New FX 120i

[T-shooter]

I can also drop 1 stick of varget with mine it just takes some practice and getting use to. This is my work in progress. About to put some clips on the sides to prevent the cover from shifting.

View attachment 1111323

Nice cover!

 

[ronemus]

I put mine on a ~3" thick granite surface plate (bought on sale from Enco), and put ~2" thick firm upholstery foam between the plate and the desktop; that provides vibration isolation which is important if you're not situated on a concrete slab. It takes a while for the foam to stop changing, so the setup has to be left in one spot unless you put a board or metal plate under the foam.

As previously mentioned, drafts are a problem; just moving in your seat is enough to make a noticeable change in the reading. I put a cardboard box with two sides open (front and bottom) over the setup, with ~1" gaps between the sides of the foam and surface surface plate. I also use the draft shield supplied by A&D with only the front panel removed. That provides good isolation unless you have a strong draft blowing directly at the scale.

Electrical isolation is also important. My scale really didn't like the electrical noise from my furnace blower, and others have seen issues with fluorescent lights. Such interference can be eliminated by using a filtered power strip; I use and recommend a Tripp-Lite isobar.

Static electricity can easily shift readings by a few grains, so it pays to wipe down all plastic surfaces with an antistatic such as a drier sheet. Don't wear nylon or other static-prone fabrics when working with the scale. A humidifier set to maintain at least 35% RH will help a lot.

For stable zeros it's necessary to warm up for at least a few hours (I leave mine on continuously to avoid drift - that is standard practice with precision scales) and keep the room temperature fairly constant (within a few degrees). I see my zero change by a few tenths of a grain with ~20 degree changes in room temperature.

 

[Linko]

Now that I have theArea 419 cup and plate I can have only the right side removed from the Ad120 draft shield because the Area 419 cup has such a large handle. That helps stop drafts from moving my hands. The other thing for the drafts is I turn off the A/C to stop the drafts.

One other thing, the new plexiglass replacement cover for the A&D draft hood from Area 419 let's you see what you are doing. Very well made and works great.

 

[Linko]

Piece of tile from Home Depot will work fine.

Ditto

 

[F Class John]

For those using the Area419 cup you can make a half wall like you see in my photo. It’s worked wonders for me. I used a step drill on the right wall to make a hole for the trickler and this way I have 3.5 walls of coverage.

 

[T-shooter]

I load through a modified funnel through the scale's lid using an Omega/Dandy trickler. The bottom is a .308 case with a couple baffles epoxied in to slow the powder down. If not it tends to bounce out of the pan.

I modified the weighing platform buying another and cutting it down and using a smaller cover. It does make a difference as there is much less surface area for any breeze to push on. I leave 3 of the plastic sides on the scale and use the right side to set and remove the weighing pan. I have loaded with a window A/C running just 2' to the right of the scale blowing straight out and it doesn't effect the readings.


I flattened and epoxied #00 lead buckshot to make the weighing platforms the same.
I cut this with a Dremmel to fit inside the smaller top cover.

 

[mike06]

T-shooter what do you think about adding a piece of a dryer sheet in the bottom of the powder pan to stop the bounce and maybe some static?

 

[Nature Boy]

For those using the Area419 cup you can make a half wall like you see in my photo. It’s worked wonders for me. I used a step drill on the right wall to make a hole for the trickler and this way I have 3.5 walls of coverage.

Exactly what I did with mine John

 

[T-shooter]

T-shooter what do you think about adding a piece of a dryer sheet in the bottom of the powder pan to stop the bounce and maybe some static?

I don't have a static problem. I spray everything with anti-static spray when the pieces are new. If there is powder in the pan, it doesn't bounce much, but when empty it will. The baffles slows the powder down and I don't have any coming back out. I usually start with a Lee dipper and then trickle up to my charge weight.

Another method for loading a higher quantity is using a Hornady Autocharger. I set the charge weight a grain or two low and trickle up. That piece is not very accurate, good enough for plinking ammo but not much else. I got it as a gift so can't complain. These are 15 charges at each weight and what the machine actually delivered. Twice it overcharged without tripping the alarm and once the alarm went off with the scale showing the correct weight. In each case, the accuracy was about 1/10g on the .223 loads and about 2/10g on the .308 loads.