Well, I have been thinking of getting a digital powder system for some time now, and was not really sure what one to get. I see the RCBS models in the mags all the time, and have heard of the Pact system as well. I happened into my area gun(toy) store last week, and lo and behold, in a box was the Lyman setup. I was told by my FFL guy that it had just come from a deceased gentleman’s collection and his widow gave all the stuff to the gun store to sell for her. He told me that he knew it at least turned on, but could not verify that it WORKED. I asked if I could borrow it for a few days and try it out, and if it worked, I’d be back to pay the asking price of 125.00!!! Got it home and looked thru the manual, all seemed to be there except for the powder tube cap, and the access door on the rear of the powder dump was broken, but the owner had fashioned a piece of wood to block the hole. So, it was time to give it a shot.

Turned it on and let it “warm up” as per the instructions, and loaded about ½ pound of powder into the tube. Punched in I wanted 45.5 grains dispensed and hit the “enter” button. It starts fast on the dispensing, and as it got to 44.5, it slowed down to “trickle” mode and stopped when the scale reached 45.5 and then “beeped” letting you know a full charge is ready. KOOL!!!! Well, it went ok for 4 more rounds and then all hell broke loose!!! Powder was shooting out the sides, charges were bouncing around and nothing was consistent like the first couple rounds. Lifted the unit up off the table and there must have been ¼ lb. of powder laying on my table!!! "WTF" I said. Ok, so I stop, empty all the powder, save as much as I can, use the wet vac to hose up all the powder in the unit itself and all the other little knooks and crannies, and then try to find the problem. Here, the two bushings that keep the dispense tube sealed in the powder hopper were cracked and had let the powder get pushed out all over the place. I was bummed, cause I really thought I would like this thing. So I gave Lyman a call and explained the problem to the service tech. She said they have the replacement parts in stock and could send them out the next day…..Great. So I asked for a cap for the powder tube, and since I could not get just the 2 bushings alone, she would send out a complete powder box that is self contained and also has the powder dump door on it. This would fix the bushing problem and the missing door for me all in one part. I ordered them and was told I’d see them in 4 days.

Well, 4 days later, a padded package was in my mailbox. Put the replacement parts in the dispenser, and all looked and felt solid, so….it was time to try it out. Filled it with ½ pound of AA4350, set the weight to 45.5 again and hit the enter button. I dispensed 34 charges (it keeps track for you) in a row and only one stopped and beeped at 45.4!!!! Not a single grain leaked anywhere and after each charge was dispensed, I had enough time to fill the case with a bullet before the next pan of powder was ready to dump into the next case. There was not a whole lot of down time waiting between charges, and I will say that using a ball powder will dispense even quicker.

The down sides are as follows:

If you don’t do a lot of cases, there will be a good amount of powder you must remove from the box when you are done, hence the powder drop chute in the rear of the unit. The tube must be covered with powder all the time so as to meter reliably, so if this part doesn’t bother you then you are OK. I keep a wet vac in my room and this really helps to get whatever flakes of powder are left in the powder box.

The unit has to warm up for 30 minutes……Oh well, start it up, go somewhere for ½ hour, and then you’re ready to roll.

Everything is made of plastic…but it is solid and all tools are included to disassemble for proper cleaning.

The up sides are as follows:

It is accurate, and if a charge is off by more than .2 of a grain, it double beeps at you to let you know to skip that one.

It has a memory for 20 charges, so if you like that aspect, you can play with it. The new version….1200 DPS II has room for 100 charges and can be interfaced with a PC!!

The rear powder box is removable and is spring loaded to latch it in place while operating. Makes this whole unit very, very easy to clean.

Comes with 2 hooks in the back to hold the powder tube when you are done, and a cover for it while in storage.

The manual is very easy to follow and the unit is very “user” friendly. I would think that most of us (save one whom I won’t mention by name) would have no problems operating this unit at all.

OK, my final thoughts……

I went into the gun store 6 days later to settle up with my FFL. Told him of my problems with the scale, and now it worked perfectly. Without hesitation he deducted the costs I incurred from Lyman for the replacement parts, off of his asking price!!!! So I got an as new scale for 125.00!!!! List price of these babies go for 225.00 and up, so I am quite pleased with how this all worked out!!

If I had to buy another one at full price, or recommend one to a member, I’m not sure………It’s all plastic, but I guess that the Pact and the RCBS are pretty much the same, so if that part does not bother you, then go for it. This one is all one unit as the other 2 are scale and dispenser and rely on an “eye” I believe to communicate. So this is a plus for the Lyman. The customer service at Lyman was exceptional and did what they said they would!!! I think that the pluses out weigh the negatives on this item and am happy to endorse it. It should last me a long time, and provide accurate and consistent charges that are a key to proper “hand loading”.
Have fun!!!!!

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