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Thread: Is the Chrony F1 the best chronograph ? Video Review of the F1

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    Is the Chrony F1 the best chronograph ? Video Review of the F1

    A new video I forgot to post.

    A review and my thoughts on the Chrony F1.

    https://youtu.be/QYIqkC0ZeBE
    Airgun Catanonia Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCks...znYSNo1mMXb-MQ : Fully unsponsored and unbiased reviews / videos

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    No it is not and we dont need a review of something that is old as dinosaurs, thanks.

    A.G

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    A good review mate. Great stuff. Subscribed. I had one of these, and it was so light fussy so I sent it back for a refund. Totally lost confidence in it. Looking for a different one now.

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    Quote Originally Posted by lensman57 View Post
    No it is not and we dont need a review of something that is old as dinosaurs, thanks.

    A.G
    I think it's good that Catanonia is doing these videos. Perhaps it is an established brand but for people who are just coming into the hobby this is a great source of unbiased information to give them an idea on which chrono' to use.
    If I remember correctly when Catanonia started making his videos he did explain which angle he was coming from.

  5. #5
    secretagentmole Guest
    Why not review the good old humble 625 mk 4 Combro?

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    secretagentmole.

    He has :

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lju9saqMtpw

    Have fun & a good Sunday

    Best regards

    Russ

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    Quote Originally Posted by markpimmy View Post
    A good review mate. Great stuff. Subscribed. I had one of these, and it was so light fussy so I sent it back for a refund. Totally lost confidence in it. Looking for a different one now.
    Nothing exists will have same trouble with any led type chrono IR or not, results quite dramatic.
    Only ones can trust are the radar outdoors.

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    Quote Originally Posted by hareng View Post
    Nothing exists will have same trouble with any led type chrono IR or not, results quite dramatic.
    Only ones can trust are the radar outdoors.
    Tell that to the police forces that use the Skan units to check confiscated rifles for muzzle energy!
    I have also not heard any bad reviews of the R2 series of chronos manufactured in
    Poland and sold in this country by Blackpool Airrifles.
    They are both reported to be unaffected by ambient light conditions - at least to an appropriate degree for an average air gun user.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scubashot View Post
    Tell that to the police forces that use the Skan units to check confiscated rifles for muzzle energy!
    I have also not heard any bad reviews of the R2 series of chronos manufactured in
    Poland and sold in this country by Blackpool Airrifles.
    They are both reported to be unaffected by ambient light conditions - at least to an appropriate degree for an average air gun user.
    For starters police dont chrono theyre sent to the lab at £500 a pop.

    Been listening to the wrong people R2 are affected by light same as any other. Showing an led light on to the sensors makes no difference, switch on extra set of indoor lights reads 18-24 ft/sec faster to match a controlled unit.

  10. #10
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    I have to say that I chrony ANY airgun when I get it and repeatedly during my tuning process until I find the best set-up and pellet.
    This may take measuring 500 to 700 shots sometimes or sometimes even more - I don't care.
    Airguns I keep for a longer time will be measured regularly to understand changes and behaviour at differing weather/temperatures conditions. Not only springers but PCP too.


    I have been measuring with the Chrony F1 for four years now.
    It's not perfect but quite good and it fits my demands nicely.

    Light sensible - yes.
    Especialy at bright sunny sky the sun shields are a must and sometimes it's even better to provide some (more) shadow by an umbrella or similar.
    At dim light you just have to shoot right over the centerline of the lenses about 3 to 4 inches up and it will measure correctly until dusk. Please note - again with the shields up.
    It seems that the lenses need the reflection of the bullet against the underside of the shields.
    Same accounts for shooting in the badly lit basement where an old style desklight (bulb) positioned about 20 to 25 inch above and centered between the lenses.
    Taking care that the batterie isn't weak is favourably.
    LEDs work too and are easy to come by.

