I have also been shopping for chronographs, but the Caldwell and other "established" brands have countless reviews of poor performance in bright or outdoor situations, and I only shoot outdoors. I had good success with a cheap clamp on unit, untill my big bore sent it flying off and breaking it. After attempting to solder things back together it worked well for a few weeks and stopped taking a charge. Should I try another $30 chronograph or save up my pennies for the FX radar unit?
I like mine. I’m no rocket surgeon but I’ve tested in my work van, shop, outdoors in the sun, shade and everywhere, garage (hoarder mode and cleaned out) kids play room, bathroom, bedroom. As long as the pellet trap is 3 feet away and the fx chronograph is placed correctly basically under the muzzle it gives consistent readings. Im not launching spaceships just reading pellet velocities. Works for me:) oh and it fits in my pocket.
To reduce the blast problem, I would suggest firing through a hole in a plate to strip most of the air away.