A review of my new Caldwell Chrono

[dave33]

I have an iPhone so not familiar with the android version. The chrono needs access to the phone mic to transfer data and on an iPhone 4s you have to go into privacy settings to turn it on, that was my problem all along. I only got the basic kit as I already had a tripod and figured I would only ever use it outside so didn't see a need for the light kit.

The chrono can pick up as little as 5 FPS I think. A good way to test the chrono is to take off the shades so nothing is over the chrono, get a flashlight and run it over the sensors, front to back. No need for any special lights in the room to do this, just run the flashlight over the sensors and you should get a reading, I usually got 10 or 11 FPS, depending on how quickly I moved my hand.

If you can't get it to work call Battenfield, their number is listed above in an earlier post. Those guys are great and really want to help you.

I found an alternative - plugging in the light bars, then toggling the power on and off will get a reading. Not sure it should, but it does.

Have the phone able to connect, but still working on the tablet.

Good tip on the flashlight, though, as the data from the IR light toggling on and off is truly random/all over the place, be nice to see something more consistent like 10-20FSP, but confirmed I can at least get data from the chrono to my phone.

Glad to hear it seems to be working. It's kind of neat to run the flashlight over it at different speeds and let the chrono do the math for you, let's you get use to the functions. I'm looking forward to hearing how consistent the Caldwell is compared to your other chrono.

[Warpdrv]

Hope its OK to add info here....

I got my Caldwell in on tuesday, and crappy weather allowed me to take wed off to test some load development I've been working on.
I'm new to all this in the reloading world, but have been working up some loads on 9mm and 45 so far... I'm sure you'll all tell me that Its OK to add a little more powder to my loads, shooting lead right now, and the book gave me a very conservative gr amounts low and high, 2.5 - 2.8, plus I want to run suppressed alot. Well obviously I needed a Chrono to test, so I figured with the new release of this app based unit I would give it a try.... I bought the simple kit, as I didn't need any more tripods, I have a few.

Took my Nexus 7 tablet and Galaxy S4. kept getting errors with the tablet with connection, I'll have to figure out what the deal is on that.
Switched to my S4 and it was up and running.

I'm very happy with the results, It would be nice if they could add a couple more features in the app, but I'm sure those will come.
Like the ability to make a new group, or a bunch of groups prior to shooting and then open a saved group and begin using them to collect data.
Therefore one doesn't have to sit and type in info out in the field which becomes cumbersome.

When you first open the app, the "0 FPS" is Red in color, upon your device being connected to the Chrono - it will turn black so you know your connected and ready to go..... RED means NO GO... Perhaps they could make the connected color GREEN ! The little picture of the mic up top is to disconnect from the Chrono.

I like that they have a page with the multiple saved strings you shot as an overview, then you can select one of them to get the results individually. And also you can choose to show more or less info, basically "Description" or with "Notes" also. When you select show more, you cannot fit the whole page in a screen shot, if you have too many shots recorded.
Sharing you can send an email or txt message, which results in a very basic bare info layout.

All in all, my first Chrono, and first time ever using a Chrono and it went pretty darn well and was easy to use.
I'm sure someone with come forward with a comparison of other units before I can with my friends unit. Not sure if he has a Pro Chrono - or it was a Chrony....

Hope this helps....





Saved Groups Overview





TXT Message to myself, looks the same as email.

http://s34.photobucket.com/user/Warpdrv/library/Reloading/Caldwell%20Cronograph

Edited May 1, 2014 by Warpdrv

[dave33]

Warpdrv, by all means add all the info you want. Glad u got the app running on your phone. The folks at Battenfield said they have had connectivity issues with some android (or non apple devices) on occasion since there are so many different ones out there running different software versions, maybe they will have an update that will enable u to use your tablet. As mentioned before if u can't get it to work call Battenfield, they will help you.

I agree about being able to set up the shot string info before you get to the range, that would be a useful update.

