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A&D FX120i labscale reloading upgrade with V2 auto trickler review.

Has anyone gotten shipping notice on any V3 items OTHER THAN the BT board? Ordered V3 BT board and accessories upgrade on first day of release . No shipping notification yet. Hopefully this week...
 
Cambridge Environmental states the preorder for the whole V3 package will be fulfilled in July so I'd expect most people's orders would get fulfilled then.
 
Just got my Bluetooth set up. With the addition of this feature it make the perfect set up in my opinion. I just started load development on two rifles and by being able to input your target weight it makes the process so much faster and easier.

Prior to the V3 I would start with the lowest charge I was using for load development do 3-5 at that charge then using the AutoTrickler like and manual trickler and trickle up to my next load and set that as my new target and do 3-5 of those and repeat again and again til done. Now I just select each on my phone and it goes right to it.

The V3 upgrade is icing on the cake of an already great product but it really completes the setup to make it a perfect package.
 
Cambridge Environmental states the preorder for the whole V3 package will be fulfilled in July so I'd expect most people's orders would get fulfilled then.

That’s about what I figured. I ordered the V3 thrower and the new Bluetooth board day 1 that it was available.
 
What is everyones method of drilling out the hole on the side wind blocker? I ordered the V3, and when it arrives I want to do this mod. I have read of people cracking theirs and with replacements being $70 Id prefer to make this a first time success. Ive read taping it, but what bit and speed are people using?
 
I used a mill. The key is to use masking tape on both sides to prevent cracking/chipping when drilling or milling.
 
Masking tape as mentioned, and I used a dremel with simply a pointed grinding wheel to burn through and get the rough hole, then a cylinder stone to finish it. I also made a cut in my front window (cuttoff wheel/file finish) that allows the pan to go in and out easily while still providing a decent amount of restriction of air movement.


7098728
 
Masking tape as mentioned, and I used a dremel with simply a pointed grinding wheel to burn through and get the rough hole, then a cylinder stone to finish it. I also made a cut in my front window (cuttoff wheel/file finish) that allows the pan to go in and out easily while still providing a decent amount of restriction of air movement.


View attachment 7098728
Man that looks slick. Just might have to do that to mine. Thanks for sharing
 
Could someone get me a weight figure on the whole A&D + autothrow + autotrickler setup. I think I'm going to mount it off the wall above my bench to minimize bumps and movement affecting the measure due to the press. Or do you think the measure can handle small movements?
 
You want ZERO movement. The measure doesn't even like moving air. I'd rather have it on it's own bench that is on solid ground. The wall will move with every closing door in the house, if your reloading room is in the house.
 
What is everyones method of drilling out the hole on the side wind blocker? I ordered the V3, and when it arrives I want to do this mod. I have read of people cracking theirs and with replacements being $70 Id prefer to make this a first time success. Ive read taping it, but what bit and speed are people using?
I used a unibit(step drill). I used the unibit brand, but you can find decent ones at harbr freight:
 
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The way my house is laid out I find that hard to believe but maybe I'll repurpose a side table for the job, or get some milk crates and bricks.
 
I use mine on the same small coffee table as my press, six inches away from one another. Its pretty hefty and stable but it’s still a small table on carpet. The only issue is there is a small window of time, the last .2 grains or so (2-3 seconds?) when the trickler ramps down that you don’t use the press. While it’s going full force that powder dumping is causing a much bigger effect to the scale than a little movement from the coax handle. I can usually get my half pump in before it starts to ramp down so while I stop to rotate the case halfway before final seating the scale is final trickling and no force is being placed on the table. Doesn’t really waste any time at all.
 
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What is everyones method of drilling out the hole on the side wind blocker? I ordered the V3, and when it arrives I want to do this mod. I have read of people cracking theirs and with replacements being $70 Id prefer to make this a first time success. Ive read taping it, but what bit and speed are people using?

I made a side panel out of Kydex, easy to cut, shape & trim, cheap, no risk, and no cracking.
 
I drop charges inside the house, and utilize a arbor press and inline seating dies. This negates any significant force being applied to the (same) table that scale is sitting on. Makes better use of my time waiting on the charge to drop as well (though with the FX-120 auto-throw, it's a short wait).
 
I received my V3 bluetooth board today. What a great upgrade, works perfectly and is so easy changing charges.
 
Any pictures, as I await mine it appears the the side panel is curved, if so, wonder how you accomplished it? Thanks
Kydex bends with heat, heat gun or blow dryer. Cut a piece roughly the same size as the lexan, place it against the lexan, heat it, bend it to the same curve, then trim to size. Very easy.

20190622_232621.jpg
20190622_232626.jpg
 
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Kydex bends with heat, heat gun or blow dryer. Cut a piece roughly the same size as the lexan, place it against the lexan, heat it, bend it to the same curve, then trim to size. Very easy.

