Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters New Garmin chronograph

If you get the opportunity to try the 204 again.
Try using a black magic marker and paint your bullets black.
If it's a overcast day.
Use the Marker and take the tops off your screens....
dave

Only 799.99 CDN up here.

My Labradar even refused to "read" 6mm Hornady A-Maxes, apparently because they have one of the smallest rear ends of any boattails--and Labradars read the rear end. I had to switch to another chronograph to finish the range session, which is when I decided to sell it.

This.

I have owned an Oehler 35P since they were reintroduced maybe a decade ago. It has never failed to read even .17 caliber bullets at 4000+ fps, though on days with high bright sun they need to be "Magic-Markered."

Have used a bunch of chronographs, and right now own four. While most people will be fine with a Labradar, due to my job I need one that will read everything--and even a "cheap" ProChrono has done that. Am interested in the Garmin, but only if it works on a wider range of bullets and velocities than the Labradar.

It was the complete failure of my CED M2 on the last three range trips which prompted my order of the Garmin.

It usually works pretty well on over cast days. Bright intense sunlight shining into the sensors is its nemisis in my experience. Skyscreens only stop that for a couple weeks around June 21 at this latitude, and then only from about 11:30 to 12:30.

A big sheet of cardboard placed vertically on the South side of the sensors to shade them from direct sunlight usually produces functionality. But I did not have means to do so at a public range.

Magic marker the bullets? They are already black with moly.

A Radar unit will solve all these issues.

Like some of you, I put the new Garmin on order. These units are a technological progression from the Oehler chronographs. A few years ago, I upgraded to a Magnetospeed, despite warnings from certain individuals about them not being as reliable or as accurate as an Oehler. All I found was that the Magnetospeed was much easier to use. And tech progresses. I am sure that Dr. Oehler would agree.

The next step from the Magnetospeed is the compact Garmin. It is quick to set up, doesn't hang off the barrel and there's no need to call a cease fire on the line in order to tinker with the unit. Reliability is unknown at this point and what about the battery? Great question! I contacted Garmin, Optics Planet and GPSCity in Canada. I asked them, "Is the battery user replaceable?"

Two of the three have gotten back to me - Optics Planet and GPSCity. I am still waiting to hear from Garmin.

GPSCity said, "We do not have a battery listed for this unit and Garmin does not have a battery listed either. At this time it does not appear it would have a replaceable battery. These are very new units, so you may also wish to reach out to Garmin at 1-800-800-1020 for further confirmation on this question."

The Cdn seller does not have any information about the battery. Nothing in their literature mentions it. I agree with his assessment. No battery part no. or any other information for that matter. It is unlikely that Garmin wants anyone messing with the guts of this unit.

Ditto for Optics Planet. They said, "The Garmin Xero C1 Pro Chronograph uses an internal rechargeable lithium-ion battery, that is nonreplaceable."

The Garmin instructions say, "Rechargeable, built-in lithium-ion battery"

We will have to see if an owner can try to pop the plastic plate (screws? friction fit?) and have a peek inside. Is the battery clipped or soldered in? Is the battery a proprietary one? As it stands now, it's a roll of the dice.

Garmin got back to me this morning. This was their response.

Hello Stephen,

I am happy to help.

The internal battery is not replaceable. If you do ever experience battery issues you would need to contact us for the service options at that point.

Thank you for choosing Garmin,

xxx
Product Support
Garmin International
For 24-hour access to support videos, manuals, FAQs & more, visit the Support Center.

But was the question really answered? Can someone with average mechanical skills take the front off and replace the battery, proprietary or not? I guess we'll find out sometime in the future. Or maybe these units will work far beyond the next technological advancement.

The Garmin GPS12 had an internal battery for the memory. It failed while on a canoe trip to Hudson Bay. The only fix was to send it back to Kansas so Garmin could replace the battery. The cost was very close to buying a new unit. Doubt that Batteries Plus would have a replacement even if you were willing to void the warranty by opening the unit up.

Looks pretty slick. I do have to chuckle when I see the display showing the velocity to within 0.1 fps though...

It's annoying that the battery is not user replaceable but every cell phone, laptop and a host of other devices in use these days have rechargeable batteries. Obviously any mechanical or electronic device can fail but taken as a whole you don't hear about an epidemic of battery failures.

Not a deal breaker at all for me, especially since this is the first new chronograph that's really piqued my interest since the mid-90's.

I have had Ohlers (gave my last one away), I currently have a Lab Radar, however as I shoot at an indoor 100 yard range it's still a little cumbersome to set up. So I also ordered the Garmin. May be retiring my Lab Radar soon.

You sure do. All rechargeable batteries have a lifecycle that includes a certain number of full discharge/recharge cycles before needing replacement. Every laptop, cell phone, etc., goes through this. Most iPhone users that don't upgrade their phone every time a new generation is released know that the phones typically need a battery replacement before the processor/memory starts to lag behind demands.

Laptop users also know that after a while, the battery dies much more quickly and doesn't hold a charge as well as when it was new.

Still, this may not be a deal breaker for many, but it doesn't hurt to be informed when purchasing.

By the time you need to replace the battery it will be out of warranty. Unless there is a trap switch finding a suitable replacement battery is not that hard. Time will tell once enough of them get into the wild and somebody posts photos/video of the inside on the interwebs.

So in ten years you will be hooking it to a small battery bank via USB...and it will still be smaller and more convenient than anything else we have ever used.

Or something else will take it's place.


Added, three more weeks before mine ships.

The battery is not a deal breaker for the size of the benefits, assuming it lives up to advance info.

MM

Tag.

The Labradar does that now. It can use AA batteries or a battery pack.

I don't use a chronograph very often. When I do it is the Chrony Beta model, which has always worked swell for me. I know from past experience how fast my Lot of .22 Mag 40gr are out of my Dad's old 783 Marlin, 1970 fps (give or take). About once a year I will clock them, and have always been spot on. But I don't need the precision/dope that some of you LR shooters need. For me, the Garmin would just be a Luxury I treated myself for its shear convenience/set up. I am watching to see how they workout, and who knows, maybe the price will come down a bit later, maybe not. If it is "The Cat's Meow", I will save my lunch money and buy that baby!

Used the Garmin this weekend at the range while shooting some 6.5mm and 308 based cartridges...certainly not pushing it towards the fringes of indicated operational parameters (velocity and reflective surface). Overall, it worked with no drama. Initial configuration and linking to a smart phone was easy. Off the bench, I used the provided tripod, positioned it facing downrange and toward the target....no diligent aiming like one does with the Labradar.

Having been a Labradar user prior, the biggest thing I noted was the size factor and the lack of real estate it takes up on a bench. While the Labradar worked, there was always that second where you didn't know if the shot was picked up or not...whether it was from bad alignment, triggering, parasite shots form the dude at the adjacent bench, etc. Almost a set it and forget it aside from manipulating the menu as needed.

I did not make an effort to compare velocity data with a magnetospeed or Labradar. It seems like there are enough reviews that have already done the comparison thing.

Just another tool in the toolbox.

Thanks for the report 32, good to hear