I use this and it works well for me
Powder measure?
- Thread starter wildfowler.250
- Start date
That looks a good workable system - I like the old Hornady "M" type scales too.
Sonicdmb73
Well-Known Member
Works very well, the picture doesn’t show the powder measure though. I copied an idea somebody posted a YouTube video of. There’s a funnel from it to the scale pan. So you dump the main charge into the pan. Then press a momentary switch on the control box. A relay sets the motor going on the trickler. When the scales break the beam in the yellow sensor it turns the motor off.
Took a bit of fiddling with to get it to work properly. But well worth the effort. I salvaged most of the parts from work. The box sensor and one relay was all I actually had to buy.
You can fine tune it to suit different powder. With height adjustment of the sensor and speed on the motor.
The attraction of this format to me is that you retain the accuracy of the beam scale with a consistent load over a run of reloading. The machine removing the human tendency to become distracted or impatient with measuring loads. If you wish to be a true fanatic you can mount the beam scale at eye level to remove parallex whilst reading the beam scale.
How about adding a camera - the cameras are around £7.
This old Redding is around 50 years old - measures single kernels of powder. Towards the end of the video you can see it weighing 50 grain charges in seconds.
Sonicdmb73
Well-Known Member
I have tried the beam at eye level. Thought of going down the camera and screen route too. Even saw a guy who had a setup where his computer controlled the trickler.
However I found that I tend to overrun with a manual trickler. The Targetmaster type measure takes that and any parallax error out of the equation.
I have one of these. It's brilliant.
Most it varies is 0.1gn either way of what you have asked for which is an easy enough fix! Check it regular against digital scales and its spot on.
I did have a problem with my one. You can end up with some powder working its way inside below where the scale is, fairly easy to fix. Again the machine recognises the fault when you calibrate it.
Ok thanks I’ll watch out for that,
I don't know if this is of help for anyone else - but this is the response I got from the techies at RCBS over the issues I have of accuracy with the chargemaster lite
I shall take their advice and see if makes any difference
j
Hello John,
You might have some static electricity affecting the unit along with another issue. Wipe the unit down (including the outside of the unit, platen, Scale pan, and both check weights) with an anti-static cloth or a dryer sheet from the laundry to remove any static electricity. Another thing could be if powder got down below the platen and into the load cell area. These units work off the deflection principle, and powder kernels can mess this up sometimes. You can blow some canned air into the area the platen sits in to try to remove any powder. Also be sure you arent using the wind guard unless it is absolutely necessary and you aren’t loading on the bench right next to the powder measure. Be sure you do not have any fluorescent lights within 3 feet and no other electronics around it to help keep down power interference with the scale. Not using the proper scale pan that was furnished with the unit can cause erratic readings on the scale as well. If the temperature is quite cold (much lower than room temp) then you may need to move your scale into a warmer area and try it since the load cell can be damaged if it is too cold. After you have wiped the unit down you will need to recalibrate the machine with your check weights like the instructions indicate. Please check these things and let us know if you still need assistance.
RCBS Tech/AD
Please allow 2-3 weeks for processing of orders.
I shall take their advice and see if makes any difference
j
Hello John,
You might have some static electricity affecting the unit along with another issue. Wipe the unit down (including the outside of the unit, platen, Scale pan, and both check weights) with an anti-static cloth or a dryer sheet from the laundry to remove any static electricity. Another thing could be if powder got down below the platen and into the load cell area. These units work off the deflection principle, and powder kernels can mess this up sometimes. You can blow some canned air into the area the platen sits in to try to remove any powder. Also be sure you arent using the wind guard unless it is absolutely necessary and you aren’t loading on the bench right next to the powder measure. Be sure you do not have any fluorescent lights within 3 feet and no other electronics around it to help keep down power interference with the scale. Not using the proper scale pan that was furnished with the unit can cause erratic readings on the scale as well. If the temperature is quite cold (much lower than room temp) then you may need to move your scale into a warmer area and try it since the load cell can be damaged if it is too cold. After you have wiped the unit down you will need to recalibrate the machine with your check weights like the instructions indicate. Please check these things and let us know if you still need assistance.
RCBS Tech/AD
Please allow 2-3 weeks for processing of orders.
Picked up the Lyman of my mate what a top bit of kit it pretty much half’s my reloading time and I saw what you mean about the powder but I have a compressor and air gun made cleaning it simple.
I see that RCBS have just today revealed their new powder dispenser - Rumour is that it will retail in USA for $899.
I believe this move is in direct response to the demand for more accuracy by long range target shooters. The Auto-trickler from Canada has racked up over 5,000 sales in the last couple of years, it works with a high grade digital scale and cost around $1,000 so some people are obviously prepared to spend money in search of more accuracy.
I have no connection to RCBS or Autotrickler
I believe this move is in direct response to the demand for more accuracy by long range target shooters. The Auto-trickler from Canada has racked up over 5,000 sales in the last couple of years, it works with a high grade digital scale and cost around $1,000 so some people are obviously prepared to spend money in search of more accuracy.
I have no connection to RCBS or Autotrickler
There's a couple of tricks for getting the best from them .
Buy some surge protection.
Keep out of drafts .
Ensure it's on a solid, vibration free surface.
Turn on the previous day for max stability. ( The 3 minute warm up is BS)
Wipe with an antistatic cloth .
Throw a few warm up charges and away you go.
Cheers mate I’ll take all that on board. I’ve had 1 go with it so far I made 30 rounds of .223 (27.5grains) and it worked faultlessly I checked a few on some digital scales I had and it was spot on.
Mick Miller
Well-Known Member
I use to use the TargetMaster - great bit of kit - but was gifted a CH4D thrower. I designed and printed my own baffle and can get this to throw, reliably, 0 to -0.2gn each time. I just take a pinch of kernels and drop them in till the scales hit the mark. I've had my scales tweaked by 1066 and the camera idea is a winner every time. I'm not convinced that any lower cost electronic scale would be quicker or more accurate than this.
In limited tests, the same design of baffle significantly improved the accuracy of the Harrel too.
In limited tests, the same design of baffle significantly improved the accuracy of the Harrel too.
big ears
Well-Known Member
Yes and it works a treat. Tends to underthrow by 0.1gr which means the POI in my 6.5x55 doesn’t change at all and makes no difference to my stalking success.
I suppose if I owned a creedmoor and was shooting out to 1200 yards it might make a difference
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