My Lab Radar

[Jeff A]

for the SEB users this works well.

View attachment 982090

Nice! What kind of hardware are you using to be able to tilt it? I need to build a better "Sight" for mine and my old eyes.

 

[dbramley]

It's just a piece of 1/2"X2" aluminum bar stock and a small manfroto ball head. It uses existing hole in seb, with a small piece of delrin under it to prevent scratching rest. I have only used it once but seems to position it just right.

 

[Lbart]

Nice! I need to build a better "Sight" for mine and my old eyes.

All it takes is a Berger pen and dis-assembly. Works for me.

 

[Joe R]

The guy at LabRadar told me to just cut a piece of a drinking straw and put it in the notch and look through it as if it was a scope. If you can see the target you're good to go. But I do like the pen solution too. With that one you can really pin point it.

Joe

 

[Jeff A]

The guy at LabRadar told me to just cut a piece of a drinking straw and put it in the notch and look through it as if it was a scope. If you can see the target you're good to go. But I do like the pen solution too.

Joe

View attachment 982169

 

[Jeff A]

I have done the "Straw" mod using different size straws. It still leaves a lot to be desired with my eyes. I'll continue my search. BTW, I don't understand the "Pen" solution. Anyone care to elaborate?

 

[Judd]

Then pen has all the guts removed so it's essentially a straw that is tapered down on one end. Granted I've only used mine one morning and wasn't overly successful at getting it to read every time because I'm learning but I thought the relationship to the end of the barrel and the labradar unit was more critical than pointing exactly (at least in minute detail) at the target???

 

[Tim Singleton]

Beginning to see these things all up and down the firing line over the course of this year. I think they can offer a lot of data to compare with the holes on paper.
All the ones I have seen appear to be setup 8" -10" to the side of the barrel
and 12" or so back from the muzzle.
The guys don't seem to have a problem with them at these setup distances 5 or 6 of them at the nbrsa southeast championship this year

 

[Terry]

Beginning to see these things all up and down the firing line over the course of this year. I think they can offer a lot of data to compare with the holes on paper.
All the ones I have seen appear to be setup 8" -10" to the side of the barrel
and 12" or so back from the muzzle.
The guys don't seem to have a problem with them at these setup distances 5 or 6 of them at the nbrsa southeast championship this year

This has not been my experience.

 

[ratbuster]

I bought a LabRadar after using traditional optical chrono's and then the MagnetoSpeed. Like most I found the LabRadar's interface very poor. Of course after several sessions it became easier but there is no excuse to have produced such a poorly executed user interface. Obviously it's a small company with limited resources and the engineers have little experience at implementing such. Having said that the interface is not a deal killer. What is problematic is the need to get up off the bench every time you want to start a new series which can be every three shots during load developement. I guess when bluetooth interface is released that problem should be solved. The final blow for me is the unit does not perform well with small (17 and 20 cal), fast (over 3900 fps) projectiles. Once all that became apparent I sent the Labradar back where I bought it and I do not miss it one bit. I am back to my much easier to use, set up and transport Magneto Speed. Since my barrels are all over 1" I have no issues with POI or grouping changes with the MS which has never missed a single velocity reading.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

I was seriously considering buying th lab radar to replace my chronograph. I was under the impression that I could place it in many various positions off to the side. The more posts I read on this topic, the more the thing sound like a PITA! Seems like a lot of money for something so finnicky.

I think I'm gonna pass on the lab radar. At least with my old Chrony Beta Master, I don't have to get up off the bench.

 

[Tim Singleton]

I don't understand what's going on with having to get up off the bench. That's not what I'm seeing
I'll post a few pics of the ones I'm seeing in use later today

 

[swadiver]

so far i like the unit a lot, but to start a new series, the only way i have found is having to turn the unit off/on and then select the left middle button and the confirm. is there any way to start a new series without first powering it down first?

 

[Preacher]

I always have a cleaning rod on the bench when i shoot here at home, and use it to poke the buttons, no getting up for me.........
I shoot a lot of braked rifles over it, and never had a problem...
Half the barrel past the unit, and 6-8" to the side works for me....

 

[rardoin]

so far i like the unit a lot, but to start a new series, the only way i have found is having to turn the unit off/on and then select the left middle button and the confirm. is there any way to start a new series without first powering it down first?

