FX Radar Chronograph - LOVE IT, KInda'

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bltefft

bltefft

Member
Jan 25, 2017
902
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West Central Georgia (Columbus, by Ft. Benning), U
I have several chronographs and am always looking for "something better". Well, I think it's gonna be hard to find something better than the FX Radar Chrony I recently acquired.

It sure isn't very heavy. On my scale it weighs 1890.2 grains, which equals 4.32 ounces. I used it today.

It uses a phone app and this little thing is super simple. All I had to do was go the the Apple store (I have an Apple iPhone) and download the app, it was free. After installing three AAA batteries in the FX Radar I was ready to go. I opened the app and turned on the FX Radar. It uses Blue Tooth and almost immediately the FX Radar's app began to flash "Connect", which I tapped. A big ole number "0" appeared on my phone. I used two rubber banks to attach the FX Radar under my m-rod's barrel. But, first, I removed 4 screws from the FX Radar and swapped the tripod mounting plate for the rubber band mounting plate that came with the unit.

I pointed the gun at my steel plate target and pulled the trigger. Immediately. the "0" was replaced with the number "1007". I shot up the 10-rd mag and it never missed a shoot, like my other chronies will sometimes do.

No sky screens, no long skinny metal rods, no having to align the chrony with my rifle. The FX Radar is really nice - and there's no way you're going to accidentally shoot it, either.

Now, we'll see how long it will last. I read that it was an eater of batteries and I'll need to be sure to turn it off after using it. It's easy to forget to press the little on/off button.

Later, guys

Bobby

UPDATE, 3-7-21

'Now that I've used it a little more, I not as in love with it as I used to be. It does miss shots sometimes and when I does, I "re-boot" it and I starts to do better. Is missing shots a sign that the batteries need changing?

See, my last post - of March 8, 2021 at 12:02 pm

Screen Shot 2021-02-27 at 7.34.32 PM.1614472580.png

 
Two of my friends have the fx chronograph, I guess my impression of them has been rather mixed. We have had numerous issues with them not being able to read back numbers. 

I feel they are at least moderately overpriced. And I dont really like the fact that they dont work without a smart phone. I'm kind of a simple old school guy...

Screenshot_20210227-191142_eBay.1614475061.jpg


I picked up this little fellow on ebay for 20 some odd bucks. It is truly phenomenal! Yes, it reads in meters per second, but I put a piece of tape on the top of mine in 5 meter per second increments and it gives me a very good and quick reference when I am tuning. And for 20 some odd bucks it just does an awesome job!

Sorry for posting negative, I'm truly glad there are people that like the fx model. My impressions of it however were less than favorable. 

And I'm kind of stingy with accessories like chronos and scopes and bipods...

I like to use the big bucks for the gun. Everything else is mega budget. Lol 
 
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Moe, yeah I can relate. I have both the FX and the cheap clamp-on...and I use the cheapie far more often. They each have their pros and cons but what I like about the cheapie is that it NEVER misses a reading. So for example if I'm checking a regulated PCP for potential effects of regulator creep after being idle overnight, I can't risk missing the first shot and the cheapie never lets me down. Never. Sure, it feels kinda sketchy in the hands and it may let the magic smoke out the next time I pick it up. If it does, I won't have one regret and I'll turn around and order a replacement.
 
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I find the FX Radar Chronograph to be absolutely great. It is so simple to use that I find myself measuring speeds much more often now than I did with myCaldwell, or my Beta Chrony. It does eat batteries, but this isn’t a problem for me as i use rechargeables. I have 3 Panasonic/Eneloop AAA batteries sitting in the charger and three in the unit. Whenever the red light comes on (which indicates that the batteries are getting low) I simply swap them around. In my testing it has always been within 10 FPS of the other chronographs. Given that i am shooting between 800 and 1000 FPS most of the time, this is a difference of about 1%. Since the variation is not consistent (i.e. it is not consistently high, or low, but rather a random variation) the average variation is pretty damn close to zero. 

