CED Millennium Chronograph

[Gerald89]

So I have waited ages to get my mits on a chronograph and finally got hold of a CED mil!
I packed my kit and headed down to my shooting ground on a local farm.
I have been wanting to test some of my loads out to make my drop charts accurate etc.
First round and Qed ready and lined up , nothing , no reading.
All rounds fired the same!
Weather:- sunny at about 5pm.
Try connections still nothing.

Back home next day I tried my air rifle through it in the garden .I find if I shoot low I can get a reading regularly prob 80% of the time if kept low.

Weather :- sunny 2pm

Today back to the field with .22 rimfire (for test shots)and .243 .
Weather :- cloudy 5Pm

Set up, nothing until about a dozen .22 later when I am trying to keep low and I shoot the front screen just in the top of the sensor!

Guess what I get a reading, just the one though!
The lens is blown out and the casing shattered.

Is it just me and the weather or do you think I should be able to get readings easier like half way up the screen?

 

[Gerald89]

Spoke to the importers in the UK today they straight away said it was probably lighting conditions to blame.
It is quite common for them not work due to sun etc and is probably not a faulty unit.
I now have an infra red upgrade kit and new sensor on the way!

 

[Centre Punch]

Hi Jeza,
I have the same and have not tried it yet but i will be looking out for the problems you mentioned.

Our friend and fellow member Brit bought one the same time as me and he has had no trouble with his when shooting up at Minsterly.
He also did a comparison with a pact chrono, which another one of our buddies has, with favoufable results.

The only problem he had was with my reccomendation of tripod, the mounting system was not secure enough and it blew about in the wind, so i am in his black books for that /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif ( fortunately i can exchange mine because it is unopened /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif)
Ian.

"I meant to shoot the pike but the duck got in the way"

PS, did you get yours from SGC, i did and i am still waiting for my custom carry case.

 

[Eaglet]

Jeza,
I have taken mine out four times already and there has been only once (one shot) that it did not read it. I usualy put my scope line about an inch or so above the center of the screens. Also, if the ground reflects a lot of light all chronographs will not read properly, like snow reflecting light into the bullet and many other conditions that will affect all chronographs. Make sure when you mount it on the tripod, one end of the chronograp will fold up and down, that end that does that should be away from the shooter and conected into the "STOP" hole, make sure the sensors are clean and do not have any lints or dirt, I use "Dust-OFF".
Usually when I use it, I take my son's 22 pistol and fire some rounds through it to insure proper functioning before I shoot any of my hand loads. Pellet gun works!
As I have posted before, I'm very happy with mine and do enjoy it a lot.

 

[Ronin]

Jeza,

we also have a Mil CED and suffer from the same intermittent reading problems. It doesn't seem to matter what the light conditions are, our chrony will not register consistantly, it either works fine, or not at all. Iv'e tried it in bright overhead sun, get 0000 reading, early morning dull conditions and early evening with similar results. My mate and I have calibres from .224 to .300, there doesn't seem to be any difference with what sized pill passes through the screens, it doesn't register. In the info they provide, it mentions that muzzle blast could be a cause for no readings, well Iv'e moved the screens as far away from the muzzle as possible and still no difference. You may get the feeling, I am less than chuffed? The one saving grace of our CED was that it was given by someone who had it from new and it aparantly never worked properly despite being returned to the maker to be given a clean bill of health. At present I am considering a Chrony or, if I can get export one, an Ohler. No I wouldn't have another CED given! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif

 

[bailey1474]

I've got the CED w/the infrared lights and have had no trouble w/it as long as I had the infrared is on. We did have some trouble getting readings w/out the infrared. All in all I would say I was fairly happy though.

 

[Jimm]

Oehler 35 , 4 ft. screen spacing

Jim

 

[nowler]

try colouring the end of your bullets with a black permanent marker.

 

[Gerald89]

The new infra red screens have turned up along with a new front sensor to replace the shot one.
First test was air gun with ir switched on it didn't miss a shot.
Next out to the field .243 with similar weather conditions to before.
I tried without ir first,it didnt miss a shot so I never did need to turn it on.
Lastly down the range in bright head on sun light I could not get a reading.
I could not try ir because i left the power supply at home
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif but hanging a target board in the firing point to cast a shadow over both sensors got it working again.

Ian, yes a friend got it for me and did mention that a case was on the way for it, no sign of it yet though.

 

[IanF]

I feel quite upset - bought a shooting chrony years back - still on the original battery - provided its set up more than 6 foot from muzzle - provides faultless performance.

I want to have to resolve these issues that you guys have! Makes me feel like I'm not doing it right!!! Obviously didnt spend sufficient money /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

OK, tongue firmly in cheek as you can gather. Very satisfied with the basic model I purchased - folds small - believe the consistency racks up against other models costing x5 as much. Yes - means I have to manually log the velo reading as well as working out sd and mean - but hell, my calculator didnt cost much either. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Keep well.

Ian /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[brianwinzor]

Jeza, I can understand the frustration you have been going through. I bought a CED about 3 years ago, after using the various Oehler models for the previous 30 years.

During the first 2 years the CED worked faultlessly, but about 9 months ago, I kept getting "0000" after each shot.

The Oz agent sent me another sensor, and bingo, it worked perfectly again for about 6 months, then 3 months ago, on 2 successive occasions, I got the "0000" again despite trying everything to make it register.

The Oz agent sent me another sensor, and bingo, fired 90 shots without 1 single failure. About 2 weeks ago, I went testing again, and in 35 shots could not get one to record. At the agents suggestion I returned the unit and sensors about 1 week ago, so it will be interesting to see what happens this time.

So far the service from the "Oz" agent has been excellent as the 2 sensors have been quickly replaced at no charge.

However, I have decided that if the problems persist, I will cut my losses and order an Oehler 35. Brian.

 

[wapiti13]

The weakness of most chronos are the screens. Early Oehlers had problems in some light conditions. The new Oehler 35 with its orange colored background that the sensor looks at has solved all my problems. Just can't beat an Oehler with a four foot spacing!!

 

[brianwinzor]

waipiti13, I agree with your theory about screens being the main weakness.

The mystery problems with my CED appear to deepen, as the Oz agent said yesterday that my chrono worked perfectly under varying conditions during his testing. He also used it with the IR, and hooked my sensors up with another main unit, and it still worked perfectly.

However, thankfully he acknowledged that there is obviously a problem, but as yet he was not able to identify it.

The agent is going to return the chrono as is to me, and if I have further problems, will try to work out a deal on replacing the main unit.

I certainly recall using the Oehler Model 10 where you had to replace the 2 paper screens for each shot, then rotate the dial to get the count, and then look up the tables to convert to velocity. Brian.

 

[CPorter]

I have had a CED Millennium for a few years now and the only time it didn't work right was when I placed the mini plugs in the wrong place. Labeled the sensor and cable ends and haven't mixed them up since. If I remember right, you can check the unit with a flash light. Flick the light over the first sensor and then the other if no reading go back to the first. If you get a reading then the cables are backwards. If not the unit is fubar.

I bought mine from RSI at http://www.shootingsoftware.com/ and Jim Ristow there has always been very helpful with any problems.