Another Amazing Video from Kurzzeit.com
Werner Mehl, the engineering genius behind Kurzzeitmesstechnik (Kurzzeit), a German technology company, has come up with another spectacular ultra-slow-motion video. Werner has developed some of the most advanced video equipment in the world, allowing him to film bullets in flight with frame rates up to 1,000,000 frames per second. That’s not a misprint — some of the Kurzzeit video cameras can record at ONE MILLION frames per second, though typical Kurzzeit “high-speed” videos might be shot at 200,000 or 250,000 frames per second.
This 10-minute video was specially prepared by Werner for the 2009 SHOT Show. A masterpiece of high-speed movie-making, Werner’s video displays an amazing array of projectiles and targets. You can see bullets hitting armored and non-armored targets, bullets ripping through ballistic gelatin, bullets shattering glass, and even shotgun pellets striking rifle bullets in mid-air. Look for the effect of hollow points as they pass through the ballistic gelatin, and at the 4:26 mark you can see an airgun pellet slice though a paper target.
High-Tech Equipment from Kurzzeit
In addition to producing high-speed video equipment, Kurzzeit builds the PVM-21, one of the most advanced consumer chronographs on the market. The “all-infrared, all the time” PVM-21 works in any lighting conditions, including total darkness. It employs two banks of infrared sensors (front and back — the black boxes in right photo). These are aligned vertically and placed 8″ apart (left to right.) That gives you a huge 4.5″ x 8″ sensor area to register shots. We’ve worked with some other chronographs where the practical “sweet spot” for reliable results was just 2″ x 2″, when using an air rifle. The PVM-21’s large sensor area makes it easy to align your rifle, and you don’t get errors if your shot is just a little off-center.
The PVM-21 can hook up directly to a lap-top computer. That way you can record all your shot velocity data directly into a spreadsheet. The PVM 21’s large sensor area and software interface make the PVM one of this Editor’s favorite chronos, along with the classic Oehler model 35P. In the USA, the Kurzzeit PVM-21 is sold by Neconos.com. The $749.95 price includes sensor unit (with infrared), processing/display unit, infrared remote control, and software. It’s an impressive package — we just wish Werner would upgrade the display unit to include a rechargeable 12V DC battery. Right now you need to use an inline 120V AC to 12V DC transformer, or carry a separate 12V battery. I personally prefer to use a 3.5″x1.5″ rechargeable 12V battery rather than a 120v transformer and extension cords.
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Tags: ballistics, bullet, High Speed, Kurzzeit, Slow Motion, Werner Mehl
Agreed!! Sure wish it came with a rechargable battery. Then there would be absolutely nothing to complain about except for the outdated software. Sure hope this code will work with WINDOWS 7.
This is by far the best chronograph I have owned. And Ed (Neconos.com) is a great guy if you do need any help with the unit.
This is definately one of those “you get what you pay for” items. It cost a little more but iw well worth the extra money.
This video is simply astounding!
I have a battery back up unit that also serves to regulate the power to my Denver Instruments electronic scale.This battery back up is designed for computer equipment but it seems feasible that it would be a sensible unit to power the PVM-21 AND the lap top while at the range.
I opine that a innovative guy that can video bullets smashing into metal plates at 1,000,000 fps could surely measure the speed of a bullet at a poultry 3000 fps with extreme accuracy!!!
Roy
Amazing stuff!
I just wish the copyright and url would disappear and info about the projectile, velocity, and impact media would be shown.
Anybody know what the pointed base projectile is?
If you can afford such a fantastic system for $750, you should be able to afford a rechargable battery pack.
Fred,
You’re certainly right — cost isn’t a problem. But the expense isn’t the issue so much as the clutter on the bench top. You have to run an ethernet cable to the box, then a USB cable to laptop, then a y-bridle from battery to a jack in the back of the display unit. It would be really cool if the software could handle all functions, then you could just plug the ethernet cable from sensor unit (yellow box) right into the laptop. Or, for people without laptop, the battery pack should be integrated into the display unit, as it is with Oehler, PACT, CED etc.
Exactly what I discussed with Brian Litz at the SOA.I queried why a set of sky screens could not be “hooked up” to a laptop and let the laptop (with software) do the processing and controlling. Brian mentioned that he did not think that would be possible.
The alternative to the scenario above would be to have the sky screens or “yellow box” connect to a small box that would process the data that could then be sent to a laptop for display and control, This would do away with the need for a display in the box and the IR controller.The size of the box would be smaller and less obtrusive also.
The price….well if you think a good chrono is expensive , use a cheap one that is unstable or inaccurate!! See what it costs you!! I did just that and paid dearly. I tested ammo on what I believed was a reliable unit and found the “perfect load”. I loaded a large quanity of ammo to the specs. I used the ammo in South Africa with disastrous results. My scores in the matches were humiliating!
Upon my return and several matches later shooting the same ammo and the same results , I realized the chrono had given me bogus data and this was confirmed by testing with another unit. My match ammo had ES of nearly 100 fps for 5 shots!!
The price of good quality and accurate information on your match loads is priceless. Trust me on this.
Roy
The pointed base bullet is an RWS design. Probably a uni classic.
Gabe
Where can one read about the chronograph comparison testing depicted in the image above?
Bryan, I haven’t had the chance to do the write-up yet. We have tons of data to summarize. Stay tuned later this year.
Wonderful Work!
I have seen some of the shapes shown and thought I new what happened. The very base of a bulett, or the total flat circle of lead from a shot shell. This conferms what I thought was happning.
This is totly awsome. You could try to explain to the non shooter
what happens when a projectile hits an object, and show the projectiles aftermath, but this vedio will explain all without the spoken word and save all this typening!
Good Show Ol Chap!!!
Cherokee65
In the picture of your test setup, I don’t see the ProChrono Digital. As I own this one, I would love to see it included in your shootout. I would like to know if spending $200 or more is necessary to get acurate readings. I have had great luck with my sub $100 chrono.
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=852429&utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=free&utm_campaign=655
Which 12V rechargeable battery that measures 3.5″ x 1.5″ are you using exactly for the PVM-21?
It’s just a generic 12V we picked up at Frye’s, which has many different sizes, both smaller and larger. The PVM “receiver” doesn’t require much power at all. It’s a shame the unit wasn’t built with an integrated battery pack.
What an amazing video. As a bit of an novice photographer I can tell they must have had some INSANE amounts of light to be able to run a frame rate that fast and still be able to stop down enough to get that depth of field on such close up shots.
yes, I agree with the need for a rechargable battery!!!! Neconos are you listening?
Looked at NECOS today and they have a battery and charger listed. It was less than $30.00 for the pair
Neconos offers a battery that works fine, but it is fairly large, you have to tote it separately, you have to manually clip a Y-cord to the terminals. Then, if it discharges, you have to charge it with a 12v battery charger. The “white box” that contains the display controller could simply have been made larger to hold a built-in battery, with a wall cord for charging. The other shortcoming with the system is that the software, while sophisticated, is buggy, and when you’re outdoors, using a laptop is impractical. I’ve installed the PVM on four different Windows computers and they all had some issues. It runs the best on my netbook, but I found it was very difficult to see the screen without some kind of coverin or sunblocker. To me, the PVM-21 would be almost perfect if it was combined with a simple robust printing unit similar to the Oehler.
The PVM-21 is in dire need of a software upgrade or a simple, reliable Droid or iPhone App to capture data and crunch the numbers.