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The new cord arrived today. It is NOT a direct replacement. It activates the screen on the read-out, but it's error messages and a random number. I will have to figure out why a six wire cord with the same connections won't work from one application to another.
Possibly more wrong than just the cord?

I finally got a chance to shoot Tuesday evening. I have to set the chrony up in a weed patch. First, one of the skyscreen segments lost it's last tab causing me to dig thru my bag for some tape, then I dropped one of the rods in the weeds and couldn't find it! I ended up just using a screen on the second sensor.
Got it out, read the book, did the button pushing dance and cleared the memory. Set it on the tripod and got to work.
I took my time and put 17 rounds over the chrony. Everything went smoothly with no error messages.
As a bonus I dropped more of the unique rods in the weeds. A little searching and I found them all! I'll work on a skyscreen replacement soon.
 
Possibly more wrong than just the cord?
I've considered that possibility. I'm not giving up yet. In looking around the internet, Chrony problems aren't unique. I read through one thread discussing issues with the cord. So the error messages that I got using the new cord have been experienced elsewhere. One poster had contacted Chrony about this when they were still in business; they told him the 6 wire cord was "proprietary." How proprietary can a 6 wire cord with the same plugs be?? However there is some difference which so far I haven't been able to discern. Maybe something tricky like two wires paired somewhere that I cannot see. One plug is blown off my existed Chrony cord. I've sent away for a pack of 10 new plugs and next I will try to repair the existing cord.

Fortunately, the last time I had the Chrony out, I got my work done before the cord fiasco occurred. I've finished working up replacement loads for changes made to my powder line-up. I can take my time trying to figure this out. Since I don't have all that many years to keep shooting, I wonder how much use a chronograph will be to me in future.
 
OKAY, TODAY I GOT THIS PROBLEM MASTERED.

I had ordered a pack of 10 each of the little plugs that connect into the instrument. My original cord was missing one of the plugs, as described above.

I'd never cobbled one of these cords back together, but reattaching the wires is pretty easy once you figure out how it's done. You don't have to strip the tiny wires, the contacts on the new plug press into them. As soon as I'd installed the new plug, I tested the cord out and it worked as normal. Off was truly off, and when turned on, it gave me the usual go-ahead symbols. Soon I will test it for full function with an air soft gun but I'm sure it will be working. You can even test these by shooting a rubber band so long as it passes over both sensors.

Why the 6P6C phone cord won't work in the Chrony is still a mystery to me. Six wires are six wires. I may get out my test meter and do a bit of investigating to see what I might find different between the two cords.
 
OKAY, TODAY I GOT THIS PROBLEM MASTERED.

I had ordered a pack of 10 each of the little plugs that connect into the instrument. My original cord was missing one of the plugs, as described above.

I'd never cobbled one of these cords back together, but reattaching the wires is pretty easy once you figure out how it's done. You don't have to strip the tiny wires, the contacts on the new plug press into them. As soon as I'd installed the new plug, I tested the cord out and it worked as normal. Off was truly off, and when turned on, it gave me the usual go-ahead symbols. Soon I will test it for full function with an air soft gun but I'm sure it will be working. You can even test these by shooting a rubber band so long as it passes over both sensors.

Why the 6P6C phone cord won't work in the Chrony is still a mystery to me. Six wires are six wires. I may get out my test meter and do a bit of investigating to see what I might find different between the two cords.
Bad connectors or bad wire. Wire can become brittle over time or even just have manufacturing defects.
 
Bad connectors or bad wire. Wire can become brittle over time or even just have manufacturing defects.
The replacement 6P6C cord is the one that won't work and it's brand new.

The old cord with repaired plug works again.

They both have the same plugs, same number of wires. Same contacts in female and male connections. Color codes on wire insulation are arranged differently. BUT the device shouldn't care what color the wires are so long as they connect in the same way on both ends.
 
The replacement 6P6C cord is the one that won't work and it's brand new.

The old cord with repaired plug works again.

They both have the same plugs, same number of wires. Same contacts in female and male connections. Color codes on wire insulation are arranged differently. BUT the device shouldn't care what color the wires are so long as they connect in the same way on both ends.
Slightly bad connector in the box, not the wire?
 
Okay, I closely inspected the original Chrony cord today. It's not just straight-through wire such as telephone cord. Part way along in the line, there are some little lumps under the outer insulation that binds the six little wires together. Slight enough that I'd never noticed them before, and wouldn't have had I not been looking closely. Some kind of resistors or diodes of some kind. So when Chrony claimed this was a proprietary cord, they weren't lying. I'm not curious enough at this time to cut open the outer insulation to find out what those little lumps might be exactly. If cord failure arises again, it might become necessary but not this time.

I gives me a little more respect for the original cord. Never again will I walk on it as I have in the past.
 
I have a Shooting Chrony F-1 chronograph. My paperwork says I bought it in 2005. Yes, it was the kind of bargain chrono when I bought it; price was about $90 if I remember correctly. So I've been using this device for 16 years, likely have gotten my money's worth by now.