View attachment 7099855View attachment 7099856
Thanks, looks great and ya, should be simple enough. Ebay is littered with it, can you offer what thickness you suggest, seems to be most offerings are .080, and a rough width and length needed?
Thanks for the pics!
 
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I had a very strange loading session this morning that freaked me out. I have the FX-120 scale, area 419 trickler base, 419 aluminum powder cup and self centering tray. I have used the set up probably only three times (loading about 75 rounds between 22-250, 223 and 6.5CM). Three different powders of course. This morning I was using my setup with the new V3 bluetooth board and started loading 37 cases (22-250) with varget powder. 34.6 grains was the target. After i loaded the 37 rounds, I decided to check a couple of the cases before pressing bullets in and was quite freaked out. At least 15 case (power charge) weighed between 34.42-34.44 grains instead of the 34.6 target. I made sure there was no granules left in the cases and decided to pour all the powder out and start again, not knowing what had happened. I loaded up 10 more round and started checking them and had the same results. I was making sure to set the powder cup gingerly in the tray, had no wind movement and was starting to think, scale? bluetooth board? Have no magnetic fields by the scale? So I started playing with locating the powder cup on the tray in different spots even though I was centering it before. I had some very different zeroing of the scale as I placed the cup in different locations. I reinstalled the pan that came with the scale and started reloading the cases again, I would load ten shells and check two. I did this for 37 cases and when was finished i went back and randomly checked about 10 more cases. Not 1 issue, so i finished with the bullet install and am conviced there must be some type of machining issue with my pan. I am in no way trying to slam area 419, but am glad I experienced this before going shooting and had some weird groups . My previous reloading sessions with my setup before the V3 upgrade, I did not check when i was done, i just assumed everything was OK, and didn't experience any weird groups out of the three calibers i have loaded for. Just thought I'd share, might be worth the effort to check. My bad for assuming.
 
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I'll need to check 0.60 or 0.80, it doen't matter really, long at it isn't too thick.
 
I had a very strange loading session this morning that freaked me out. I have the FX-120 scale, area 419 trickler base, 419 aluminum powder cup and self centering tray. I have used the set up probably only three times (loading about 75 rounds between 22-250, 223 and 6.5CM). Three different powders of course. This morning I was using my setup with the new V3 bluetooth board and started loading 37 cases (22-250) with varget powder. 34.6 grains was the target. After i loaded the 37 rounds, I decided to check a couple of the cases before pressing bullets in and was quite freaked out. At least 15 case (power charge) weighed between 34.42-34.44 grains instead of the 34.6 target. I made sure there was no granules left in the cases and decided to pour all the powder out and start again, not knowing what had happened. I loaded up 10 more round and started checking them and had the same results. I was making sure to set the powder cup gingerly in the tray, had no wind movement and was starting to think, scale? bluetooth board? Have no magnetic fields by the scale? So I started playing with locating the powder cup on the tray in different spots even though I was centering it before. I had some very different zeroing of the scale as I placed the cup in different locations. I reinstalled the pan that came with the scale and started reloading the cases again, I would load ten shells and check two. I did this for 37 cases and when was finished i went back and randomly checked about 10 more cases. Not 1 issue, so i finished with the bullet install and am conviced there must be some type of machining issue with my pan. I am in no way trying to slam area 419, but am glad I experienced this before going shooting and had some weird groups . My previous reloading sessions with my setup before the V3 upgrade, I did not check when i was done, i just assumed everything was OK, and didn't experience any weird groups out of the three calibers i have loaded for. Just thought I'd share, might be worth the effort to check. My bad for assuming.

So you are saying that for each, you visually verified 34.6 Gr and then later weight the same powder and this time it was not 34.6gr?

How long was the scale on, warmed-up before use?
Did you have nothing on the balance plate during warm-up?
Have you calibrated the scale with a calibrated weight since you added the Area 419 tray?
The weight of the powder cup does not change, did you verify the scale gave you the correct weight before zero-ing?
Did you clean the 419 tray, I've seen a 0.02 gr shift from the tray being dirty.
I have also seen a volatage swing move the Zero, an appliance goes on/off. I use a Triplite Line Conditioner, plugged into a UPS, so the units never goes off. I also have a few Ferrite Cores on the power cable going into the scale.
Any major temp swing also can move the Zero
 
Listen to the guy above he's spot on. Your scale is drifting it happens when its not warmed up or for me when my Air Conditioner is running I'll see the scale drift slightly.

I turn my scale on the day before i plan to reload and let it run 24 hours before i use it, I also close the vents in my reloading room. I have the weight of my Area 419 tray written down next to the scale so every time i pull the scale I should always see that same weight on the scale.

