Magnetospeed Sporter off?

[PinesAndProjectiles]

Went to the range this afternoon with the hopes of getting some velocity readings off some factory ammo before I shoot the Bighorn in a couple weeks.

Ammo is Berger factory in 6.5 Creed loaded with the 135g Classic Hunter. Box says 2851 fps.

Rifle is a Surgeon with a Red Beard Gun Works chambered Bartlein finished at 24.

Confirmed zero, all good.

Strapped on the Sporter and fired four rounds.

All four were right at the 2680 fps mark, plus or minus about 5.

Took the Sporter off, unplugged the cable to try and reset it.

Put it back on, same thing. Five rounds hovering around the 2680 mark.

When I power it up, it says "Batt 5.8". Not sure if this is low or not as it's been a while since I used it.

I've shot this same lot of ammo through another rifle, granted it was last summer, but out of a 26" Criterion, I was averaging 2824 fps.

Anyone have any ideas? These rounds we're all the same lot, but two different boxes.

 

[Rocketvapor]

Batt Low.
Just checked mine which has been used for a few hours and batt said 8.0

 

[PinesAndProjectiles]

Son of a....

Thanks @Rocketvapor

 

[Steel head]

Wow
I thought my battery was low at 7.
At 7 volts my sporter was within a couple of FPS of a Labradar recently

 

[Molina336]

Sounds like a low batt at 5.8

 

[LtDan47]

That is a 9volt battery in the recording unit, change it

 

[Steel+Killer]

Will a low battery cause it to give false FPS readings?

 

[IowaGeologist]

Will a low battery cause it to give false FPS readings?

Yes, but I'm surprised they were as consistent as OP mentions. I would have thought they'd dance around a little bit more. How off was it? Who knows. Different barrel (might just be a little slow), different length, different temp... Could easily see those three factors eating up around 100 fps

 

[PinesAndProjectiles]

I've out a new battery in it. I'll try again this weekend and see what happens.

 

[Steel+Killer]

Yes, but I'm surprised they were as consistent as OP mentions. I would have thought they'd dance around a little bit more. How off was it? Who knows. Different barrel (might just be a little slow), different length, different temp... Could easily see those three factors eating up around 100 fps

I didn’t realize that having a low voltage battery would cause it to have low FPS readings in fact I figured if it had a battery problem it would just give a message saying “low battery” or something. I just shot 40 rounds across it yesterday looked at my battery this morning and it was around 5.5 V damn I wish I known that.

 

[PinesAndProjectiles]

Is there anyone from Magnetospeed on the forum we can ask about this?

 

[JGR1953]

Is there anyone from Magnetospeed on the forum we can ask about this?

You can email Ryan Hey
[email protected]

Go to post number #12 pretty much sums it up.

https://www.snipershide.com/shooting/threads/magnetospeed-battery.6918890/post-7446060

 

[Steel+Killer]

When in doubt go to the manual. This is copy and pasted directly from the manual I got from Magnetto Speed's website for the V3.
V3 manual

Battery Life, Voltage Levels, and Temperature Effects The display unit can use 2x CR123 batteries or a single 9V-alkaline battery. The CR123s provide much longer run time and at low temperature offer substantially better performance. The graph below show the runtime of CR123s and 9Vs running with the “normal” sensitivity setting and no backlight. The graph above was made by an operating system that logged the measured battery voltage every 10 minutes. The system will operate normally as long as the battery voltage is over about 3.4V. You can check the battery voltage by going to the “Main Menu” and selecting “Battery Menu/State”. Additional drains The backlight usually decreases operating time by about 25% or 30%. Setting the sensitivity mode to level 5 or higher adds in an extra amplification stage, which will decrease the operating time by an additional 10%. CR123 A CR123 operating at room temperature should provide over 50 hours of runtime assuming the sensitivity is set to normal and the backlight is turned off. The CR123 operating voltage is extremely flat and much more dependent on temperature than battery state of charge (SoC), so you can only expect a few hours of warning before CR123s give out. You can check the battery voltage by going to the Main Menu and selecting Battery Menu/State 9V-alkaline Note: There are other types of 9V batteries other than alkaline, such as Zinc-Carbon and Lithium. These can be used, but running time for them is unknown. Zinc-Carbon batteries are not recommended. At room temperature, a 9V battery should provide about 18 hours of runtime for standard operating mode (no backlight and sensitivity of 4 or less). At low temperatures, a typical 9V performs very badly because they cannot support the current draw due to the reduced speed of electrochemical reactions at low temperatures; MagnetoSpeed recommends CR123s for low-temperature operation. The state of charge for 9V batteries are much easier to determine from their terminal voltage. You can check the battery voltage by going to the Main Menu and selecting Battery Menu/State. 10 20 30 40 50 60 Hours V o l t s 9

I just realized the OP is on the Sporter Model.........oh well the info is there for the V3 if anyone cares.

Sporter Manual

 

[M77]

wow this has me thinking , ive had mine in my g1/ magneto for over 5 years .. velocity has been pretty consistent though , mine takes AAA's

 

[427Cobra]

Lol “Box says 2851 fps”

 

[2aBaC̶a̶]

This damn thing eats batteries. Pretty much have to replace it every trip. Wish I could just plug the thing into my phone.

 

[PinesAndProjectiles]

When in doubt go to the manual. This is copy and pasted directly from the manual I got from Magnetto Speed's website for the V3.
V3 manual



I just realized the OP is on the Sporter Model.........oh well the info is there for the V3 if anyone cares.

Sporter Manual

I wonder if the 3.4v applies to the Sporter also? I would think so, but the Sporter manual doesn't specify.

 

[Claybuster715]

OP have you tried it with a new battery in the same gun?

 

[PinesAndProjectiles]

OP have you tried it with a new battery in the same gun?

I should have updated this post.

I tried again with new batteries. The velocity averaged 2710fps.

I borrowed a V3 from @Lunabear and it said the same thing, 2710 average.

I guess this Berger ammo just runs extremely slow in this barrel.