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Old May 27, 2006, 06:33 PM   #1
HiPowering Along
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Auuurgh...Murphy is running rampant again - shoot that sot!

<begin rant>

Murphy's Law For Weekends(tm) - The amount of time and intensity of desire to enjoy a long holiday weekend is inversely proportional to the reliability and craftsmanship of the equipment required to do the job.

Translated: If you want to enjoy a long weekend at the range, don't count on it if you need electronics to work properly.

Worked in the basement Thursday and Friday evenings getting the kinks worked out of the Dillon - I didn't treat it like a new laptop, meaning I didn't check the tightness of all the screws on the machine. The autofeeder kept jamming at the bottom where it feeds the next casing - wasn't throwing it far enough. And sure enough, the bolt that held it in place was loose, and allowed the upright 'fin' to shift back - and not give enough push to clear the drop tube.

After fixing that problem, I quickly made up about 50 rounds each of a few bullet/powder charge/etc. configurations, dutifully labeled them, and packed everything up and headed to the range today.

The PACT Pro XP Chronograph worked like a charm until the sixth string - then the fun began. 2545 FPS from a 115gr 9mm bullet (NOT!), 265 FPS, 1100 FPS, etc., then the next string didn't function at all. "No signal from start sensor" and my personal favorite - "ERROR: Both screens firing at same time". This is only the second time the unit was used, and the fifth string the machine chrono'd was this morning. Ain't this just grand?

A beautiful holiday weekend, all the time in the world for a long day at the range, and the )*$#% chrono craps out.

Switched cables, reseated the cables, moved the shots in the skyscreens, backed up a few more feet, moved forward a few feet, moved the entire unit to a differently lighted area, switched 9v batteries - same dang thing - "ERROR: Both screens firing at same time". AUURGH!!!!

Anyone have experiences with PACT similar to this? Anyone have experiences with the CED Millenium Chrono? I realize PACT has a lifetime warranty, but this is pure BS, being only two days old! I might just take them up on their 30-day guarentee and send the dang thing back to them....:barf:

<end rant, thank you for your support>
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Old May 27, 2006, 07:24 PM   #2
Unclenick
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Join Date: March 4, 2005
Location: Ohio
Posts: 21,022
I have the CED and like it a lot. I also co-own an Oehler 35P with two other guys, and these two systems match quite well with the accessory IR screen in use on the CED.

A German ballistics lab using fancy laboratory doppler radar equipment to measure bullet speed compared all the commercial chronographs available at the time to see whether they would be useful to military armorers? Only the CED Millenium and the Oehler (no longer available) got close matching the doppler results. I've seen my Dad's Chrony disagree with the Oehler by up to 200 fps out of 2500 fps. Now that's BS! Tilt it in the daylight and it changes yet again. I have no experience with the Pact.

Nick
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Old May 27, 2006, 11:45 PM   #3
Smokey Joe
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Join Date: July 14, 2001
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Murphy...

loves reloaders. So many variables, so many techniques to screw up, so much cantankerous equipment, so much stuff to transport to the range and back.

Murphy must think of us as a relaxing plaything.
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