Radars / chronograps ???

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bigHUN

bigHUN

Member
Jan 16, 2020
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L4G7X4 Canada
I had several revision chrony's in a past decade and longer, but since I got my very first shoot through hole chronograph I never look back at the old metal box style again. Cheap and reliable, never missed the shot only me missed the hole couple times until the plastic could not hold it together and finally I retire it.

In past two year I got the FX radar, I liked the convenience size and the tablet/phone app. But started misbehaving/misreading lately. Looks like time to jump to the next unit.

Instead of the FX radar initially I was tinkering about the features on the Labradar only could not justify the full kit price for this doppler radar that still have plenty of flaws.

Browsing the internet pictures, couple nice interesting units, but after using the FX radar for over a year it is hard to give up some features that makes the piece price on level.

Asking you my EU and Asian friends if anybody know any radar or chronograph that is:

- smaller or pocket size unit that is gun range / BR friendly (meaning cannot be a shoot through hole),

- possible to mount on tripod or picatinny (no I don't want to mount on the barrel nothing I even remove the shroud when I am shooting @ 100),

- BT or WiFi capable and can work with android (cables not convenient to manage on the shooting bench)



Edit:

Anybody hear anything what happened to Velociradar since last December only shootingforum talks here and there
 
bigHUN, I feel for you and your FX chrony. Mine is a first gen model and had been "fussy" for a bit off and on over the years too, leading to the change of how it was mounted in relation to the barrel and getting the "free" inverse barrel mount that cost me the shipping cost, and, FX didn't even provide any rubber bands to go with it!!! What nerve. I was not going to give up finding solutions to keep this little gem working and consistent. I opted in to be a beta tester for the FX App that Jukka Fiskari has written. Along with his upgrades, he has included some ideas I have suggested as well, and each upgrade has allowed the FX chrony, for me, to be a bit more stable using standard NiMH batteries. Then I discovered Li-ion batteries that a friend said "are the bomb". Sure enough, they are. Linier 100% power until they shut down, period. I was having so much in the way of inconsistent readings with the NiMH whether inside my shop or outside, it was making me nuts! Now I rarely, if ever, get an error reading.

I understand "hardware" can be a possible problem, but my background will lead me to troubleshoot all the "software" solutions first to substantiate the prior.

Share your discoveries my friend.

Patrick
 
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I could not find Li-ion in AAA size, so I tried this, without much luck. Even suspecting that, that hole from the side I just plugged with a cable have some function to do with the internal sensor.



20210917_213550.1632337756.jpg


Tonight I will remove the cable to do further trials.


 
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The hole in the side of the case is for placing a two-prone micro-connector that connects to the " + " and the " - " pads marked on the side of the circuit board right by the hole. These positive and negative input pads on the circuit board are quite close to each other so if you solder them be careful not to short them together. Or you can just run the 5V cable in there directly through the hole in the case and solder the positive and negative cable ends to the positive and negative pads on the circuit board.

Be careful when handling the open case. Do not mess with the front radar antenna because it's very very static sensitive.

Here there is an easier solution at the very end that connects to the existing battery pins inside the case and not on the circuit board.

https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/fx-radar-chronograph-love-it/page/2/?referrer=1



As far as the Caldwell velociradar it seems to be coming out in the 4th qtr of 2021. 



IMG_6454.1614710577.1624552060.1632339498.jpg
IMG_6452.1614706474 1.1632339704.jpg

 
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I do not think there is a gen 1 or gen 2. As far as I know there is only one version. It's possible that the firmware on it was updated, but must be transparent because do not hear people noticing any difference between currently sold and those sold when it first came out.

Your inconsistent readings are unlikely from battery/voltage. The unit has a couple of voltage regulators, and as long as the voltage is above around 4.2V it should not mater. I would carefully check if the antenna board is properly seated in the 3-pin connector. At times, it may become loose (while you are there, also note the slight angle of the antenna)..

There are some LiPo AAA batteries, but do not know this brand (has over 1,000 feedback):

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B089M3HG2C/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=ADMAJ1NNAHZG9&psc=1



This I what I would do to eliminate any factors that may interfere with the reading of the radar:

- make sure you set the velocity of the phone app to cover the entire spectrum of your pellet velocity: if you expect to shoot at 700 fps, make sure you are set for 500-900 fps (or whatever). Setting too near 700 fps may not register all shots.

- I leave my phone app's sensitivity at the default, but check make sure its not somehow set too high or too low

- make sure there aren't any reflective objects (metal) about 4-5 feet ahead and to the left/right of the radar. The target should be about 10 feet or more away 

- if you extend an imaginary line perpendicularly from the radar's front face (recall how the antenna was oriented?) it should intercept the pellet about 1-3 feet ahead of the muzzle Should not point more than 10-20 degrees either to the right or left of the pellet's path 

- or try to mount the radar on the gun right behind the muzzle-end about 2-4 inches back. You can move it back further too, but again make sure it intercepts the pellet's path about 1-3 feet ahead of the muzzle's end

- you can test and adjust your "aim" by using a larger diameter straw or plastic tube and spit small aluminum-foil balls as to simulate the path of the pellet. It will register various velocities between 20-160 fps (make sure to drop your phone app velocity to that range) 




 
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There are some LiPo AAA batteries, but do not know this brand (has over 1,000 feedback):

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B089M3HG2C/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=ADMAJ1NNAHZG9&psc=1
Click to expand...

I understand what you are saying with placement, believe me in a year plus time I have tried all. In the beginning it was attached to the barrel but soon realized attached to a small tabletop tripod is more convenient to position around.

On the pic from earlier up that is an Anker powerbank with output of 5.1 V, was sitting in a drawer in between travels and trips and I just found a best use for it, but unfortunately the radar not behaving with numbers...

What again I cannot exclude from the source of a problem is that, I am shooting at a LR22 range and right beside about 10 or so meters are the big bore centerfires. I just replaced my third earmuffs (developed some cracking noise), could that be a damaging to electronics in the radar as well.....
 
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I just mailed today the radar back to the dealer if he can manage a repair/service and most likely I will pickup an another one as well.

I feel these FX radars are the most convenient overall to carry around.
Click to expand...

Hope it gets fixed. Yes, the FX chrono is very convenient compared to the traditional chronos. Curious how it will be resolved. . 
 
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I still prefer the twin screen type with the infrared led light source bar across the top. They work all the time. Indoors or out doors. They mount on a tripod and you simply shoot through the openings. They never miss a beat. They are consistent. They use typically a 9 volt battery that seems to last for ever.and they are cheap. It is not like you use a crony every time you shoot. You only need a crony when you change something. I don't understand this convenience thing.
 
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