I hope this helps, also ensure you weigh your calibration weight and the beginning and the end of a weighing session.

Happy Shootin'
 
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From Adam:
Thank you for pre-ordering AutoTrickler V3. I know you are as excited to receive it as we are to start shipping the new version!

We are finally on a somewhat structured schedule for production and are prepared to provide estimates for ship dates based on your pre-order date and time.

If you have ordered only electronics, accessory kits, or the adjustable base, they may be shipped sooner. These are on a separate production path as they are not as dependent on machined metal parts. This schedule below applies primarily to complete V3 systems and complete V3 upgrade packages.

These cutoff times listed are Atlantic time zone (GMT-4) so please check your order date and time against Atlantic to determine where you fall in the schedule.

This is a best estimate based on reasonable confidence. Please do not consider this a promise. This schedule is neither conservative nor aggressive. The schedule is an honest calculation based on the orders we have today. The schedule may vary by a few days and if we run into an unforeseen problem, we could be pushed back.

You will receive an email with tracking number when it ships.

We are working hard to be as fair as possible with everyone. Machining, printing, assembly, and testing all takes time, and we need time in order to make sure everything is right. It is worth the wait!

Starting May 23 @ 11:30pm
before May 24 @ 1:00 am, ship June 28
before May 24 @ 10:45 am, ship July 3
before May 24 @ 4:23 pm, ship July 10
before May 26 @ 3:41 pm, ship July 17
before May 31 @ 9:47 am, ship July 24
before June 7 @ 8:19 pm, ship July 31
before June 18 @ 5:00 pm, ship August 7
for new orders today, estimate August 14

Due to unavailability of the Lee hopper, I have designed a new hopper which holds 50% more powder. This hopper is much better than the Lee hopper so we decided to include them with all AutoThrow upgrades at no extra charge and it will be standard going forward. It will also eventually be available separately for $20.
 
View attachment 7022534
That hog never stood a chance
So you are saying that for each, you visually verified 34.6 Gr and then later weight the same powder and this time it was not 34.6gr?

How long was the scale on, warmed-up before use?
Did you have nothing on the balance plate during warm-up?
Have you calibrated the scale with a calibrated weight since you added the Area 419 tray?
The weight of the powder cup does not change, did you verify the scale gave you the correct weight before zero-ing?
Did you clean the 419 tray, I've seen a 0.02 gr shift from the tray being dirty.
I have also seen a volatage swing move the Zero, an appliance goes on/off. I use a Triplite Line Conditioner, plugged into a UPS, so the units never goes off. I also have a few Ferrite Cores on the power cable going into the scale.
Any major temp swing also can move the Zero

1. Warmed up scale for 30 minutes. I weighed all powder in cases then started emptying the charge back into the cup and reweighed the charge when I was done with the cases I was reloading, no A/C going, no furnace running. I did calibrated the scale with the 419 tray. Does the powder cup have a specific weight or are you asking if i weighed it before using,
FYI- i did buy a 100 gram weight with the scale for calibrating.
I loaded 25 6.5 creedmoor shells this morning with the stock pan and had no issues. I will try and see if I can rep-l
 
Thanks for the help guys, I will let the scale warm up longer and calibrate and use my calibration weight before and after each use, and see how it goes.
 
Question, when you warm up the scale do you just plug it in or do you plug it in and turn it on?
 
Looks like I probably won't be getting my new v3 trickler before my match this weekend, oh well. Itll be worth the wait when it gets here.
 
I turn mine on and calibrate it and then leave it for at least a day. Only reason I calibrate it is because i like to note if and how much it drifts.
This guy does a really good job. I turn mine on and return it to zero and leave it zeroed for 24 hours and calibrate when I go to use it.

Nothing scientific, I don’t think I do the same thing every time now That you make me think of it.

However I will tell you I’ll easily notice any drift as I know the weight of my pan. I keep it next to the scale written down. I’m looking for drift every time I throw by checking weight on the Tare before I set the pan back in for a throw.

Hope this helps, you’ll see what I mean when you start looking for it. Keep your calibration weight near the scale while you load and re-check anytime OCD kicks in.
 
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From Adam:
Thank you for pre-ordering AutoTrickler V3. I know you are as excited to receive it as we are to start shipping the new version!

We are finally on a somewhat structured schedule for production and are prepared to provide estimates for ship dates based on your pre-order date and time.

If you have ordered only electronics, accessory kits, or the adjustable base, they may be shipped sooner. These are on a separate production path as they are not as dependent on machined metal parts. This schedule below applies primarily to complete V3 systems and complete V3 upgrade packages.

These cutoff times listed are Atlantic time zone (GMT-4) so please check your order date and time against Atlantic to determine where you fall in the schedule.

