Nice write-up Chuck
i use digitals for my HPR and tank on my Epoch..but kept the analog on the LPR
would like to hear your thoughts on a digital for the LPR
...when you get it
Is it helping with the S.D. and E.S.?
Thanks
Mike
I think upgrading to digital gauges, especially if you periodically change reg settings, is worth doing for one reason... you reduce system variability. Some of the best shooting platforms are achieved not by just one large improvement (a barrel upgrade maybe), but by several small improvements in addition to the big improvements. Variability in a system is always additive, and any and all reduction improves the overall system consistency and repeatability.
As for the digital gauge on the LPR, I don't know. There seems to be a couple of schools of thought on the LPR. After getting my first Skout platform, I gathered from my general forum reading that you initially set the HPR and LPR for a good tune, then let the LPR follow the HPR as you adjust the HPR for different velocities, or generally keeping the LPR at a given percentage of the HPR pressure. This seems to work fine for many. However, in talking to Bill Gardner with some specific tuning questions (my only tuning experience was with FX Impacts), he was very specific in his explanation of his tuning procedure for the Evo. It's very simple and consistent for both pellets and slugs but varies slightly from the above when it comes to the LPR. You start your tuning with the HPR at a pressure to give you a starting velocity you desire, and "the LPR between 180 psi and 200 psi, with 190 psi being best" (Bill's words). You adjust the HPR to get the tuned velocity you want, then you set the LPR back to 190 if it moved while adjusting the HPR. This is where the thought processes are different. Bill definitely indicates to use ~190 psi on the LPR to drive the solenoid. Not that letting the LPR follow the HPR is wrong, I think it's just that the LPR is just only operating the solenoid/valve. It makes sense to me that there would be a best pressure for that, and any pressure above that optimal pressure is just wasting air (system variability).
Probably any of these methods work, maybe even equally accurately, but maybe one saves a little air and doesn't overdrive/wear the solenoid/valve. I'm not sure. What I do know is Bill Gardner and Skout Airguns are always moving forward and will implement a process change as soon as they see a benefit from it, thus always moving forward and improving. Maybe a few months ago letting the LPR follow the HPR was the normal method Skout suggested, but today they suggest keeping the LPR at 190 psi. Maybe tomorrow that will change. I do know for sure that it will be a long time before I know better than Bill Gardner.
Now... back to the digital gauge on the LPR... probably not a significant improvement in accuracy, but maybe a minor improvement in system performance, and better consistency setting the LPR to 190 over a low-res analog gauge. Worth doing? Totally individual. I choose to based on my beliefs about consistency and reducing ANY system variability I can within reason.
I'll let you know how I feel once it's on there and I've used it.
