Bought a Beta Chrony. Let the fun begin!

[Quicksilver]

So apparently, I have no idea how to get this thing to work. I've read the instructions cover to cover twice, and while I am using an air rifle that is supposed to shoot 450fps, the chrony reads... nothing.

Im not a rocket scientist, but seriously, WTF?

I have hung tape at 4" and 6", plugged the controller in with the supplied cord and walked THAT entire distance back and fired through it, taken the "cloud simulators" off, put them on, and nothing. Display just looks at me like Im expecting an elephant to suddenly take flight.

Seriously how damned hard is it to make this thing work?

Hit this once, that twice, hold and press this at the same time. I've had women that need less attention.

I wanna measure freakin' velocity, not give it an orgasm.

They need to simplify the crappy controls and give better and more detailed instruction on placement, lighting and the "sweet spot" that I have yet to discover. I am unhappy with it.

They have no incentive to make the product better, ergo we are stuck with this damn stone-age controller and hopefully at some point, the damn thing will function.

End of rant.

 

[Quicksilver]

I'd like to add that I tried like hell from 11 to noon to get this thing to work with plenty of sunlight, and some clouds. Tried combinations of "diffusers" to try and make it happy, no luck. I know this air rifle is "fast" enough to measure according to the instructions, and ironically the one time I got pissed off and tossed a lighter through it, it did read THAT but only once, and apparently I can toss a BIC at 165 fps. Not bad.

 

[dinc]

Try it again at 4pm. It'll probably work fine. Next week it will work at noon. Make sure the battery is fresh.

 

[Grizzdude]

I can toss a bic at 167fps, is this the F1 series crono?

 

[tiNdvenTFHwMdqKW]

If it's sunny out then you need something better than the cloud simulators. I put a beach umbrella over mine.

 

[PBRACEGUNS]

Send it back and buy the Pro Chrono Digital. I have one and so do 3 other shooting buddies. They work in bright sun, overcast, doesn't matter. I have put well over 300 rounds over mine and so far it missed 1 round. That was a 22lr. that it missed. But that is the only 22 it missed. We shoot arrows, bb guns and every thing else and it reads it all. I also bought the digital interface system that lets me run it with my laptop. With that is the added bonus of being able to save the shot strings and enter the load data, weather conditions and insert photo's of the groups so they can be printed. Only thing with putting the picture in the file is you have to print it then because it won't save the file with the photo attached. I had the same chrono you bought and a Pact Chrono that I paid $200+ for and gave them both away after getting frustrated wasting ammo trying to get them to work even 50% of the time. just my .02 cents but I don't believe you can go wrong with the Pro Chrono Digital. Midway and Brownells both put them on sale from time to time for $99 and the interface system runs around $50. Being able to retain the records makes it a worthwhile investment if you do much load work.

 

[plh]

Can't speak to pellets but all other projectiles .22-.45 worked fine in mine. Matched the unit up with an Oehler and got very consistent readings to my surprise. I will say there was a degree of light sensitivity along with a demand for fresh batteries as mentioned. I really tried to dislike it but it wouldn't let me.

 

[EKIM1428]

+1 on the Pro Chrono digital. Its big and bulky but it's far less fussy than the betas.

 

[M40_A1]

Mine even meters my son's Red Ryder BBs just fine. I always line my shots 3 to 4 inches directly over the center, and it has never missed a shot. I think a lot of guys think the middle of the big screeen and support triangle is where the shots are supposed to go. Not so. They are shooting too high. The supports are to hold the screens up, not guides for aiming. Get down to 3 to 4 inches and see what it does for you then.

 

[Quicksilver]

I must have just gotten a bad one. Send 20 rounds of .308 over it Saturday, didn't pick up one. Only successful item sent thru the chrony was a bic lighter, and couldn't duplicate it. Sending it back for a full refund Monday.

Alright, now that I had to eat shit and learn about how great the Chrony is, yall tell me what chrony IS WORTH A DAMN, and is under 400 dollars.

I want a chrony that Ray Charles drunk on a foggy night can shoot through and get consistent numbers, any lighting, any time.

 

[BigJohn141]

You must have a bad chrony or major user error for it not to work. The controls should be as simple as the come; install battery, plug in cable to chrono and display (if it has the remote display), set up defussers, turn on, shoot. Mine will read all day and will go down to 250fps with my bow. I might have even shot one of the arms one time when checking speeds at 400 yards. Checked it against another chrony by shooting through both at once and it was still within 10fps of the other.

 

[Quicksilver]

Honestly, I think I got a bad one. Either way, it just ruined any chance of me ever buying a Chrony brand chronograph again. Were not talking about technology to power the space shuttle, and if they can't send out a working unit with those 5 dollar sensors they use, I will spend my money somewhere else. Shit happens.

 

[Quicksilver]

Did the hell out of that, got diddly squat. Read book twice. Tried several times. Got nothing. Tried various VARIOUS lighting conditions, wires, diffusers, bullet heights, ect. Nothing worked. Pretty sure its just a bad unit.

 

[agbm]

MagnetoSpeed is the only way togo. I had a chrono once for about 3 days. With my magnetospeed it allows you to shoot also in total darkness. MagnetoSpeed

 

[Quicksilver]

Shit. That is awesome. Now im just pissed that I gotta spend an extra 100 because I have a damn suppressor coming. Never a cheap way out!

However, if this thing is Ray Charles drunk on a foggy night proof, its worth it!!!!

 

[Quicksilver]

Damn. Just coughed up 416. and some change for it. Ouch. I'll come back when it gets here and post up how much I like it, because I better like it a lot!

 

[M40_A1]

Damn. Just coughed up 416. and some change for it. Ouch. I'll come back when it gets here and post up how much I like it, because I better like it a lot!

Umm....will this be your second, or third chrony? Murphy's Law: It's the THIRD time that's the charm.

 

[Quicksilver]

Well, since the first didn't work, I guess this is still número UNO. If it has to be the 3rd, that means I'm gonna buy another one after I accidentally shoot this one. Hopefully not... Anyway, it arrived today. Playing "sick" tomorrow and hitting the range with some new varget loads. Whoop!

 

[j-dubya]

It is funny that ever since I first read this thread last week, my Beta Master Chrony with almost four years of flawless performance, started acting up this past weekend. I hope it is just lighting issues, even though I have used the diffusers each and every time without any problem. I changed the battery (that was still reading 'good' when tested, and still had some issues.

 

[NICETRY]

MagnetoSpeed is the only way togo. I had a chrono once for about 3 days. With my magnetospeed it allows you to shoot also in total darkness. MagnetoSpeed

MagnetoSpeed V2 is awesome. It has worked great on everything from 17HMR to .338 Lapua I have shot over it.

 

[Grizzdude]

just got me an alpha master, hope it works!

 

[ledavatar]

I had a Chrony years ago. It's pretty finicky and depending on the light conditions would work or not work. Wasted a lot of ammo trying to get it to work on sunny days - no dice. I found cloudy days to be the best days to do it, and as someone suggested, afternoons are best.

If you want a great precision chrono get an Ohler.

Oehler Research, Inc.--Model 35 Proof Chronograph

 

[rjacobs]

im planning to get a CED M2 when funds permit.