CaldwellBallistic Precision Chronograph with FPS and MPS Readings, Sun Screens and Large LCD Screen for Range Shooting

THIS IS MY FIRST CHRONO AND I CLOSED MY EYES AND WENT FOR IT! After spending a whole day reading reviews and watching videos of different units I bought this one. First time users of course have to experience the world of (exceptable) lighting conditions and all that comes with the dance of maintaining the right kind and amount of light above the 2 sensors so that the unit works and is accurate. As far as reviews go, check out the reviews for the higher priced units and yes you will find the same complaints regardless of price.My strategy/approach was to buy the cheapest unit I could find that had enough good reviews to indicate that the unit could work well enough to get the job done. Many people gave this basic chronograph good reviews and like the better units some complained of getting a lemon. After playing with this chrono for just a few hours ( and doing the research) I am comfortable in knowing what to look for in a chrono I believe.Fortunately this (my first ever) unit seems to work perfectly out of the box and with all types of projectiles both fast and slow. For example i have a spring loaded BB pistol that shoots at 100 FPS and have shot hand loaded bullets at over 3700 FPS with consistence accurate readings. The phone/tablet app loaded fast and worked as described (except the app will not allow for deletion of error shots without saving then editing)This unit is basic in that it will only give a readout of the speed and do no calculations UNLESS it is paired with a android/apple phone or tabletand a external source application for various computations. This I like because my eyesight is poor and I would rather have my data displayed remotely next to me. Plus I can customize my remote display device and type.The unit is well built well and is sturdy and the readout is large enough and instant. Basically just 3 functions on one switch which are OFF- feet per second- meters per second. Other than that their are 2 ports for data connection to a external device which are a usb type port and a ear phone type plug. This unit takes a 9 volt battery and the battery compartment is big enough to hold a spare battery.This unit does have a camera mount type thread receiver on the bottom for using on a tripod or other type holding set up.I feel fortunate that I bought a unit that works as advertised,of good quality, and really cheap ($69.00)Not sure if I will ever need anything more but I can understand the value and preference of having a unit that does the string calculations WITHOUT having to utilize external devices and cables so this model may not be what some need or want, especially when you can get such features for for just a few dollars more.UPDATE JULY 14 2017Have since purchased 2 more of these units to have on hand at different locations that I travel to and havehad no issues with the units as long as I set up the lighting environment adequately. I wish the unit would resetautomatically after having a read error when not using the remote app.

Not only very easy to use and set up, this chronograph links with your iPhone to provide lots of useful data. I have used several brands of chronographs and have been very disappointed with their performance and reliability. I'm 100% happy with this chronograp. It's super functional and a huge value for the money.

Out of the box this chrony was borderline useless. It's so sensitive to lighting conditions that I'd be lucky to get 2 good readings out of 10 shots unless I was outside during the day.Indoors it basically didn't work at all, especially if you have AC powered LED lighting. I would get all kinds of phantom readings underneath my LED shop lamps, you could watch the screen jumping around when nothing was being shot over it.After reading that they make a lighting kit for this, and watching some YouTube vids I decided to try making my own lighting kit for it. I simply took some 12V led light strips (cool white color, not warm yellow), cut two 9" strips, wired them in parallel, and taped them face down to the top of the sunshades.I am powering the lights off a portable lithium battery pack that has a 2.5mm 12V output port.After this "mod" this chrony has been nearly flawless in all conditions. Indoors, outdoors, under the shop lights, day, night, you name it, the unit just works great all of the time. I can take 100 shots, and get 98 good readings. Such a massive improvement!I don't know why Caldwell doesn't just include the lights with this unit from the factory. Adding a couple LED's would cost them pennies per unit and make their customers so much more satisfied with the products performance.So if you get one of these, either invest in the Caldwell lighting kit, or if you're handy add your own lights. Otherwise you probably won't be very happy unless you do all of your chrony testing outside on sunny days.

Worked perfectly for me. Easy to set up and the phone app is great..Those getting the "error" codes probably have it setup improperly. A few things I've learned using this unit. 1: works best on an overcast day, if the sun is blowing out the sensors, it can't read the shot. A few pieces of cardboard on the sun shades to block the sun works well. I also made "extended" sunshades by cutting up a translucent fluorescent ceiling light panel made for drop ceilings 2. the bullet needs to pass close to the center of the unit, both Vertically and Horizontally, to pickup the shot. 3: you can't place the unit too close to the muzzle, I've found that 8-10 feet away is about perfect. Follow those 3 things and it will perform very well..I was a little leery about the quality considering the low price, but I assume by requiring a phone app download to handle advanced functions and leaving out all the electronics and software to track shots and save strings gets the cost down. Everyone has a smart phone nowadays anyway, so it just makes sense to produce an affordable, good quality chronograph and let the smart phones serve as the "brains"...Tried it on an overcast day and it recorded every shot..I know from using my handloads on more expensive units that it is as accurate as the more expensive ones because it registered very close to the speeds my handloads got on a competition electronics Pro Chrono. I do suggest getting an inexpensive tripod..I ordered this one and it works perfect.AmazonBasics 50-Inch Lightweight Tripod with Bag