This is a best estimate based on reasonable confidence. Please do not consider this a promise. This schedule is neither conservative nor aggressive. The schedule is an honest calculation based on the orders we have today. The schedule may vary by a few days and if we run into an unforeseen problem, we could be pushed back.

You will receive an email with tracking number when it ships.

We are working hard to be as fair as possible with everyone. Machining, printing, assembly, and testing all takes time, and we need time in order to make sure everything is right. It is worth the wait!

Starting May 23 @ 11:30pm
before May 24 @ 1:00 am, ship June 28
before May 24 @ 10:45 am, ship July 3
before May 24 @ 4:23 pm, ship July 10
before May 26 @ 3:41 pm, ship July 17
before May 31 @ 9:47 am, ship July 24
before June 7 @ 8:19 pm, ship July 31
before June 18 @ 5:00 pm, ship August 7
for new orders today, estimate August 14

Due to unavailability of the Lee hopper, I have designed a new hopper which holds 50% more powder. This hopper is much better than the Lee hopper so we decided to include them with all AutoThrow upgrades at no extra charge and it will be standard going forward. It will also eventually be available separately for $20.
I got this same email. Apparently you had to be someone special to be able to order on may 23, or in the know, have the inside scoop, etc, because I didn't get the V3 release email until May 24@0910MST. So how could I possibly have ordered any sooner? I'm wondering if he has his dates off by a day...or I'm just a nobody!
 
I got this same email. Apparently you had to be someone special to be able to order on may 23, or in the know, have the inside scoop, etc, because I didn't get the V3 release email until May 24@0910MST. So how could I possibly have ordered any sooner? I'm wondering if he has his dates off by a day...or I'm just a nobody!

I ordered my v3 controller on 05/23. All I had to do was hit the website every now ant then until the order button was available. CESolutions was taking deposits on full systems earlier than that.
 
Thanks, looks great and ya, should be simple enough. Ebay is littered with it, can you offer what thickness you suggest, seems to be most offerings are .080, and a rough width and length needed?
Thanks for the pics!

I used 0.08
 
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1. Warmed up scale for 30 minutes. I weighed all powder in cases then started emptying the charge back into the cup and reweighed the charge when I was done with the cases I was reloading, no A/C going, no furnace running. I did calibrated the scale with the 419 tray. Does the powder cup have a specific weight or are you asking if i weighed it before using,
FYI- i did buy a 100 gram weight with the scale for calibrating.
I loaded 25 6.5 creedmoor shells this morning with the stock pan and had no issues. I will try and see if I can rep-l

It is possible 30min is not enough, I never turn my scale off. I only calibrate when it needs it, which should not be often.
Writing down the weight the Cup, you can use it as a spot check to verify the scale is still calibrated, the weight should not change.
 
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Question, when you warm up the scale do you just plug it in or do you plug it in and turn it on?
I transfer it to my table, plug it in and sometimes I start right away, others I let it sit for an hour. Usually I let it sit for 20 minutes, a halfhour tv show on netflix etc and then Ill start. When I go back to check weight I dont normally notice any drift after the initial 20 minute wait and calibration.

Just check it with the check weight semi frequently, I find that If I calibrate it when first plugged in and 20 minutes later my 100 gram weight will read 100.02 which is about .3 grains I think. But if you keep calibrating as it warms up you can throw powder well enough to keep it inline.
 
I got this same email. Apparently you had to be someone special to be able to order on may 23, or in the know, have the inside scoop, etc, because I didn't get the V3 release email until May 24@0910MST. So how could I possibly have ordered any sooner? I'm wondering if he has his dates off by a day...or I'm just a nobody!

I just saw the link for sale posted here and ordered (the full V3 upgrade kit), which was well before the e-mail went out (5/24 1210 EST). I was at 6:30am EST (3:30am PST here), so hope to see mine in a few weeks.
 
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I got around to installing the v3 board last weekend. The powder thrower did not work. I pulled the unit back out and found the on-board cable jacks are not firmly fixed so they were moving in towards the scale when plugging in the motor cables. Easy enough to push them back out and get a good connection, but something to be aware of.
 
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Called CE today to enquire about how long until the V3 Reloading Kit ships and got told mid August ?
Ah well, will be worth it in the end but sucks it wont be here before my major match this summer.
 
Called CE today to enquire about how long until the V3 Reloading Kit ships and got told mid August ?
Ah well, will be worth it in the end but sucks it wont be here before my major match this summer.
Did they tell you that you were in the first wave of orders? Last week I was told that they were expecting the first shipment with what they expected to be the larger hoppers in from Adam and then shipped out the same day. Curious to know if you know if you were a first wave or did you order later?
Thanks