RCBS ChargeMaster.. Anyone ever mess with the programming?

[Trent]

I use one of those tray/funnels Trent and it does make things simple. I have noticed that a little powder can stick to it and not make it all the way into the funnel mouth without a little tap to make sure it all goes.

Dee

Mine did that when it was new but now that it is well broken in the kernels no longer do that. Now it's like sand through an hourglass.

[DanDeMan]

Dee,

I use an anti-static dryer sheet to wipe-down plastic to keep powder kernels from sticking. Pulling one through the funnel should be a help also, due to its diameter constriction that will make the powder adhesion even worse. Black Powder is especially bad about static electricity making the kernels stick to plastic, like the clear plastic cylinder of the ChargeMaster. The powder reservoirs of my powder throwers and the ChargeMaster are all wiped down before use. I keep a box of the sheets on the workbench.

[Trent]

+1 on the dryer sheets. When I was in Colorado there was much more issue with static because of the dry air. Now that I am down in Georgia I haven't noticed even any powder sticking to the clear cylinder of the CM. It used to be a pain in the arse.

[DanDeMan]

..... Now that I am down in Georgia I haven't noticed even any powder sticking to the clear cylinder of the CM. It used to be a pain in the arse.

Trent,

Now you just have to worry about your stuff rusting and powder going deliquescent. I've got a bunch of buddies and buddets "down south." Man, do they ever fret about their BPCR, chromoly barrels rusting in the bore. First time a gaggle of guys from Central CA went-on-down to DuckGumbo's, extra-fine fandango years ago; one tall, hell'a shot, Dadian, opened his SB rifle case and pulled out his rifle on the practice day early in the morning behind the line. When the muzzle was pointed down it looked like a muzzle waterfall. Man, was that ever hilarious. Those Central CA boys don't know squat about humidity.

[Trent]

Yeah, I have to keep everything oiled really well. Tools, guns... everything. I had a Remington 700 stainless barrel develop rust after only a week of sitting in my truck.

[kevinbear]

Great post Trent, I've never even considered owning one because there so slow, I'll think about it now that you've given us hot-rodding instuctions!

[Jason]

That little combo pan/funnel was the key to speeding up my loading with the Chargemaster. As he said, after a couple hundred loads the residue from the powder has it so slicked up that powder doesn't stick at all anymore. Now I need to get a piece of brass tube and get to overclocking..

[DanDeMan]

Good Morning All,

I ran a bunch of tests to determine just how fast the ChargeMaster can accurately weigh charges from 20.0 to 50.0 grains of VarGet. The tests were undertaken with the 4" brass tube in the charger's aluminum dispensing tube. Different length tubes were tried, both shorter and longer. The longest one covered half of the dispensing tube's opening in the powder reservoir. That noticeably slowed the process. A 1/2" long brass tube was also tried. It resulted in more over-pours. I'm sticking with the 4" thin-walled, brass tube.

The first three programing settings were tweaked and tested to determine how fast the charger could weigh a charge while not having over-pours. At this time the optimum settings seem to be 6.00 - 2.00 and 0.50. When you press the Edit Mem and Enter keys simultaneously and hold them down for a few seconds the ChargeMaster enters its programming mode. The first three parameters that come up are:

HSP_A1 and the default value

To go to the next parameter press Enter.

HSP_B1 and the default value

To go to the next parameter press Enter.

HSP_C1 and the default value

Set each of these first three parameters to the following three values.

HSP_A1 - 6.00 (enter a 6 followed by two zeros then press Enter.
HSP_B1 - 2.00 (enter a 2 followed by two zeros then press Enter.
HSP_C1 - 0.50 (enter a 5 followed by one zero then press Enter.

After setting these first, three parameters keep pressing the Enter key so that the charger scrolls through all the other parameters and resets itself. There is no need to change any of the other parameters, that I can tell.

One other convenient feature the ChargeMaster has is the automatic pour feature that activates once the pan is placed back on the scale and the scale stabilizes. To implement this feature just press and hold the Enter key until AUTO shows on the screen. Next punch-in the powder weight you desire and press DISP key. This feature toggles between AUTO and MANUAL. If the ChargeMaster is already in AUTO mode holding down the Enter key will switch the unit to MANUAL as seen on the screen.

