A number of factors affecting the accuracy of experimental determination of small velocities of pendulum vibrations of the load on the rope of the crane hoisting mechanism, arising at start-up, braking or reversing of the crane system, have been analyzed. The rope is considered as an elastic thread. The influence of finite mass and bending elasticity of the viscus on the frequency of natural oscillations of the pendulum is theoretically analyzed. It is shown that the main factor influencing the natural frequency is the bending elasticity of the viscus thread, and the influence of the mass of the thread (rope) of the ballistic pendulum can be minimized. An exact analytical expression for the natural frequency of a real pendulum at arbitrary stiffness of the lightweight viscus is obtained. For small mass of cargo and speed of movement at impulse influence on the crane system (starting, braking, reversing) there are certain difficulties in taking into account the final mass and stiffness of the viscus for calculation of natural frequency of pendulum oscillations. In an ideal situation, the mass of the temple can be made too small compared to the mass of the pendulum (load and rope), but with a short length of rope increases the natural frequency of the pendulum, which reduces the sensitivity of the system to external impulsive influences, and increases the influence of the elasticity of the thread (rope) on this frequency. Therefore, in a real situation, the mass of the pendulum, its length (of the rope) and the stiffness of the temple should always be chosen and taken into account in accurate studies (and calculations) based on compromise considerations. In this study, the degree of influence of the above factors on the natural frequency of oscillation of a pendulum (i.e., essentially a weight on a rope) is theoretically evaluated in the small-parameter approximation. The results obtained in this study can be further used to refine and improve the existing engineering methods of calculation and analysis of transients (start-up, braking, reversing, etc.) of crane systems both at the stages of their design and in the modes of real operation to optimize the performance of the above systems (and mechanisms).