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Magnetic chronograph is awesome!

I recently purchased a Magnetospeed chronograph, and it is awesome. No more screens, no more spurious readings in different light, no extensive line-up issues, and no shooting the box! It simply is attached to the end of the barrel with some velcro, and that's all. Yesterday, a fellow shooter used it with his 7mm Rem Mag, with no problems.

The display box and actual LCD display are a little cheesy and cheap feeling, but it all worked great. I think better fittings and a better case would make it a really class machine. I predict it will eliminate all of the optical chronographs.

However, the time saved in setup and take down make it more than worth the extra expense. As the technology improves, like anything, the prices will likely come down. The reviews on other websites support how good it is, and this is one of the best shooting investments (if there is such a thing) I have ever made, and one of the most innovative advances we have seen in a long time.
 
ViperDoc -- Thanks for the report. I've seen the early writeups and wanted to get some field reports before running a Bulletin Story. If you have any photos, please send them to: mailbox [at] 6mmBR.com .
 
Will take photos- some other reports described a change in POI, but not group size (not too surprising). The ease of use far outweighs the change in POI (at least in my mind). No more lugging a tripod and chrony to the range, waiting for the line to go cold, run out and try to line up, hope the sky conditions are right, etc.

Simply velcro to the end of the barrel and shoot. I think it has to be pretty close to the track of the bullet to work, and I think it would work better strapped to the barrel than shooting over it (kind of old optical chrony thinking). As I said, it stayed on a 7mm Rem mag barrel no problem and no damage.

I was going to work up loads with my 223 AR, but rounds wouldn't feed into the barrel (bolt wouldn't close), so I didn't shoot it at all (waste of gas). However, the guy next to me on the range used his 7mm and I think a 22-250 with no problems.

I don't get excited about much, but this thing will make all of those optical chronographs obsolete in short order. I hope the manufacturer has patents.
 
I've had mine for several weeks and love it! I've used it with a variety of rifles, including 17 Fireball...it even "sees" the little bullets.

It does have an affect on POI....for my rifles, where I've tested it, 1" to 1 1/2" vertical change. Doing load work that's not really a problem for me.

Alex, the guy behind the product, has been very responsive.....on two occasions I've been at the range and had an issue or question. I've used my iPhone to email him, and he's called and answered my question and resolved any issues I've had. Very good guy to deal with, in my experience.

I've still got my CED2 as a backup, but the Magnetospeed is my "primary" chronograph, and I use it a lot.
 
Walker -- great to have these first-hand reports from trustworthy Forum members. When I saw the initial photos I was concerned about fitment to rifle barrels and ability to record small-diameter bullets. Will it work with wax-coated lead .22LR bullets?
 
I have emailed them to see if it is ok to run it from an attachment on an F-class stand. Looking at their custom page it should be ok. If it is...I doubt I will remove it....will help a lot to tell why a shot went high or low at 1000 on club days and I will be able to build up a wicked database of ES SD. I just have to wait for the export rules to be sorted :(
 
6BRinNZ; it must be attached to the barrel, an attachment would not work.

A shooting friend brought one over to the club two weeks ago and we ran some tests. Though very simple (measured interval of electromagnetic disturbance) it did what it's advertised to do. Worked with rifles and revolvers, no semi-pistols or huge brakes. We did not get to run simultaneous passes through a CEDII to check speeds. We had some concern over the controller unit. Obviously it lacks the ability to download data, so you're going to have to manually enter your information for spreadsheets, but it seemed a little fragile (I can see it crushed in my range bag).

The only problem we had; it would not pick up bullets from a barrel 1.250" at the muzzle. Re-reading the booklet we found one blurb: "Disclaimer: The bayo is designed to fit tapered and bull barrel muzzles between 0.50 and 1.00 inches in diameter"
So those of us using kart axles will have to stick with our old-fashioned optical sensor chronos.

Kudos to the makers, they're going to sell a ton if they can get the price point where it needs to be (<$150 IMHO).

/edit: media card will allow computer interface
 
Killshot said:
6BRinNZ; it must be attached to the barrel, an attachment would not work.

Why is that? (just curious as you have actually used it...not arguing...maybe I misunderstand their FAQ). I'm not so keen if I can't use it on my club days.

The custom page shows it clamped to a bench and not attached to the barrel. The below came from their FAQ

The main issue with mounting the MagnetoSpeed to these devices is that the outer diameters tend to be much larger than 1.00". This typically places the sensor deck of the MagnetoSpeed unit too far away from the bullet edge to get a good signal. Another option for using the MagnetoSpeed device with suppressors is to mount the device off the gun, such as clamped to a shooting bench (see our application page). Care must be taken so that the blast doesn't encounter the parts of the barrel sensor unit not designed for blast (i.e. V-block, cable and connector). Also, as always, one must make sure the device is not positioned in the bullet path. Further, our in-house prototype shop can build custom rigs to meet just about any mounting need you may have! Contact us for more information.
 
would be great if someone with a known-good chrono (Oehler or PVM) to validate the output from this new chrono. This certainly looks like a real innovation: not the usually me-too product.
 
Guys, check out Snipers Hide, there are at least 5 field tests and pics of group size etc.
I too cannot see why it will not work from a bench clamp or rest attachment either especially as the MFG has said so? unit has a SD card which I believe you can download to your PC and it will convert to an excel spreadsheet.

I think this is a massive innovation, setting up a chrono on a busy range is serious hassle and inconvenience, also those of us that have roofs on our firing points can chrono in all weather (which means a lot especially with the amount of rain we are experiencing (UK)

Regards
Gary Costello
 
The Magnetospeed has an SD card installed in a small slot. After shooting, I remove the card, plug it into the card slot on my laptop, and I import the spreadsheet data to a file, print it, and also save it to Dropbox. No manual input. With the CED I have to hook a cable from the unit to a PC laptop to transfer the data. We happen to have one, but my primary laptop is a Macbook Pro, and the Magnetospeed format works with the Mac.

I've run the tests using my CED2 and the Magnetospeed, with my 6BR and .204 Ruger.

The readings from the bayo unit pretty consistently ran 1.8% higher than the skyscreen unit. How much of that can be attributed to the readings at the end of the barrel versus 12 feet away, I don't know. I also don't really know how precisely accurage the CED is.

Here's a photo of the setup. I'm no scientist, just learning because I want to know, and to feel comfortable using the bayo unit. I'm convinced it's the way to go...for me....YMMV.

39266456.jpg
 
This is truly an interesting development, though I can't understand what's "magnetic" in a copper-covered lead bullet. I can only presume that it needs to be in a certain proximity to the barrel and that a small camera tripod sort of device to hold in that position should work. I love my Chrony but, as mentioned above, we all know the effort it takes to get one set up and running at a busy range.
 
A copper or lead bullet will still disturb a magnetic field without being magnetic itself. Will try more testing today if my AR functions.
 

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