Best Chronograph? need to buy one...

[M852]

1 and 4.

Now we're getting somewhere. So, how much more accurate does the 3rd gate make the Oehler? Has anyone set up the Oehler and, say, the ProChrono Digital inline to measure the delta in readings? Or, are folks just assuming that "three is more accurate than two" and paying the premium without knowing what the "better" is and if it's worth five times the cost? For those of you who already have an Oehler, it's a moot question. For those of us who are trying to allocate resources appropriately, we'd like to know how much that extra $495 is getting us. Now that I think about it, I could set up two ProChrono Digitals inline, take the average between them (assuming there is one), and still have almost $400 left over.

Same goes for the "peace of mind" dividend, although that would be harder to quantify without a long-term use study.

[Steve RA]

In all honesty, some of the new ones might work almost as well, as well or even better in some areas. As you pointed out, we who already have one are probably biased.

However, you can compare chronos to guns, some people pay 4 to 5k for a gun, others may do as well, or better, with one 1/3 or 1/2 that price.

You have to decide what you want and then go with it.

[M852]

In all honesty, some of the new ones might work almost as well, as well or even better in some areas. As you pointed out, we who already have one are probably biased.

However, you can compare chronos to guns, some people pay 4 to 5k for a gun, others may do as well, or better, with one 1/3 or 1/2 that price.

You have to decide what you want and then go with it.

Ah, but the engineer in me likes to quantify things. Comes in handy when reloading, I've found.

Ironically, after I posed the question here I stumbled onto a post on accurateshooter.com where someone did set up a ProChrono Digital with a 35P. Readings were close & consistent between the two.

Good analogy with the guns.

[mleeber]

Oehler is made in the US, CED is not, Not sure about the Chrony or the ProChrono.

Oehler is the best by a landslide with with ProChrono being 2nd in my experience. Chrony is 3rd and CED is DFL! I think I would try a stop watch before buying another CED.... That said a buddy just had his top of the line Chrony go TU so we will see what service is like.

[warpspeed]

Good thing to check. How fast can you fire and get readings? 1 per second? 1 every 5 sec? Just wondering if I am expecting to be able to fire faster than the chrono can keep up. Thanks.

They said that the print function creates a great deal of activity on the circut board, so if the printer is on you have to wait until the printer has finished before it will register another shot. You can turn off the printer by switching off toggle 7 in the battery case, but if you do that it will not store your string of fire and then print the summary. It will just show the round # and fps on the display.

For $595 that thing ought to get up, hand you the printout, refill your coffee, and load your next round before it reads the next shot.

Seriously though, they go through all the trouble to set up a robust, two-stage, three-gate sensor array but give it less processing power than a Colecovision? Thirty years ago my Atari 800 would dump a print job to a 4k printer buffer and let me keep working.

Which begs a larger question - can someone please tell me how the Oehler justifies a 500% premium over it's nearest competition? It's certainly not 500% more accurate, nor 500% easier/less complicated to use. Are you paying a premium for additional certainty from a 3rd gate? The pedigree of a commercial measurement system? The warm fuzzy from owning the most expensive option? A "peace of mind" dividend that eliminates the equipment as a source of trouble when things don't look right?

When I bought one, they were less than $ 350 so at that time, maybe twice as much as the competition.

Like all instruments that measure, it is a question of precision & accuracy. The Oehler wins in both areas. For USPSA/IPSC it may not be a good value but from benchrest shooters it is.

[mleeber]

$350 was a bargain! I paid that for a non "P" model, sold it for $450 2 years later after picking up a used "P" model but that was when you could not get them new anymore.

As for USPSA/IPSC value...since a major USPSA match is at least $500 when you consider Food, Hotel, Travel, Match fees, Ammo and Time I think $600 for a new Oehler is well worth it.

And picking a lesser chono because one cannot rapid fire over the Oehler is like eating butter in sticks because it takes too long to melt on toast....

