This Utility program is designed for owners of a Dillon XL650 Progressive Loader.
The program has been tested, and runs under Windows 2000, XP and Vista.
(Version 1.0 is still available if you are running Windows 9x, or ME)The XL650 Reloading Utility is the result of my desire to enjoy the reloading aspect of my shooting hobby by using the finest reloading equipment available. And at the same time minimize my costs so I could maximize my shooting fun.
Warning, Computer Geek Info Section: The first version of the program was written in the mid 1990's using Borland C++. Version 1.0 of the program had been available on my web sight until just recently when I finally decided the program could no longer handle the needs it was designed to fulfill. Unfortunately the original source code for version 1.0 was lost to a hard disk crash shortly after it was completed. So replacing the program meant starting from scratch. This new design has resulted in a more modern and advanced program design, that has surpassed the original program in features, and ability to meet the growing demands Dillon XL650 owners. This new design, version 2, was written using Visual Studio 2008, as a managed C++ Winform application built on the tried and true .Net Framework v2.0.
Ok, enough of the geek stuff. Here's the background on the original program. While researching my XL650 manual I discovered that many of the parts used to reload different caliber cartridges are interchangeable. That is to say, they can be used to load more than a single caliber. For example, the Shell plate used to load the .45 ACP Pistol cartridge, is the same Shell plate used to load the .30-06 and .270 Rifle cartridges. With this in mind I decided that a computer program could maintain a database of Conversion Kits, and the individual parts that make up the Kits, and make reloading simpler and less expensive. For example, I could simply ask the computer "what additional caliber's can I reload with the parts that I already have on-hand". Or likewise, I could ask the computer for a list of parts that I have to purchase to load a specific caliber that I don't already own, either in Kit form or individually. With this query, the program will show you what parts you can use from Kits you already own, and what parts you need to buy that you don't already own as part of another Kit.
The Dillon XL650 Utility program does this and more. The program lets you alter the database so you can keep up to date as Dillon offers new Caliber Conversion Kits. You can also control the display to show either Rifle, Pistol or both types of Conversion Kits. You can have the program filter the display to show only those Caliber's that use a specific part number for a Shell plate, Arm Bushing, or whatever. You can also call up context sensitive help that describes how to use the program. All of these operations are easily performed using the Left and Right Mouse buttons. Right click the mouse when the cursor is over any of the program's controls to get a popup menu of options. The Right Mouse button is the key to most of the programs functionality.
Download the Software
The first step to running the Dillon XL650 Utility Program is to download the software. When asked where to save it, just use the default name and location. The location is not important for this step. Just make sure that you remember where you saved it. Or you could simply choose to Download and Run the program rather than save it to disk. Some web browsers such as Firefox contain a built-in Download Manager. If you're running Firefox, simply click the download link below, then click the Save button in the Download Manager window, and when the download finishes, click the Open button.
If Run (or Open) is selected, the program will be copied to your computer, and the Setup program will be run automatically. If you download and save the program to disk, just run the SetupDillonXL650v2.exe file to start the Setup.
DOWNLOAD <--Click here to download the program. The file is ~1788 K in its compressed form.
Install
While the Setup program runs, it may need to download and install some needed software components onto your computer. The program uses the Microsoft v2.0 .Net Framework, and the Microsoft Visual C++9.0 Runtime files. Since many other programs also use these same software components, you may already have them installed on your PC. If so, they do not need to be downloaded again. However, if you don't have them already present on your PC, they will have to be downloaded and installed. Don't worry. The Setup program will automatically do this for you. I chose to make the Setup program download the files, rather than include them as part of the Dillon XL650 installation because together these two components are about 24 MB. And rather than burden the download of my program with additional files you may not need, I designed the Setup program to check your computer and only get them if they are not already installed.
The Installation program will install the files on your computer, and provide an un-install feature should you later choose to remove it (although that's highly unlikely because it's such a great piece of software).
After the program has been installed, you can delete the SetupDillonXL650v2.exe program if you choose.
NOTE: Should you have any problems running the program after it's been installed, here's a work-around that will get you up and running.
If you download and installed the program, and you get error messages when you try to run the Dillon XL650 Utility Program, do the following:
1. Click on the following link, then download and run the Microsoft Visual C++ redistributable package.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9B2DA534-3E03-4391-8A4D-074B9F2BC1BF&displaylang=en2. If this doesn't get you running, next Click on the following link and download and run the .Net Framework 2.0 Installer from Microsoft.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=0856eacb-4362-4b0d-8edd-aab15c5e04f5&displaylang=enPerforming one or both of these steps should get you up and running. I apologize for the inconvenience, but in today's world, a software engineer doesn't just write a program. First you write the program, then you write the documentation for the program, then you design and write the help file for the program, then you design the Installer program that will copy and install all the necessary stuff to the target PC. Then, when you're done with all that, you go back and test and re-test the program, proof-read the documentation and help files, check your Setup program on as many PCs as you can get you hands on, and then in my case you update the web site that hosts the program. All-in-all allot of work for something I've done totally as a part-time effort. But even then, sometimes things fall through the cracks.
Operation
From the Table of Contents at the left, you can browse through the Programs Help to get a better understanding how the software works.
For additional information about Dillon Reloading presses and related products,
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[]Copyright © 1996-2008 Gary James
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This page last revised: August 09, 2008