Ned Ludd
Silver $$ Contributor
That's what I figured/hoped you would say. Thanks.
LABRADAR PROS AND CONS
- Thread starter Bill Norris
- Start date
That's what I figured/hoped you would say. Thanks.
That's what I was hoping for as well.
Here is the type of thing I am using for the external battery connection.
No wear and tear on the port.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082QWQD9R/?tag=accuratescom-20
No wear and tear on the port.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082QWQD9R/?tag=accuratescom-20
Yep Picked me up some of those early on after ordering my Labradar as well.
I wonder: are those who are having trouble with the USB port leaving the USB cord in place when the unit is packed away? There's no pressure on the port when the device is in use. I've never had this type of port fail, even on devices that are plugged and unplugged thousands of times more often than this one will ever be in its lifetime. (The LabRadar can easily be placed in the LabRadar bag while leaving the LabRadar branded external batt pack in place but I would always detach the USB cable from the LabRadar given the way it sticks out.)
Sounds like I should set the Trigger Level to 8 although there's nothing in the manual to suggest the acoustic trigger is turned off when an external trigger is used and the Trigger Level affects all three possible triggers.
Sounds like I should set the Trigger Level to 8 although there's nothing in the manual to suggest the acoustic trigger is turned off when an external trigger is used and the Trigger Level affects all three possible triggers.
I made a quick video for those who were asking about the JKL Trigger. I have no skin in their game, I just know that their product changed how I use and interface with the LabRadar immensely.
https://youtu.be/nVTHVFJT23s
https://youtu.be/nVTHVFJT23s
BIGMAC
Silver $$ Contributor
Thanks for the YouTube video!
It answered a lot of my questions.
I am not having the missed shots like others are having. When I set mine up I use a heavy 12 inch hollow tube on top of the lab radar. I say heavy because a light ( aluminum) tube will blow off pretty easy. To line it up I look into and over the the very top the tube. Once it is line up, I make sure the tube is lined up so it is pointing (over) the top of the target. Even at 100 yards. This will help catch the arch of the bullet going down range. I find this very important especially when shooting long range. I shoot alot of 600 yard targets. With the lab radar lined up, and the unit angled so the tube on the top of the unit is pointing just over the top of the target,it works much better. FWIW. Doug
Interestingly my JKL trigger failed to trigger the LabRadar a few times on its first outing today. Need to investigate further. When I first turned it all on, flicking the trigger with my finger relatively hard didn't send the LabRadar looking for a projectile.
I own all 3 basic types of chronographs: traditional optical style with screens, Magnetospeed, and Labradar. I much prefer the LR over the other two because it is easier to setup than an optical chronograph, and doesn't affect barrel harmonics like the Magnetospeed. The LR is so easy to use that I pretty much always collect velocity info whenever I shoot. There was a small learning curve with correctly positioning the LR, but once I got that down, it has worked very reliably for me. I initially had some triggering problems with the LR. I sent it back to the company and they replaced the microphones and it has worked great ever since. Customer service was excellent. I have the JLK external trigger, but don't use it since the internal microphone trigger has worked so well for me.
When firing fouling shots at the beginning of a shooting session with a new load, I use both the Magnetospeed and the LR to confirm that the two units are producing the same speed measurements. They always agree with each other to within a couple of fps. Once that check is done, I remove the Magnetospeed and just use the LR to record velocities. I do a Magnetospeed/LR recheck each time I switch to a new load.
One thing that is not clear from the LR manual (but already mentioned by others, above), is that the unit makes a sequence of downrange velocity measurements starting around 6 yards from the muzzle, and then calculates a muzzle velocity from that data. A velocity measurement is made about every yard until the bullet is far enough downrange that the unit has trouble "seeing" it. Meaning for each shot, the LR can produce a data set consisting of many dozens of velocity-vs-distance measurements. The entire data set for a shot is not shown on the screen, but can be downloaded from the SD memory card. If you look at the data set where the unit stops collecting data on its own, you can see that the accuracy of the velocity measurement is decreasing with distance just before the unit decides for itself that it can no longer "see" the bullet.
The unit offers the ability to read out 5 of the velocity measurements (call them V1, V2, V3, V4, V5) at distances chosen by the user. The user manual fails to mention that the LR stops making measurements 15-20 yards past the last chosen distance (V5). Consequently, even though the LR may potentially be able to "see" the bullet out to 100yds, if V5 is set to, for example, 30yds, it will stop making measurements at about 45yds-50yds. As such, if you want to see multiple velocity measurements close to the muzzle, you may be unintentionally cutting off the size of your data set. For example if you set your chosen distances at V1=10yds, V2= 11yds, V3=12yds, V4=13yds, V5=14yds, data collection will stop at about 30yds-35yds. The "un-collected data" would be at a further distance, which would not be as clean as the data closer to the muzzle. I am not sure if the smaller data set actually affects the accuracy of the muzzle velocity calculation, but the unit is for sure working with a smaller data set.