Over the years, I've had what you might call a few accidents. A couple of times I've shot one of the rods that holds the diffuser panels. Being made in Canada, the metal rods are metric sizes, the rod stock bins at Home Depot don't have the exact size so you have to improvise. The last time around, I decided to experiment with wooden dowel. Same issue, metric vs. inch, but a little sanding took the ends down to size. Or you could grind the holes in the plastic receiver holes they go into, I chose not to do the latter. I guess thinking I might actually get the correct replacement parts some day. More about that below.

My latest caper with the Chrony was I blew the end off of the cable. When you set one of these up, you don't want to set the unit up too high or you imperil it with destruction. There is this thing called parallax, that is, the difference between the centerline of the bore and the centerline of the sighting device. They aren't the same, and you might have a nice sight picture while at the same time the bore is much closer in flight over the chrono sensors. If you have a rifle with a scope with high mounts, you can encounter this issue easily. Or the open sights on an AR, for example.

Anyway, the other day when I set the Chrony up, for some reason for the first time, I looped the little cord end inside one of the dissuser rods, not outside as normal. Just a little quirk. I didn't think it was anywhere near being in danger from a fired shot. It was only about 3/4 of an inch away from the rod and the sensor panel. I had gotten mostly done with my chrono work, when my next shot blew the cord out of the way. Now this would've been a very close thing if a bullet did the damage. But because it was so off center, I'm thinking that muzzle blast ripped it off. After all, those hot gases are blowing right across the sensors behind the bullets. The face of my Chrony has little pitting marks on the label from being peppered by combustion debris.

Having ruined the cord, I decided that now was the time to look into proper repair parts. Nope, they aren't available from Shooting Chrony because the company is out of business. I'll have to make do with the home-made rods, be they metal or wood. By the way, wood works well enough, is cheap to buy, but the diffusers aren't as stable when supported by wood. I've had concussion blow them loose once.

The cord is a pretty easy replacement, as from the factory it was only 6P6C six wire telephone jack cord. You can buy a 25 foot string of it on ebay for about $6.

Before you say it, yes, I know you are supposed to shoot at the target, not the rods. Somehow or another, it happens. Maybe something to do with target replacement. My accidents with the rods aren't unique. Some people manage to fire a bullet into the Chrony base unit itself. Which I have yet to do.
My first was a Beta, worked fine for awhile, but then the limitations of string length, number of strings, and both fixed, not to mention memory, started getting in my way so I upgraded to a CED Millenium II. GREAT unit, probably the best optical chrony I ever owned, but I sold it when I got out of shooting for awhile. Got back into it and wanted/needed something again so got a Caldwell. It was okay, but I was getting fed up with the limitations of the optical sensor units, which meant either Magnetospeed or Labradar. Since I do as much testing of handguns as rifles, I ended up going with the Labradar. As stated, spendy, but well worth it for the ease of setup and insurance against the "those that have, and those that will" situation. Not so sure I agree with the latter, I put thousands of rounds over a chrony over the years and never shot one or any part of one. But the Labradar sure makes simultaneous testing of velocity and groups a no brainer, and with a minimum of additional setup. Can you tell I'm a fan :D? Later.

Dave
On overcast days I put small coffee straws into the set, and then slip larger red milkshake straws over them. I have clipped these big red straws, sending them into orbit, but so far, left my metal case intact. Winter sunlight defeats these straws.
 
On overcast days I put small coffee straws into the set, and then slip larger red milkshake straws over them. I have clipped these big red straws, sending them into orbit, but so far, left my metal case intact. Winter sunlight defeats these straws.
Welcome.

Here in the PNW, I have forgone any chrono work in Winter. It's been too frustrating to get it right. In no longer try to do it at the range where I'm a member, too much hassle getting it set up during cease fires. So my chrono work is all done in the woods, and even at that, due to tree shadow, it has to be done at certain times of the day.
 
Welcome.

Here in the PNW, I have forgone any chrono work in Winter. It's been too frustrating to get it right. In no longer try to do it at the range where I'm a member, too much hassle getting it set up during cease fires. So my chrono work is all done in the woods, and even at that, due to tree shadow, it has to be done at certain times of the day.
Ditto - Depending on what I am shooting, chrono work will either be at my ad-hoc range on my property or wherever it is convenient, there is light from above, I can shoot in a safe direction and there is some kind of backstop.
 
Welcome.

Here in the PNW, I have forgone any chrono work in Winter. It's been too frustrating to get it right. In no longer try to do it at the range where I'm a member, too much hassle getting it set up during cease fires. So my chrono work is all done in the woods, and even at that, due to tree shadow, it has to be done at certain times of the day.
Have you tried using an auxiliary light? I've had luck with mounting a 60W light above and behind the firing line, shining down on the chrony. I think I had it about 10' off the ground. I used a cheap heat lamp with a regular bulb in it, clamped to the shooting structure.
 
Have you tried using an auxiliary light? I've had luck with mounting a 60W light above and behind the firing line, shining down on the chrony. I think I had it about 10' off the ground. I used a cheap heat lamp with a regular bulb in it, clamped to the shooting structure.
I am aware this can be done, but haven't gone to the trouble. No AC power out in the woods. Where I like to shoot in the hills, even when you start out with a clear day, clouds can blow in and give out intermittent sprinkles. For this reason, some times I have to quickly pack my gear away.
 

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