Oehler 35-P question/problem?

[Joe_C]

HI .
I have a question for any of you Oehler 35-P owners out there.
As it gets later in the day ,sun setting, etc , do any of your chronos start what i would describe as "false triggering" ?
About an hour or so before it starts getting dark , the unit i have will start randomly printing out zeros (in both the proof and regular column) for shots fired .
They are numbered , just like as if it were an actual round fired over the chrono.
If i take the diffusers off , it will stop the false printing for a little bit longer , but as
it gets a little darker they start happening again .
It is still plenty light enought for the chrono to work . and if i shoot between the "zero" velocities it will record my shot.
This is the second unit (returned the first) that this is happening on .
thanks
Joe

I

 

[TominSWNY]

I shoot roughly east to west. The screens are in partial shade most of the day, at this time of the year if I shoot yearly in the morning I have that problem. I the summer I get caught for about 20 minuets late in the after noon with no readings because of the suns position. Sun in this part of the country is usually not a major problem because we see little of it.

 

[Joe_C]

I am located in northeast Pa. and the range i shoot on is basicly facing from the
northeast toward the southwest.
I was out shooting again today , and trying out the chrono again . I started about 5Pm and shot until 6;30-7:00 .
Had a blue sky overhead , chrono worked ok until about 6 PM , then started printing
zero's .
I took the diffusers off , and it stopped printing zero's until about 6:30 , then started again. Printed some zeros for a while , then stopped again ,and seemed ok until i left the range just about dark.
It still works and records velocities ok .
The first unit i had would start printing continuously and wouldn't stop until i pulled the start cord.
I was wondering if i was the only person who was having these problems ?
This isn't the first chrono i have owned, have been using them for 20+ years or so .
Never had a problem like this before

Joe

 

[fdshuster]

I have always had blue sky/bright sunshine problems with my basic (red) Shooting Chrony. With an overcast sky it works perfectly. It was again demonstrated to me the other day. Started out o'cast & it worked perfectly. A short time later the clouds broke up & bright sun followed. I then began seeing zero's. In this case the sun was low enough that the bright light would come in from the side & the skyscreens would not have helped. Another clubmember has the same problem with his more expensive chrono. but he puts up a large golf umbrella, tilted to block the slanting sunlight, and says it works for him. Even the directions with my Chrony say that it works best with an o'cast without the sunshades.

 

[Joe_C]

Hey .
Tom or Dave .

Does your chrono print a constant string of 0000-0000 with the shot number , or does it just print an occasional set of 0's.
The other day , from the time i walked to the hundred yard line to get my targets , and back to the bench , it printed out 30+ "shots " of 0000-0000
Joe.

 

[spclark]

Sometimes EMF radiation will cause that. There any power lines around? Your cell phone?

The range I used to shoot at had strobe lights running when the range went cold. If I didn't unplug my 35-P's printer before a cease-fire was called, it'd run thru an entire roll of paper until the range went hot again. Every time the strobes'd flash, it'd record another ghost round!

I had some issues a month ago with mine, when shooting on a cloudy, rainy afternoon. The folks at Oehler suggested leaving the screens off on a cloudy day. Low light will give false readings; the little * after a round is its way of telling you that reading may not be accurate. Also make sure your screens are exactly 24" apart (if you use the 48" conduit rail they sell) as even a 1/4" error will generate the *.

In the rain, all bets are off. They suggested Saranwrap to cover the sensors, but any rain drops on the wrap or sensors will lead to errors.

 

[40X Guy]

Interesting thread, my Oehler acted exactly as described the last time I used it. I thought it may have been the battery, so I changed it and it did not help. But come to think of it, it was late in the day and very gray and overcast. Next time I will remove the skyshields if problems starts up again.

Frank

 

[Joe_C]

Glad to know i am not the only one having this problem.
Then again , maybe not so glad, if i was the only one , then i could maybe send this unit back for a different one.
I work at a power plant. Last week , i had it set up in the parking lot for about 5 hours (until just about dark) .
It sat there most of the day , within 20-30 yds of our switch yard with a bunch of transformers and some 69,000 volt power lines ................and never started printing 0's until about an hour before sunset.
Again , stopped for a while after i took the diffusers off , then as it got darker , it started again .

Joe