Because of this odd quirk, I have V5 set at 100yds, which means the unit will typically collect data until it loses sight of the bullet on its own, rather than being forced to stop collecting despite still being able to see the bullet. Not sure if that matters. More experience will tell. Note that the distance the unit loses sight of the bullet depends on bullet size and shape, and how well the unit is aimed. At this point, I am very satisfied if the unit collects data out to about 75yds, but I think the muzzle velocity number is still very accurate even if the data set stops at 40 or 50 yards. Interesting to note that with my .300WSM, the unit will frequently see through my 100yd target and collect data out to around 110 yards.
When firing fouling shots at the beginning of a shooting session with a new load, I use both the Magnetospeed and the LR to confirm that the two units are producing the same speed measurements. They always agree with each other to within a couple of fps. Once that check is done, I remove the Magnetospeed and just use the LR to record velocities. I do a Magnetospeed/LR recheck each time I switch to a new load.
One thing that is not clear from the LR manual (but already mentioned by others, above), is that the unit makes a sequence of downrange velocity measurements starting around 6 yards from the muzzle, and then calculates a muzzle velocity from that data. A velocity measurement is made about every yard until the bullet is far enough downrange that the unit has trouble "seeing" it. Meaning for each shot, the LR can produce a data set consisting of many dozens of velocity-vs-distance measurements. The entire data set for a shot is not shown on the screen, but can be downloaded from the SD memory card. If you look at the data set where the unit stops collecting data on its own, you can see that the accuracy of the velocity measurement is decreasing with distance just before the unit decides for itself that it can no longer "see" the bullet.
The unit offers the ability to read out 5 of the velocity measurements (call them V1, V2, V3, V4, V5) at distances chosen by the user. The user manual fails to mention that the LR stops making measurements 15-20 yards past the last chosen distance (V5). Consequently, even though the LR may potentially be able to "see" the bullet out to 100yds, if V5 is set to, for example, 30yds, it will stop making measurements at about 45yds-50yds. As such, if you want to see multiple velocity measurements close to the muzzle, you may be unintentionally cutting off the size of your data set. For example if you set your chosen distances at V1=10yds, V2= 11yds, V3=12yds, V4=13yds, V5=14yds, data collection will stop at about 30yds-35yds. The "un-collected data" would be at a further distance, which would not be as clean as the data closer to the muzzle. I am not sure if the smaller data set actually affects the accuracy of the muzzle velocity calculation, but the unit is for sure working with a smaller data set.
Because of this odd quirk, I have V5 set at 100yds, which means the unit will typically collect data until it loses sight of the bullet on its own, rather than being forced to stop collecting despite still being able to see the bullet. Not sure if that matters. More experience will tell. Note that the distance the unit loses sight of the bullet depends on bullet size and shape, and how well the unit is aimed. At this point, I am very satisfied if the unit collects data out to about 75yds, but I think the muzzle velocity number is still very accurate even if the data set stops at 40 or 50 yards. Interesting to note that with my .300WSM, the unit will frequently see through my 100yd target and collect data out to around 110 yards.
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The first photo shows the LR positioned for use with a .223 Rem. The LR would be in the same position for my .264WM, and .300WSM, as well. I wouldn't hesitate to move it closer to the muzzle, though, if I wasn't getting reliable triggers.
If you zoom-in on the second photo, you can see I have set the user-chosen velocity measurements at 10yds (V10), 25yds (V25), 50yds (V50), 75yds (V75), and 100yds (V100). For the shot shown, in addition to the muzzle velocity, the LR screen shows a velocity at 10, 25 and 50 yards, but not at 75 or 100 yards, meaning the unit lost track of the bullet on its own somewhere between 50 and 75 yards. Not bad for a .224 bullet.
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'cos there's no one else around!
There were 19 other shooters at my 100 yard range on Sunday, many blasting away with semi-autos. An acoustic trigger would have been impossible to use. (Next to me I had 4 guys, LE, all trying to sight in one gun. It was freakin' mayhem.)
Ned Ludd
Silver $$ Contributor
Not in my case - the cable is never left in the unit. Actually, the port in the front of the unit wasn't the problem, it was the male connector on the cable that came with the external battery. A new cable solved that issue. One thing I noticed is that depending on where the unit is placed with respect to the muzzle, it can receive some pretty significant buffeting from muzzle blast, which makes the external battery cable whip around, and sometimes even come loose from the port after a shot. This can put a lot of extra wear and tear on the cable port.
This is especially bad with my unit, because it won't seem to pick up the acoustic signal of a shot unless it placed about 2" to 3" in front of the muzzle, and about 6" off to the side, regardless of how the acoustic trigger is set/adjusted. That is the main reason I am interested in the trigger setup as described by F Class John above. LabRadar also makes an external acoustic trigger that would likely be an improvement so I wouldn't have to place the unit anywhere near a spot it would be receiving muzzle blast. Nonetheless, I like the idea of a kinetic trigger better, as an external acoustic trigger may still have the issue of triggering off of other people's shots.
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