Assuming I have just shot a series and the radar is in active mode (orange LED lit on lower right quadrant), depress and hold the activate button (loacted below the LED, has a cross hair symbol on it) for about 3 seconds until the LED turns blue. This will put you in view mode; you can then hit the menu button on the upper left row of buttons...it is the middle button. The screen will enter a dialog asking if you want to create a new series. You can toggle the selection from yes to no with the right side up or down arrows and select your option with the center button (has a check mark symbol). To collect data on the new string you must activate the radar again by depressing the activate button, below the on/off button, twice; the orange LED will glow when activated and ready to collect shot data.

I love the unit for my purposes which is testing 6mm on up projectiles below 3500 fps. I was going to sell my MS but I will keep it for the times I will shoot 22-250 or .17 Rem and need to verify load data. I used my unit on the firing line at a F-class match last weekend and it worked flawlessly; it picked up all my shots and no others adjacent shooter's shots.

Dislikes are 1) having to reach out of position to activate the unit or get up and go around the bench to do the same while developing loads, 2) not having the option for the unit to stay in active mode indefinitely and not 'time out', 3) very short internal battery life, and 4) the buttons, specifically the on/off button is not protected and easily turn on while the unit is in the soft case, thus draining the internal batteries.

Hopefully, Blue Tooth functionality will be developed to solve issue 1. Simple software flash could solve 2. An external USB lithium battery has solved issue 3. Issue four will be dealt with by a protector I will make to adhere around that switch to protect it from inadvertent activation.

Yes, many drawbacks to the unit but the advantages outweigh them for me personally....YMMV.

 

[Lightload]

I've seen three of these in operation. Two of them seemed just about idiot proof and worked flawlessly. The third was used by a friend shooting with a suppressor. That didn't go so well. As a matter of fact, it pretty much didn't work at all. The only way they could get it to register a shot was by using the microphone and then it picked up any shot that was fired nearby.

 

[swadiver]

Assuming I have just shot a series and the radar is in active mode (orange LED lit on lower right quadrant), depress and hold the activate button (loacted below the LED, has a cross hair symbol on it) for about 3 seconds until the LED turns blue. This will put you in view mode; you can then hit the menu button on the upper left row of buttons...it is the middle button. The screen will enter a dialog asking if you want to create a new series. You can toggle the selection from yes to no with the right side up or down arrows and select your option with the center button (has a check mark symbol). To collect data on the new string you must activate the radar again by depressing the activate button, below the on/off button, twice; the orange LED will glow when activated and ready to collect shot data.

I love the unit for my purposes which is testing 6mm on up projectiles below 3500 fps. I was going to sell my MS but I will keep it for the times I will shoot 22-250 or .17 Rem and need to verify load data. I used my unit on the firing line at a F-class match last weekend and it worked flawlessly; it picked up all my shots and no others adjacent shooter's shots.

Dislikes are 1) having to reach out of position to activate the unit or get up and go around the bench to do the same while developing loads, 2) not having the option for the unit to stay in active mode indefinitely and not 'time out', 3) very short internal battery life, and 4) the buttons, specifically the on/off button is not protected and easily turn on while the unit is in the soft case, thus draining the internal batteries.

Hopefully, Blue Tooth functionality will be developed to solve issue 1. Simple software flash could solve 2. An external USB lithium battery has solved issue 3. Issue four will be dealt with by a protector I will make to adhere around that switch to protect it from inadvertent activation.

Yes, many drawbacks to the unit but the advantages outweigh them for me personally....YMMV.

thanks for the info! that procedure did the trick. is it in the manual? i didn't see it

 

[bradb]

I used mine for the first time the other day and it worked perfect. Did have to reach out, not get up, and reactivate as it timed out. Shot it with 280 AI, 375 ruger, 6.5-284 suppressed all perfect. There were a few shots it did not track at 90 yards. Most if I looked at the sd card for all the tracking data it tracked right to the 100 yard target. No issues at all with the suppressed. Would not pick up 22 rf suppressed bolt rifle with match ammo. I used a tri square to set against the back of it and line up looking down it to the target and worked first try(saw that from some place on the net)

 

[rardoin]

thanks for the info! that procedure did the trick. is it in the manual? i didn't see it

Yes....If you look at the algorithms it will become evident. I did find them a little cryptic at first.

As far as timing out....I set my timeouts to the maximum. This means the internal battery will last about 1hr. However, I run mine off a USB external battery that will last all day. Yesterday I had mine powered up for an entire 3 string, 60rd FPR match and I still had plenty of battery left after 4.5 hrs.