Chronograph Update

[Lawdog]

I have read the previous threads on this subject and they are a little dated.

I am looking at buying a chronograph and was wondering what model(s) people would reccommend and if there are good NA sources for them or will be be ordering from overseas?

Any comments on any models appreciated.

LD

[Skruface]

I've had good experiences with an F-1 Shooting Chrony for both airsoft and Real Steel.

[Lisa]

Like Skruface said, f1 chrony. just don't shoot the thing like a certain member of the staff

[MadMax]

The F1 chrony is an optical chrony which uses ambient light to detect pellets. They're generally quite accurate and it's handy that they fold into their own storage box. Optical chronys which use ambient light need steady light sources: i.e. incandescent lighting. They do not work with fluorescent lighting as it pulses at a very high frequency which confuses optoelectronic chronys. Outdoors, this is not an issue as the sky tends to be quite bright and non pulsey (don't set up in direct shade). For indoor use, you can bounce a bright torchiere style light off a white ceiling to provide lighting for the chrony. Turn off nearby fluorescent lighting. Ambient light optical chronys offer a wide detection area which makes the chrony process pretty fast. You do not have to carefully line up shots to get a speed reading. If you put a shield on the LCD screen, you can also fire on the chrony at range and measure pellet speed at range if you're really curious how well your bbs carry speed. Some ambient light chronys offer ROF measurement for the Pball crowd.

Guarder manufactures a self contained optoelectronic chrony.

http://www.intrudershop.com/mmc/imag...ER-2000-06.jpg

It's more portable than the F1 and other optical chronys which use ambient light. It's about 7" long. The Guarder chrony has internal light sources which solves the non pulsing light issue well. The guarder chrony is a good chrony for walking around a game to check someone's ASG as it's internal battery allows operation far from a power outlet. Unfortunately the included charger is not very good. I plan to rewire my chrony to run from a 9.6v AEG battery as the internal one is cooked. The Guarder chrony requires careful alignment between the chrony and the ASG barrel. While having integral light sources is handy, they offer a smaller target area so it can be a little frustrating to not hit the sides of the dectector tube. Luckily hitting the sides of the tube does not cause damage as the more delicate optical components are well recessed so they can't be shot. The guarder chrony is a bit outdated now. there are newer designs from competing manufacturers which offer ROF measurement.

Overall, for general tool box chrony jobs (say check an upgrade), I reccomend the Guarder style chrony (there are other manufacturers now) as it's compact and very quick to setup (no diffuser wands and no illumination issues). It's as accurate as F1 style chronys, but I wouldn't want to use it on real steel or paintguns. There's something harebrained about holding a chrony down range of the muzzle and the powder residue would make a mess of the innards if the overpressure wave didn't blow it up. Slamming the side of the tube with a pball would probably jizz paint all over the optics. Alignment is a bit frustrating. I'd say 1/5 of my shots thru a guarder style chrony do not result in a useful measurement. This is generally ok for bench testing though.

For field applications where a lot of people want to go through the chrony process, the F1 style chrony is superior. The larger target area is a big plus as it deals with the alignment issue. Lighting up a dim indoor field or one lit by incandescent lighting may be a pain though. For bench testing, not having to hold the chrony is a plus if you tend to test partially reassembled guns frequently. Holding a partial gun with a wired battery dangling out the stock stub makes it difficult to hold a guarder style chrony. I often end up duck taping the batt to the side of the partial gun for chrony testing.

[ILLusion]

The F1 Shooting Chronies can be easily acquired from Le Baron's.

See here for more:
http://www.shootingchrony.com/

[m102404]

I've used a really, really old shooting chrony (red) for chronographing and it's been fine but sometimes a little finicky with light sources. I've never had a problem outdoors, but for indoors Carl's comments on not using fluroescent light sources are right on, use incandescent with the opaque filters. They're a pain to setup, but when you really want to know what you're shooting at....

A personal observation, I have noticed a distinct and repeatable 10fps difference between my chrony and at least one airsoft/paintball chrony (the type where you insert your muzzle and shoot through the device). Mine reads 10fps more than the other.

I picked mine up at a local gun show for $15-20, years ago. Buy&Sell sites, gun shows, trade shows/swap meets are good sources for used gear. For example, there's a listing in Toronto's Craiglist (#321366701) where a guy's selling a bunch of reloading stuff, including a chrony. Unless it's taken a hit, it should still work. You can test by turning it on and rapidly swiping your hand over both sensors.

[medhatboy]

Originally Posted by MadMax

Guarder manufactures a self contained optoelectronic chrony.

http://www.intrudershop.com/mmc/imag...ER-2000-06.jpg

Thats the chrony I have and it's works fine for our team, never had any problem with it saying a gun was shooting at a speed that that we knew it wasn't.