Doublehelix
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Is it true that the Bluetooth adapter for the CE pro is ~$60? That is 2/3 the price of the unit itself.
Best Chrono for the money?
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Reloadron
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Competition Electronics ProChrono Digital Chronograph $93.99
Competition Electronics Digital Link Bluetooth Adapter, Black $53.99
Yeah, sort of looks about that way.
Ron
Competition Electronics Digital Link Bluetooth Adapter, Black $53.99
Yeah, sort of looks about that way.
Ron
Blue68f100
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Yes it is. But the thing works very good and easy on batteries (3 AAA). The main unit does every thing the BT/iPhone/pad does but you have to manually write the data down. The BT w/app allows you to get the data off easily, transfer data, and/or full control of the crony. It sure beats running a cable.
About 10 years ago, maybe more, I started out using a Shooting Chrony Beta Master. I discovered that it would report velocity as much as 100 fps higher than "actual" velocity based on bullet drop shooting out to 600 yards, and further confirmed by comparing results using other chronographs including some high end equipment at Remington. About 8 years ago I bought a CED M2 which has proven to be very good, excellent even with the optional IR screens. The issue I'm having these days is set up time. It is such a PITA having to set up a chronograph for rifle and then pistol, and then rifle again etc. I managed to shoot one of the IR screens the other day while testing handloads from a SRH Alaskan (.454 Casull) so as I was in the process of looking for replacement screens I noticed the LabRadar. I persuaded the powers that be this morning that we should order one of those along with a USB battery bank. The set up seems easy with no need to run back and forth adjusting the position of the screens. I'll be shooting outdoors at my house so won't have any of the indoor issues that have been mentioned. I'm looking forward to seeing how good this LabRadar is.
jmorris
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Yeah, you can't quite do that because BC's given are not always accurate and they even change depending on velocity, which is also constantly changing from the time the primer is ignited until the bullet stops.
But yeah you can take as many chronographs as you can stack together at the same distance from the muzzle and fire a shot through them and they all can and more than likely give you a different number, even if they are all the same brand and model. They are a tool that gets you closer than a guess and are not exact. However, using one as a "standard" you can see incremental differences in your loads.
2011redrider
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Yes, plus it gives you an audio of the fps on you phone in case you don't want to stop shooting to look at the chrono display. Got mine thru jet.com and it would not display to the mobile device. Sent them both to Custom Electronics and they determined the bt device was defective, replaced it and refunded the shipping!!!
Bryan Litz did exactly that to empirically calculate BCs for numerous bullets. I know that he used velocity at different ranges as well, but bullet drop, BC and velocity are all related such that if you know two of the variables you can always calculate the third. When I was competing in F-Class matches and getting sub 0.5 moa vertical spread for 20 shots at 600 yards after making a scope adjustment I wondered why my real world results weren't in sync with the data from a number of ballistic programs. I was using the BC value for the 178gr A-MAX from AB but always had to correct for elevation. It was clear that something wasn't right. Once I confirmed the velocity error from the Shooting Chrony and adjusted the inputs in the ballistic software everything came together with accurate data all the way out to 1,000 yards.
If you shoot 10 rounds of the same load through four different chronographs and all four report similar SD values, three report the average velocity within 1% of each other and one reports the average velocity to be 4% higher than the other three I think a conclusion can be drawn from that.
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Nature Boy
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I agree. I also like the fact that your data is stored and organized on your phone. Very handy.
The main downside to the Pro Chrono is the housing is cheap. The bottom of my unit cracked due to the stress put on the threaded insert that screws to the tripod.
The answer to that question is, whichever one has the features you feel you can't live without and is the cheapest.
I use an old Shooting Chrony F1 that displays the velocity of the projectile passing over it (be it arrow, airsoft BB or bullet) and that's it. You have to record each shot because the chronograph has no memory. This is not a problem for me because I only use the chronograph during load development and I don't mind pausing between shots to write down the velocity. If you need machine memory, then by all means buy one that has it. Otherwise you have to ask yourself what each system is delivering that you don't get in a "lower" model.
Accuracy, precision and reliability under all conditions are what I want from a chronograph and I certainly didn't get two of the three using the Shooting Chrony Beta Master. The CED M2 with the IR screens has proven to be 100% reliable (never missed a shot with hundreds of rounds fired) and based on side by side testing it appears to be both reasonably accurate and reasonably precise. I don't care too much about the ability to import or save data since I write it down at the bench. I do like the ability of the control module to report values such as high, low, average, SD, ES and others.
If the LabRadar proves to be the winner that I think it is then the CED M2 will be in a box collecting dust.
I have a simple chrono and find it all I need or want. My data recording device is a pen or pencil and piece of paper. I type the numbers into an Excel spreadsheet I made and the computer does all the other calculations. The chrono is one of my least used devices. Haven't done any measurements for several years now.
