Included in the Lyman Ultimate Reloading System is the Gen6 Touch Screen Powder System. You asked for more info about that and here it is!
About the Lyman Gen 6 Compact Touch Screen Powder System
Lyman has been making electronic powder measures since 1995. They listened to what their customers wanted and have introduced this latest version, the Gen6.
- The most noticeable thing is the compact size. This is literally half the size of some other electronic powder measures! This frees up more space which is particularly important to many home reloaders.
- The touch screen is easy to use, easy to clean. It’s backlit which of course makes it easy to read, something I appreciated in my own loading room.
- The system is accurate, rated to + or – 0.1 grains, which is the level of accuracy that we observed in our test.
- Customer driven innovations include an electronic interference shield to resist interference from cell phones and computers, anti-static and anti-drift technology, advanced touch screen and key pad and less warm up time.
From the Lyman Gen 6 Powder Measure Product Page:
The compact Gen6 design takes a minimum of bench space and offers unrestricted pan and touch screen access for both right and left hand users. Accurate to one tenth grain, the Gen6 dispenses all types of smokeless powder at two grains per second. In addition, it features an auto repeat function that drops a precise charge each time the pan is reset.
Based on re-engineered digital technology that overcomes problems commonly experienced by older designs, the system is packed with additional state of the art improvements like fast, 3 minute warmup, anti-static and anti-drift technology and has sophisticated electronic shielding to resist interference from other electronic devices like cell phones, etc. Shop Lyman today for improved measurements with a digital powder scale.
Touch-Screen Controls
Compact Size – Uses 50% Less Bench Space
Auto Repeat Function Drops Charges Each Time the Pan is Reset
Quick-Drain to Change Powders
Electronic Interference Shield Resists Interference from Cell Phones, etc
Anti-Static/Anti-Drift Technology
Fast Operation – Dispenses 2 Grains per Second
Accurate to 1/10 grain
Handles all types of Smokeless Powders
Setup and configuration
Location, location, location – it starts with a good location! The Gen6 should be set up on a level and stable work surface, and preferably not on the loading bench where the press is mounted. The bench may not be heavy enough to prevent vibrations from being transferred to the scale. It should also be set up away from any air currents. The Gen6 is sensitive enough to have readings affected by either vibrations or from air currents. I made space on a shelf near my loading bench, but not attached to it, where the Gen 6 is also protected from the air conditioning breeze.
Continue the setup by selecting the proper plug type to match the available wall receptacle. Then plug it in and finally remove the end cap from the powder feed tube.
The ON/OFF button is on the touch screen. Press it and the device will go into a 3-minute warm-up cycle. Once complete the scale will go to zero. To turn off the scale later, press and hold the ON/OFF button. Unplug the scale only after using the ON/OFF button first.
Calibration
Calibration should be done before use. This should be done without the powder pan on the platform.
- Press the CAL/ZERO button to reset the scale to zero.
- Press and hold the CAL/ZERO button. The LCD will display “Cal 50”.
- Place the 50 gram weight onto the platform and press the CAL/ZERO button again. Just press and release it, do not hold it at this point. The LCD will display 0.0. Now remove the 50 gram weight. The LCD should display “-771.6gn” or “-50.00g”
- Press CAL/ZERO again to reset zero.
- Place the powder pan onto the platform and press the CAL/ZERO button to zero the scale.
Pour the desired smokeless powder into the powder reservoir.
Key in the desired charge weight using the keypad. While the desired charge weight is displayed press the orange ENTER button to dispense powder. The dispenser will stop when the desired charge weight has been reached. It is recommended that the first few charges be placed back into the reservoir, allowing the Gen6 to fully stabilize and fill the charge tube with powder.
At this point choose between hitting the orange ENTER button to dispense each charge or setting it to AUTO REPEAT, by pressing that button on the touch screen.
Cleaning the Gen 6
As the Lyman Gen6 manual states “the cleaning procedure listed below may seem difficult” …
Well yes, the first time I cleaned it, it was slow and awkward. The directions in the manual though are good and I’m glad that I spent time reading them and following them. By the third time I’d cleaned it, I was doing much better and the procedure was going more smoothly. Looking back, it’s like any task, practice helps.
A caution about cleaning it: Do not turn the unit upside down and shake as this could harm the load cell.
It’s important to clean the unit thoroughly after each use, and to be sure that all of one powder type is gone before adding a different powder to the Gen6.
Powder Tests
First we poured Varget powder, a stick powder, into the reservoir, set the amount and were pleased with the consistency, always within .1 grains of the desired weight, as promised by Lyman.
After that I cleaned the unit and replaced the Varget with CFE 223, a fine grained spherical powder. As a result of the easy-metering common to spherical powders, the results were even better, with the Gen6 dispensing the desired powder charge every time. Something I noticed is that when working with CFE 223, cleaning was more difficult as that fine-grained powder seemed to hide in all sorts of nooks and crannies inside the Gen6. My suggestion is to allow more cleaning and inspection time after using such fine-grained powder. It’s not hard, it just takes a bit more time.
We also cross-checked our Gen6 results for accuracy with the A&D FX-120i, a lab quality balance. It confirmed that the Gen6 was dispensing precise powder charges; the weights read from both scales were within 0.04 grains of each other.
Get the Gear
The Gen6 Compact Touch Screen Powder System MSRP is $329.95
It’s also available at Mid South Shooters Supply for $234.99, quite a savings!
Gen 6 Compact Digital Powder Dispenser System 115/230 Volt by Lyman (midsouthshooterssupply.com)
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Thanks,
Guy Miner
