range and see how fast that round is going and you really don't give a flop about compiling some data and getting in the nitty gritty of it, this unit might serve you fairly well.
 
The Caldwell does a great job for me. The design is new, so the electronics are up to date. That means a fast clock speed and, in theory at least, better resolution and accuracy. Electronic design advances at a rapid rate and nobody pays hundreds of dollars for a a 100 meg hard drive anymore.

The big advantage is that you've already paid for the "brains" of the system if you own a smart phone. The free app works great, you can download the data to an Excel file, and it even lets you Email the results if you like.

All you're paying for is the detection device and you can get that on sale for around seventy bucks. Unless you shoot indoors, skip the deluxe kit. Just buy the bare bones unit and use a sturdy photo tripod from your attic or from a garage sale.

Mine is so handy, so reliable, and so easy to set up that I chronograph every round except when I shoot in a competitive match.
 
Having the readout on the sensor unit I suspect will become a PITA. I have used the Chrony Alpha Master and F1 Master (The Master designation simply means the readout is on a separated module connected by a 15 foot cable to the sensor unit). With the master model I can shoot, look at the fps readout without getting up. The Alpha unit has more statistics in its computer module, but I found I really did not use the data ... looks pretty, but strikes me as pointless. Since I figure it is more 'When' rather than 'If' I shoot the sensor unit, I have settled on the F1 Master, as it is cheaper than the Alpha Master. If all you want is the fps of a reload, commercial round, I think the Shooting Chrony F1 Master does the job and a good price ... especially if you catch it on sale.
 
Had the origianl Crony in the 90s for a few years then I shot it. Chrony allows you to trade it in for a new one 1/2 price, so I upgraded for the remote display. If I shoot this one, its eaven cheaper to replace because the display does not get shot. Look at their webisite.

Once I learned it does not like direct sunlight, I had no prolems, just use it in the shade, or the skyscreens or it works best on an overcast day. It even says that in the instructions.

There is now a trade in deal on this page. http://www.shootingchrony.com/products_ttiyc.htm

The instructions are long, once figured out its easy to use. Mine sat for a few years, I had to re read the manual.

Prices have come down since I bought mine.

Its a great tool if you are a handloader.

David
 
I have had great results with my Caldwell chronograph. The app it comes with is fantastic. It does all your calculations for you.
 
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