I also love the fact that I can use it indoors in my basement range, as well as outside in the yard, without having to worry about overcast skies, or fluorescent lights. The fact that i can also use it to measure speeds on my .22 LR rifles and on most of my pistols (mounted on the bench, not on the slide) is a bonus.

Chris
 
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Moe, yeah I can relate. I have both the FX and the cheap clamp-on...and I use the cheapie far more often. They each have their pros and cons but what I like about the cheapie is that it NEVER misses a reading. So for example if I'm checking a regulated PCP for potential effects of regulator creep after being idle overnight, I can't risk missing the first shot and the cheapie never lets me down. Never. Sure, it feels kinda sketchy in the hands and it may let the magic smoke out the next time I pick it up. If it does, I won't have one regret and I'll turn around and order a replacement.
Click to expand...



A few GTA members have been endorsing this one:



https://www.amazon.com/ACETECH-AC5000-Airsoft-Shooting-Chronograph/dp/B072JSP98J/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
 
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Lithium rechargeables are great if you can get the voltage to work out, which usually requires a customization of some sort. The FX chronograph accepts 3x AAAs which places the max operating voltage at around 4.8V. Substituting 3x 10450 lithium cells would deliver a max of 12.6V which would very likely let the magic smoke out. A single 18650 mounted externally would be electrically compatible and deliver about 2x the run time of NiMH rechargeables. I'm tempted to do that with mine because it seems I'm always swapping batteries, and it annoys me they designed the battery cover to be secured with a screw straight into plastic. It would have cost less than a nickel to bed a hex nut into the housing, or really splurge and use a brass insert for a dime. That way it would have a proper machine screw that won't strip out.
 
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Yep I will give FX credit for this one , Its super cool and easy to use.....

Here is a hint, If it does not load up on your phone,, Turn your phone off and back on, This it will see the unit....

BITEFFT What are you shooting at 1007 FPS? is it accurate?
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HI, yeah, I'm pretty sure 1007 fps is accurate. I was shooting my .22 FX Royale 400 at full power, with a full air tank. it also produced 1003 fps and a 1000 fps readings. I shot 10 JSB STO Lead-free, 11.75 gr pellets and got an average velocity of 998.0 fps. The highest was 1007 fps and the lowest was 994 fps. Those numbers gave me 26.10 ft-lbs of energy.

My Benjamin Marauder .177 gave me higher velocities. I shot 10 .177 RWS Meisterkugeln, 8.2 gr pellets and got an averages of 1065.9 fps, The high was 1072 fps and the low was 1055. That produces 20.69 fpe.

What I want to figure out next is how much the slight weight of the FX radar alters the POI of my pellets.

Thanks for the tip about it not loading up on my phone. So, far it has been flawless (knock on wood)
 
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Lithium rechargeables are great if you can get the voltage to work out, which usually requires a customization of some sort. The FX chronograph accepts 3x AAAs which places the max operating voltage at around 4.8V. Substituting 3x 10450 lithium cells would deliver a max of 12.6V which would very likely let the magic smoke out. A single 18650 mounted externally would be electrically compatible and deliver about 2x the run time of NiMH rechargeables. I'm tempted to do that with mine because it seems I'm always swapping batteries, and it annoys me they designed the battery cover to be secured with a screw straight into plastic. It would have cost less than a nickel to bed a hex nut into the housing, or really splurge and use a brass insert for a dime. That way it would have a proper machine screw that won't strip out.
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I watched a few videos and wonder if it could stand the air blast from an air rifle/pistol.
 
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What I want to figure out next is how much the slight weight of the FX radar alters the POI of my pellets.

Yes, most definitely. Anything you hang on the end of your barrel will change the POI and possibly the harmonics.

With the FX chrony there's no problem if you are just getting string fps data, but if you re-zero when you are using it you will have to re-zero again when you take it off. You should find that it drops your POI a couple of millimeters or more depending on how stiff your barrel is.

Click to expand...
 
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