[rtp]

Glad to hear it seems to be working. It's kind of neat to run the flashlight over it at different speeds and let the chrono do the math for you, let's you get use to the functions. I'm looking forward to hearing how consistent the Caldwell is compared to your other chrono.

Interesting, the flashlight trick seems to not be much more consistent than flicking the IR lights on and off. Are you seeing reproducible results with the flashlight, or like me with the IR lights, just using it to check out communications working properly, etc. ?

Agree with the other suggestion put forth, the ability to pre-create strings/descriptions would be nice, as I often go to test 10+ loads at a time.

I'm hoping to make it out to the range sometime next weekend w/both chronos.

Still a no go on my tablet, which is an HP Touchpad re-flashed to Android. I went ahead and rebuilt it to Android Jelly Bean, but still a no go, although it does claim: Connected[Audio] now. Odd, but will keep messing with it, as my tablet probably has better battery life vs my phone, the latter being able to connect w/out issue. May dig up my old iPhone just to see app differences.

[rtp]

Finally made it out to use the Caldwell, so...there's good and bad.

This was with a recent Android Smartphone.

While I wasn't yet able to compare it back to back with my ProChrono, I did shoot some of my lighter (just sub-minor PF) practice/wife loads through it, and it was close to my ProChrono results in similar temps.

Initially establishing a connection wasn't consistent, had to power off the chrono a few times, do the cable dance plug, unplug, etc, but once connected, it remained connected through some 15 or so strings.

The tripod...meh. If you're not a dwarf and not shooting uphill, and don't crouch, it's useless IMO for pistol shooting, even moreso if you put a target out behind the chrono...it's just too short (I'm 6'). This was one of the things I liked about the Caldwell premium kit - one bag for everything, smaller by far than the tripod I'd been bringing along for the ProChrono. I'm glad I still had the larger tripod in the car, but...the Caldwell also uses a non-standard quick-release block, so...had to crouch and use the Caldwell, as the block was at home on my ProChrono. Kind of lame, IMO. On the flip side, it's fine for rifle/benched shooting, if still somewhat flimsy.

I like the rods clipping into the wide sun screens, but realized they don't really 'click' into the sunscreen when putting it together. Minor, but on my ProChrono, I plug the rods into the sunscreen and they're not going anywhere...then just insert one rod into the chrono, bend the screen slightly with the other rod, and insert, repeat for the second screen. The Caldwell rods pretty much fall out of the sunscreens; easier to put the rods only into the chrono, then bend the screens to pop them in. The Caldwell rods are also a bit shorter than my ProChronos...I think I need to look for replacement rods somewhere.

I got more errors with the Caldwell in 15 or so strings than I've ever seen to date with the ProChrono (very rarely). Not sure why exactly.

Having the phone as a remote is very nice..definitely speeds up the process when doing multiple strings. On the flip side...the software needs some work. Once you leave the description field, you can't just click inside it to edit...you have to save it off and go into saved groups, then edit..just a non-intuitive interface. I missed which gun I was using on a few strings as I wasn't easily/quickly able to go back into edit mode directly, and didn't think about looking AFTER saving..I'd really like to get it working with my 4.2.x tablet, mainly for the better sized keypad. I sen to not be able to delete strings at all, nor can you enter in temp data in the event you don't have mobile service where you're shooting...the latter not a big deal, but yes, I'd like to delete the strings now. Auto-sync to a dropbox folder would be a nice addition, as well.

Overall, I'm mixed on it so far. The software issues can, and hopefully will, be improved. The dwarf-sized tripod and shorter, not fully secure sunscreen rods make me think accountants were involved nickel and dining for manufacturing costs, so I remain curious as to ultimate longevity. I don't shoot indoors much, so while the light kit is a nice addition to the Premium kit, I would have preferred to not need to immediately replace the tripod just because I'm not a dwarf...

Edited May 11, 2014 by rtp