    I like the F1.
    I have it on a tripod in front of the shooting table and can change its lateral and horizontal position easily.
    The display is sufficient to get nice readings that I write down on a slip of paper and put into my spread sheets later. Admitted - a connection to a note book for automatic registration of every single shot would be an advantage but I got used to the paperwork where I additionaly make my records how the specific pellet fits into the barrel plus how and where it groups.


    I tried the Combro 625 once and send it back after some attempts.
    Main reason was to have to take the gun back and turn it quite around everytime to get a reading of the single shot was an unacceptable PITA for me.
    Plus this device is a joke on spring/Gas Rams especially break-barrels even for sub-12fpe not to mention FAC.
    I tried to connect it to my notebook with that special cable but never got it working but that's another story I suppose.
    What a rubbish. No - thanks.


    And there is that (Poland made?) Air-Chrony.
    Excellent readings even in the dark due to its built in IR(?)-lighting and PC-connection.
    Please note there is a strong manufacturers advise NOT to measure in the sun and to avoid other strong light emissions too.
    Finally I find it really unpleasant to have to shoot through the small tunnel where the surrounding device/construction many times just covers more or less of your target.
    Consequently this device furthermore is absolutely inappropriate for measuring at bigger distances while as example trying your own check of BC of a specific pellet.



    Oh yes - I know that there are some other makes available but they're all more or less the same as the F1 just mainly more expensive.

    So did I mention yet that I like my Chrony F1?!
    Last edited by pelletcaster; 21-01-2018 at 10:02 PM.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by hareng View Post
    For starters police dont chrono theyre sent to the lab at £500 a pop.
    Who use....guess what and pocket £500

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    Quote Originally Posted by hareng View Post
    For starters police dont chrono theyre sent to the lab at £500 a pop.

    Been listening to the wrong people R2 are affected by light same as any other. Showing an led light on to the sensors makes no difference, switch on extra set of indoor lights reads 18-24 ft/sec faster to match a controlled unit.
    You may be correct regarding the police testing.
    I am going by Skan's website that states:
    "SKAN CHRONOS HAVE BEEN IN CONTINUOUS USE WITH UK POLICE FORCE AND AIRGUN MANUFACTURERS FOR THE LAST 26 YEARS"

    Whether the police themselves test using them or refer the guns to independent laboratories that use them, the end result is the same. If it passes with your own Skan you may be pretty confident that it will pass with any other Skan being operated by the Police or their chosen representatives.

    I feel that you are in danger of "throwing out the baby with the bathwater" in suggesting that it is pointless testing with anything other than a very expensive and complicated radar setup.
    As most of us build in a margin of around 0.5 to 1.00 ft-lb of muzzle energy, we are probably safe from most minor variations between chronographs.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scubashot View Post
    You may be correct regarding the police testing.
    I am going by Skan's website that states:
    "SKAN CHRONOS HAVE BEEN IN CONTINUOUS USE WITH UK POLICE FORCE AND AIRGUN MANUFACTURERS FOR THE LAST 26 YEARS"

    Whether the police themselves test using them or refer the guns to independent laboratories that use them, the end result is the same. If it passes with your own Skan you may be pretty confident that it will pass with any other Skan being operated by the Police or their chosen representatives.

    I feel that you are in danger of "throwing out the baby with the bathwater" in suggesting that it is pointless testing with anything other than a very expensive and complicated radar setup.
    As most of us build in a margin of around 0.5 to 1.00 ft-lb of muzzle energy, we are probably safe from most minor variations between chronographs.
    What radar set up? My F1 is useless but my Combro agrees with our Club's Skan to within 5ft/s. That is good enough for me and I should imagine a lot of air gunners that need to keep a check on their guns. The Combro works indoors and outdoors equally well but one like any other light reading device has to be careful not to operate it under strong sunlight or oblique illumination or dodgy lighting conditions, and that goes for the Skan too. A bit of common sense I am sure would stop people having to spend serious money on a radar set up and the likes.

