Chrono "box" Size

[JFD]

I just got the indoor lighting setup for my Shooting Chrony. I plan on covering it with a cardboard box and plugging it into an inverter for use at the range.

I'll have to cut holes in it for the bullet entry/exit and am wondering how far from the sensors these openings need to be, or if it matters much at all.

Any help would be appreciated.

[.40AET]

Greg Lent sent me the following reply when I asked him the same question. His box is made of wood, but I'm sure you can do something similar in cardboard.

Hi Kirk

No problem...and thanks for the interest. It's always easier to get folks off on the right foot than correcting problems later on...

Attached is a jpg of one of my boxes.

The dimensions are either:

2'X2'X6' (min)

or

2'X2'X4'

Use the shortest box if you're just running 1 chrono.

The longer ones if you're running 2 like we do at tournaments.

Be sure to have the access door on the side for easy access to the equipment.

For lighting, if you have CED's, they have an accessory IR lighting system that replaces the existing sun screens.

OR

on standard CED's or any other brand with a standard sky screen, mount 40W display case bulbs either directly over each sky screen or attach them to the top of the screens. 40W bulbs work for most chronographs.

Be sure to have the access door closed, an entry hole in the box about the size of a 1-lb coffee can (this shields the units from blast too) and cover the exit to keep extraneous light out too (a small exit hole is a good idea too along with a target for a point of aim).

Have the holes several inches above the sensors to avoid hitting them.

Also use a designated operator. Don't let everyone shoot his gun over the equipment...it'll get blown-up.

Let me know if I can be of any more help.

Greg

Edited June 30, 2006 by .40AET

[Flexmoney]

Greg Lent sent me the following reply when I asked him the same question. His box is made of wood, but I'm sure you can do something similar in cardboard.

Our local match director made a box from cardboard. He used furring strips inside to act as a support frame. He painted it.

I don't know if it is still around this year, but it has lasted for a few years.

[JFD]

4 feet!!! Crapola!!! I'm going to have to leave my daughter at home if I load any more stuff in the vehicle

Thanks for the help!

I'm rethinking the cardboard box idea. As I was setting up the indoor light setup I realized the box would have to be bigger than I had first thought and a cardboard box would be flimsy. I'm thinking of welding up a frame out of light tubing and maybe taping cardboard on the entry/exit ends with 1/4" plywood for the top and sides. 1/2" plywood on the bottom with a mount for the tripod attached should work OK. A small hole for the remote/printer cable and I should be good to go. One side would be hinged to allow access to the unit.

First I have to test my small inverter. It's a Coleman unit with a cupholder design.

[.40AET]

4 feet!!! Crapola!!!

Bwahahahahah!

Take a look at the photo. He has two CED units in the box, back to back. For home use, 2.5' is probably enough. What about a 2x4 frame with plywood on the bottom, then staple the cardboard to the wood frame??

[JFD]

The 2X4 idea sounds great, but then I wouldn't get to weld anything

I like to weld I just never get to anymore

Corrugated for the top and sides does make a lot of sense though. Lightweight and certainly cheap.

I've still got to set my chrono up and see what I'm dealing with. I'd like to end up with something that breaks down to a relatively small size, or at least flat.

[AWLAZS]

Does any one have a more portable design ?

[revchuck]

If you made the frame of the box out of, say, 1" Schedule 40 and didn't glue the vertical supports, you'd have a box which would essentially be flat until put together. If you used 1/2" plywood for the top,you'd have something into which you could screw the light fixtures.

[.40AET]

Chrono after dark with an IR setup.

[AWLAZS]

Chrono after dark with an IR setup.

Does the Pact IR stuff work ok?