Iron Pony Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Got back from a short road trip and UPS had dropped off my new Competition Electronics chronograph and computer interface from Midway. Now the question of what to shoot over it first. Prudence tells me to start with the 308Win I've been working with for a while, no question about accuracy etc but part of me really wants to test some BP 44Spec and 44-40 loads. Might have to pack a lunch when I go to the range tomorrow. Friday morning and initial setup and testing has been completed as follows... Location - Kitchen table Test weapon - Index finger Test Ammo - Heavy duty rubber band Distance from chronograph - About 4 inches Low Velocity - 84FPS High Velocity - 113FPS Projectile Retreival System - Rebel the cat Loaded the interface software on the netbook, XP did all the work and it took about 5 minutes in total including a reboot and finding the com port info. Tested first with the chrono on its own then hooked it up to the netbook. Neat! Had a couple of error messages on the units display so I installed the diffusers on the rods and that cured the issue. Guess the dining table under a six bulb hanging fixture was a little too direct. Theres a button for a large seperate display on the computer and the std reporting window as well so you can keep track of strings or just watch each shot. Didnt bother to stick in data for weight of the rubber band so I cant report on power factor or any of the other statistical data it will track, that will come next. Going to pack up a 22 rifle with some different brands of ammunition, tripod, saran wrap and the netbook and head to the range to work out the process. I'm taking the saran wrap because if all goes according to plan I'm going to test the Smokewagon convertibles with BP in 44Spec and 44-40. FYI, if you are looking for a chronograph and want something that will link up to your laptop Midway has this one on sale for $97 from $120 with an extra $50 for the interface stuff. Oh goody more gear to haul to the range! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Gatlin, SASS 10274L Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Got back from a short road trip and UPS had dropped off my new Competition Electronics chronograph and computer interface from Midway. Now the question of what to shoot over it first. Prudence tells me to start with the 308Win I've been working with for a while, no question about accuracy etc but part of me really wants to test some BP 44Spec and 44-40 loads. Might have to pack a lunch when I go to the range tomorrow. Post results with it with the BP....hey, I just picked up 250 rnds of 7.62 NATO in the 'can' attached to belt links...wish I could send you over a few for you to check out Good luck with it pard. GG ~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack, SASS #20451 Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 If you really plan to chrono BP or subs be sure to put Saran wrap or equivalent on a frame in front of the chrono. The smoke will cause false readings. Normal distance to the start screen for pistol rounds is 10 feet. 15 feet for rifle rounds such as .308. Best results are obtained on a cloudy but bright day. Direct sun can cause problems. We enclose chronos in boxes with incandescent lighting or IR screens for critical work. have fun !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Pony Posted April 28, 2011 Author Share Posted April 28, 2011 Happy a couple of folks said similar things, with different screen materials in an older post soliciting input on what kind to get. GG is you want to ship em out I'll be glad to test them for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Dan Dawkins Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Red Rider Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Pony Posted April 29, 2011 Author Share Posted April 29, 2011 Dirty Dan, was thinking something similar, see update. Mfgr says BB are one of the most difficult projectiles to track due to size/shape/surface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Pony Posted April 29, 2011 Author Share Posted April 29, 2011 Back from the range so here is update #2 Started out with a 22 rifle that I trust for being very accurate. Set it up on the table on the bench bags and put the box on my old bogen (read heavy duty) tripod at about 15 feet from the table with the bore line about 2/3s of the way up the rods. Broke out four different types of 22 and found the CCI small game bullet was the most consistant, bulk box federal was the worst. After a couple 10 shot strings with the Remington subsonic I could tell by the report when they were under 800FPS. Hauled out the convertible Smokewagons and positioned a saran wrap barricade about 2 feet infront of the chronograph. Then just because I wanted to make sure I knew if POI met POA a target was placed adjacent to the saran wrap and 5 rounds of 44 spec were tested. The smoke barricade made reading the digital display on the box hard but no worries, the connection to the laptop was perfect. Rotated through the different loads, capturing all the info then exporting it from the software to excel spreadsheet format. Was a little surprised by some of the velocity variations but next time I'll run a larger sample. All in all everything worked as advertised and correctly right out of the box and would suggest this one to anyone looking for a chronograph. Get the interface and it's kind of like a little balistic lab, minus the strain gauge. By the way the 44Spec load, full case 2F schutzen versus the 44-40 load, again a full case of 2F schutzen, with the same 200 grain Mav D bullet out of a 5.5" bbl averaged only 544FPS while the 44-40 was at 680. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marauder SASS #13056 Posted April 29, 2011 Share Posted April 29, 2011 Thanks for the report! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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