    The Police use Skan but that is for the initial assessment and for a full report the gun will be sent to any one of a number of approved labs where the pellet testing will take place.

    A.G

  14. #14
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    As long as you have a chrono, & it works accurately for you then that's all you need, what anyone else uses is largely academic if theirs works for them.

    Is the F1 the best chrono ? NO, not by a country mile. However is it a good value unit for Joe average ? yes it is.

    Personally speaking the F1 is no good for me because if I'm load testing I want to record multiple strings & be able to compare min, max, ave, & spread later, along with the target grouping, so I use a pro chrono which lets me do all that.

    I only lasted through the vid to where the derisory comments about the variations like the printer started, but that's longer than with most.

  15. #15
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    I have an F1, I have a Combro and I have a Skan.
    The F1 lies unused for the majority of the time. The only time it gets used is when taken out to do field testing of BC. It is very susceptible to changes in light but so long as it has good batteries it can be used, for this purpose I suggest a thick perspex plate in front as protection for the screen against fliers and I also use a 5 gallon white plastic container with top and bottom cut off as a sunshield tunnel over the whole chrono. I have calibrated it against my Skan and under optimum conditions it agrees within 1-2% of the Skan readings
    The Combro gets used for the muzzle velocity readings when calculating BC, with careful use and good batteries, always remembering to set the calibration value every time the batteries are changed it gives readings +/- 1 or 2 FPS with my Skan.
    The Skan is my bench chrono. Every rifle I own or work on gets run through the Skan as it is the same chrono that the police will use in event of an investigation. All results are logged and stored on the computer, every gun that's ever been shot, tuned or repaired by me is recorded for my piece of mind and to prove to the police that it was to the best of my knowledge legal when it left me. If ever my Skan produces a strange result I check the calibration figure and clean the sensor windows. If it won't show the correct calibration value it goes back to Skan for repair and re-calibration. So far it has been totally reliable apart from the sensor window covers coming un-glued from the plastic tunnel (probably due to getting 50+FtLb guns tested through it reasonably regularly, even with silencers these produce enough muzzle blast to rattle the windows! ) This "problem" has been cured with double sided sticky tape, I know another Skan user who has replaced with thicker perspex but so far I've not felt the need.
    The Skan is plugged into the mains 24/7, this ensures the electronics are always at correct operating temperature (timing is done by quartz crystal oscillators, the accuracy is dependent on temp). The workshop is kept at 20-21 deg C, there is no direct sunlight or artificial illumination shining into or on the sensors.
    Before taking my other chronos out for a BC test I will run a couple through them in conjunction with the Skan to check their calibration, while they will almost certainly be a lot cooler at the range they should both be at similar temps when recording velocities for BC calculations so I can assume they will be reasonably calibrated to each other at the range, but it's quite simple to put one or two through the F1 with the Combro on the muzzle and the F1 a couple of feet out rather than 50 yards away just to confirm they are within 1% of each other.
    The instructions for the F1 Chrony state 99.5% accuracy, if we are talking about velocity readings in the 800 fps area this equates to +/-4 fps so don't get carried away with trying to get any chrono to read identically to another, they are acceptably accurate if used correctly, I use my Skan as my primary measuring tool as it is identical to the tool the police may use if ever there is a question over the legality of a gun I have worked on. I can honestly say that the gun was legal when I worked on it and if any tampering has been done I can disclose to the police how my guns are marked with "tamper evident" seals and marks, if there is any evidence of tampering then the gun is not guaranteed to be as it was when I measured it last. While this may or may not be admissible evidence for a court it goes a long way to prove that I am being honest and not attempting to disregard any legislation regards muzzle energy for sub12 and sub6 guns.
    BSA Super10 addict, other BSA's inc GoldstarSE, Original (Diana) Mod75's, Diana Mod5, HW80's, SAM 11K... All sorted!

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