Doublehelix
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I bit the bullet and bought a Labradar. Ugh! Lots of money, let's hope that it works as well as I hope it does.
Any tips from experienced users???? I have read the manual and watched a bunch of YouTube videos, so I feel well equipped, but there are always "gotchas" to watch out for.
Any tips from experienced users???? I have read the manual and watched a bunch of YouTube videos, so I feel well equipped, but there are always "gotchas" to watch out for.
Klint Beastwood
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well i will say that you should find comfort in the fact that it wont be a finiky as a light sensor chrono. I never saw on here why you needed/wanted a chrono in the first place? are you reloading and getting data, or are you using it for information in a ballistic solver etc? It's relevant to your your question above.
I've been using one for about a week now with both pistol and rifle loads. I've been shooting rifles with suppressors attached and the position of the muzzle in relation to the LabRadar is critical. Yesterday I had no issues once I got the rifle positioned correctly but today I had all kinds of problems. The LabRadar is really easy to set up which makes it worth it to me and it reports velocity at specific ranges to the target (user programmable). It's a simple interface that isn't very intuitive but once you read the manual it's straightforward enough. The optional SD card slot is useful and like I said. once you figure out the best position of the muzzle relative to the unit it's all good.
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For me, I wanted more accuracy than most of the cheaper chronographs can provide. I bought an Oehler and it has been great. The accuracy (with a long enough rail can get down to 2 fps). For most of the cheaper chronographs (I don't have the emails from the companies I contacted in front of me) the accuracy was around 1%. That's ~30 fps for many of my rifles. The Shooting Chrony F-1 is around 0.5%, which is ~15 fps for my velocities.
Doublehelix
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Mainly reloading and getting decent data easily. I work up a lot of loads for different calibers and different uses within each caliber, so the convenience factor in setting up on hot ranges and no issues with weather/sun were my main concerns. I am not so worried about BC data at this point in time.
Klint Beastwood
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Thats good, labradar should serve you well for MV and SD. Just make sure to aim it the right way at the target, set it up around 6 to 12 inches from the muzzle and try to avoid using it around other shooters, If so you may have to play with the mic sensitivity. You shouldnt have to but you might have to play with it anyways.
We did that with THREE different units. One was my cheapo Shooting Chrony, one was a Pact, and I don't remember the third brand - it was 5 years ago. I posted a whole report on 1911 forum back then.
Results. The cheapest and most expensive units recorded EXACTLY the same readings. The other one differed by less than 5 fps. SD and ES were identical, only the Avg of the odd one was different compared to the other two. Jmorris is certainly right, they will vary slightly. But those of you shooting across a chrono for the last 10+ years will realize that 2 to 5 fps is nothing compared to all the other variance you get. As long as the instruments are repeatable and reliable you will get the data you want. All of them are capable of the job.
Can't wait until I afford the radar unit. So cool!!! Woo hoo !!!
It will give me the same data but how cool is that. Radar!!!
You can use the same chrono and gun, shoot five strings of six or so shots over it from the same exact position, and it will give five different sets of numbers. Often close, but different. They are a useful tool, but not definitive.
No doubt, which is one reason I always shoot a test target at seven yards with the chrono at five so the shots will be reasonably close to the same spot when they pass through the chrono. That and it gives good feedback.
Does your chronograph report velocities at user configurable ranges? Can your chronograph be set up at the shooting bench? Do you have to spend a bunch of time aligning your chronograph? Does your chronograph have the option to run off 110V? Is your chronograph SD card compatible? If none of these features are important to you then don't buy one. If these features are important to you then perhaps it's worth the investment. Regardless, sarcasm is kind of childish don't you think?
Actually, that's exactly what should be expected from a chronograph if it was properly calibrated and perfectly accurate since the odds of five or six rounds being so precisely loaded so as to give the exact same velocity are astronomical.
That said, most home chronographs have no provision for calibration, so there's no way to know whether or not they are "accurate". In fact, since the odds are about 3000 to 1 in my favor, I suggest the assumption be the number shown on the display is NOT the actual velocity of the projectile passing over the sensors. The value of the chronograph is not in giving a shooter a precise number for the bullet he has just fired, it is 1) in letting the shooter (particularly the reloader) know whether his loads are "in the ballpark" of what he was trying to achieve and 2) in letting the shooter know whether loads from the same batch are performing with an acceptable degree of consistency.
When I fire a string of rounds and get back (in round numbers) a velocity of 2,850 fps and a variation in velocity of 1.3% when the consensus of the manuals say I should be getting 2,970 fps, I take it that what I am loading is "in the ballpark" and that it is consistent enough for my purposes.
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