Frankford Arsenal IntelliDropper -- Quick Overview

mr.revolverguy · Mar 23, 2019

I decided to go ahead and do a quick overview of the New Frankford IntelliDropper. I only published this because a few friends asked me for the video. I did not do a complete review demonstrating every single feature, I am exchanging emails with Frankford asking if the drifting that I am seeing is normal behavior.

The Bluetooth setup with your phone is really easy and very convenient. The Bluetooth feature I am most interested in is the firmware upgrade service. It seems Frankford is planning to continue to evolve this product with future software upgrades. This unit can be fully operated from your mobile phone. It has a ton of data already imported on the app, powder manufacturers, bullet manufacturers and primer manufacturers. This makes it very easy to load your favorite load and send it to the intellihopper in a matter of seconds.

The screen is bright and wide and very easy to use, something I thought the RCBS chargemaster was missing.

The bubble level also adds a nice little touch.

The Intelli dropper comes with a feature called powder calibration, this feature is supposed to provide the best speed and accuracy dependent up the powder loaded into the intellihopper.

The powder drain is like all others; it is on the side of the unit and must be sitting on the edge of the bench to empty easily.

The comparison to my RCBS chargemaster is a bit unfair as it has been reprogrammed for speed, but the Frankford out of the box keeps up. I believe the Frankford may be faster than an out of the box Chargemaster. I am only speculating but this may be because of the powder calibration feature.

Check back for a comparison against the Lyman Generation 6. This is in the same price range where the RCBS chargemaster is approaching twice the cost.

For those with the Hornady and Lyman units how does the IntelliDroipper Compare?

Member 5605 · Mar 23, 2019

Thank you for this.

I'm saddened to see the constant fluctuations while it is just sitting there without any use. That does disturb me a little.

Quite a few of my powder measurements are in the .1-.2grain spreads and this would make me uncomfortable.

jordanka16 · Mar 23, 2019

Dyjital said:
Thank you for this.

I'm saddened to see the constant fluctuations while it is just sitting there without any use. That does disturb me a little.

Quite a few of my powder measurements are in the .1-.2grain spreads and this would make me uncomfortable.

Agreed, that's why I shied away from some of the cheaper ones and bought the chargemaster. It's expensive but mine has been flawless for years, I did program it for greater speed but it still doesnt overshoot except for very rarely.

DizzyJ · Mar 23, 2019

Thanks for sharing!

v0lcom13sn0w · Mar 23, 2019

my lyman gen 6 drifts a little when sitting idle. i have taken the time to double check the charge on a beam scale after its dispensed. its always been the same as what i want it to be. i trust it! ultimately, my groupings are what tells me its doing its job.

hot dang though...your chargemaster flys!!!

Member 5605 · Mar 25, 2019

I have my Hornady on the bench on. I don't see any drift any time I walk in there.

Only drifts when I fart on it.

DizzyJ · Mar 25, 2019

You guys know there are anti-static mats and wrist straps too right?

jordanka16 · Mar 25, 2019

DizzyJ said:
You guys know there are anti-static mats and wrist straps too right?

Mine is sitting on an anti static mat that is properly grounded, but I dont wear a wrist strap, it's also plugged into a UPS which also helps provide clean steady power.

gmerkt · Mar 26, 2019

Your post is timely as lately I've been looking at the possibility of buying a dispensing electronic scale.

Okay, the following are serious questions because I'm not up to speed on the latest electronic gadgets. I've seen the FA unit on sale, but i shied sway from it principally because of the mention of linkage to a phone. I've got a crappy Android phone that to this day I don't know how to use all the features, it's not important for me to know. Why would I want to hook my phone up to a powder dispensing scale? Do some people store all their data in their phone? All my loading is done analog, I have tons of paper reference material, record my own loads in a recipe book, etc. I assume you can use the FA unit without reference to a smart phone, true?

Your comments here would be appreciated. I'd like one of these but I just want to enter my own data, no phone. Or tell my why I should use a phone with it. Thanks.