[Boxerglocker]

Competition Electronics ProChrono Digital all the way... I have had mine several years, never misses in all kinds of light for pistol or rifle. Indoor LED kit works great when needed. I have never been off on PF checks at several sanctioned events by more than 1-2 fps.

[AWLAZS]

I hate dealing with the natural light when I chronograph and there is no power on the range. What would you choose?

[M852]

Like all instruments that measure, it is a question of precision & accuracy. The Oehler wins in both areas.

To condense my questions that Steve addressed earlier, how do you know the Oehler is more precise and accurate? If so, by what measure(s)? Otherwise, we're in a Ford vs. Chevy discussion, except one costs five times what the other costs.

Up to this point, I'm inclined to think Steve's gun analogy may be the best we can surmise without some type of methodical comparison.

[Steve RA]

As posted above by M852, this might answer some of the questions.

http://forum.accurateshooter.com/index.php?topic=3812358.msg36210779#msg36210779

[DillBill]

Prochrony digital. It always works, is simple to set up and use, and not that expensive.

[TBuhr]

pro chrono digital is all that i have used so i couldnt say one way or the other. however for the price and ease of use the pro chrono is a great tool. that being said if your shooting 1000m with 50bmg or some such a few feet per second could make a large difference! never had a problem with mine at all.

[jlamphere]

Good thing to check. How fast can you fire and get readings? 1 per second? 1 every 5 sec? Just wondering if I am expecting to be able to fire faster than the chrono can keep up. Thanks.

They said that the print function creates a great deal of activity on the circut board, so if the printer is on you have to wait until the printer has finished before it will register another shot. You can turn off the printer by switching off toggle 7 in the battery case, but if you do that it will not store your string of fire and then print the summary. It will just show the round # and fps on the display.

For $595 that thing ought to get up, hand you the printout, refill your coffee, and load your next round before it reads the next shot.

Seriously though, they go through all the trouble to set up a robust, two-stage, three-gate sensor array but give it less processing power than a Colecovision? Thirty years ago my Atari 800 would dump a print job to a 4k printer buffer and let me keep working.

Which begs a larger question - can someone please tell me how the Oehler justifies a 500% premium over it's nearest competition? It's certainly not 500% more accurate, nor 500% easier/less complicated to use. Are you paying a premium for additional certainty from a 3rd gate? The pedigree of a commercial measurement system? The warm fuzzy from owning the most expensive option? A "peace of mind" dividend that eliminates the equipment as a source of trouble when things don't look right?

When I bought one, they were less than $ 350 so at that time, maybe twice as much as the competition.

Like all instruments that measure, it is a question of precision & accuracy. The Oehler wins in both areas. For USPSA/IPSC it may not be a good value but from benchrest shooters it is.

I picked up mine used for $300.00, so I cannot complain about the price vs. other units. I wish it would feed the data to a computer and read faster, but given the accuracy, particularly for rifle where it can really make a difference in hitting or missing a target, it was worth what I paid for it. It is not as easy to transport, but I live on a farm and chrono out of the back door of my shop, so that is a non issue for me.

Edited May 6, 2013 by jlamphere

[jlamphere]

Plus, they are good Texas guys.

[cecil]

I just got a pro chrono digital .. tested some new loads at the range sunday .. it worked flawlessly - bright sunny day.. and I managed not to murder it.. : )

one tip I picked up on this forum from someone else... put a piece of blue masking tape halfway up from the unit to the screens.. use that for your aim point .. remember a scope pistol will shoot about 2" low at 5 feet which is the recommended distance according to the manual..

[RePete]

I just got a pro chrono digital .. tested some new loads at the range sunday .. it worked flawlessly - bright sunny day.. and I managed not to murder it.. : )

one tip I picked up on this forum from someone else... put a piece of blue masking tape halfway up from the unit to the screens.. use that for your aim point .. remember a scope pistol will shoot about 2" low at 5 feet which is the recommended distance according to the manual..

The recommended distance is 5 - 10 feet according to the manual.

If you shoot IDPA/USPSA you will need to chrono at 10 feet.