Back in the day, the Chronograph state was treated as a Back-Water/leper colony where the sick and lame RO's ended up and various bad procedures happened. Over the past 19 years that I have been running the Chrono Stage at Nationals and various Area and local matches, I've done my best to promote the Chrono Stage as an intregal part of the match where shooters can expect a fair shake. We've standardized equipment, the use of a chrono coffin, artificial lighting for consistent lighting throughout multi-day events. I've written a Chronograph Compendium that's available for the asking and these standards and practices are printed in the Match Director's handbook.
To my delight, horror stories about the chronograph stage have declined over the years. The price of a good chronograph has come down to the point that it's not unusual for several members of a given club to have one. Even small clubs can afford a chronograph for general use of club members.
Sunlight is the biggest offender with chronograph use. Light intensity and angle. By using a chronograph in a box with artificial lighting, you've got as near to laboratory conditions as you can get without temperature control.
Got a chrono issue? Drop me a note.
btw, any major match worth it's salt will have a chrono set up for courtesy checks before competition starts just in case someone needs to make a quick trip to WalMart for a couple boxes of Blazer.
Chronoman