Also, sometimes the ChargeMaster needs to "warm-up" a bit before it dispenses the charges accurately, no over-pours. Dispensing 3 or 4 charges seems to be the ticket if the unit is being a bit finicky.

[Dee]

Between the cut and pasted info from the other forum and what Dan has added it would appear this is now the definitive thread with regards to over clocking these machines on the net. Will need to find some of that tubing before I get going though, not even going to try it without that added feature.

Great info.


Dee

[DanDeMan]

Dee,

One addition to the above posts; the ChargeMaster was leveled before the final testing began. Tests were also run with a rearward and forward tilt to the unit, about a bubble off level both ways. The most consistent results were when the unit was level.

[DanDeMan]

Dee,

I just executed some more testing with what I think is the optimized setup (4" brass tube) and settings (6.0 - 2.0 - 0.50 for the first 3 settings) for "MY" ChargeMaster 1500. I say "MY" because this unit is 2 years old and I'd be remiss to not think that the hardware and software systems of the ChargeMaster have not changed over time. My first ChargeMaster 1500 (purchased in, I think, 2004) started "being possessed" a few years ago. RCBS replaced it for just a $45 fee and my shipping cost to their headquarters, such a deal. The test-powder-weight was 35.0 grains of VarGet.

Below are the raw data and summary statistics for this recent test. The test protocol was to place the pan on the scale and start the stopwatch when placed. The stopwatch was stopped at the "beep."

Raw Data (Time between pan placement and beep in seconds for optimized setup and programing.)

15 - 15 - 16 - 14 - 6 - 14 - 10 - 6 - 9 - 11 - 15 - 7 - 6 - 15 - 12 - 18 - 15 - 15 - 10 - 10 - 17 -14 - 11 - 11 - 15 - 13 - 15 - 11 - 16 - 18 - 10

Here are the summary statistics:

Mean = 12.7 seconds
Extreme Spread = 12 seconds
Standard Deviation = 3.5 (SD is dimensionless, so no "seconds" were typed behind the SD value.

[DanDeMan]

Good Morning,

Ran another test with the TurboCharged ChargeMaster. This time Swiss 1.5 F black powder was used with the dispense weight set to 70.0 grains. A stopwatch was started when the powder pan was dropped onto the scale. It was stopped at the "beep." Two charges were dispensed to "warm-up" the machine. The first charge when the DISP button is pushed is always dispensed faster than when the ChargeMaster is in AUTO mode. Anyway, 31 charge-times were measured and recorded. Over-pours were also noted. There were two out of 31 dispenses that were over-pours. Both weighed 70.1 grains. That is not bad in my book. When using the ChargeMaster a pair of tweezers is used to grab a few grains of powder to improve consistency of ammo used in big matches. For monthlies, I don't bother. Here are the summary statistics for the 31 dispenses.

Mean = 17.4 seconds
Extreme Spread = 9 seconds
Standard Deviation = 2.8

[edgehit]

Dan,
Thanks for sharing your settings! They work fine on my chargemaster. I bought a 5/16" brass tube with 0.014" wall and it's too large diameter to slip inside the dispensing tube. So, I'm using a McDonalds soda straw. Charges are thrown in about 10 seconds with no overruns using H4895. The real test will be H4350 which tends to clump up badly.

Joe

[DanDeMan]

Joe,

Did you deburr the tube? It must be totally deburred to fit and must be heavily chamfered so the powder does not clump-up at the powder-reservoir end. I needed to twist the tube while inserting it to get it to go in. But, manufacturing tolerances can make or break such things.

[Trent]

You guys realize that you can just use a McDonalds straw right? They fit right and are thinner and more simple than dealing with all this deburring and chamfering. Also, they are free.

Regardless, the "straw" only needs to be about an inch long. Only the last 3/4 of an inch inside the trickle tube has the ribbing/threads that causes issues with long grain powders.