Why so many people selling their LabRadars?

[Straightshooter1]

exactly how does that make it more convenient, this the exact pain in the backside that makes it inconvenient and time consuming. The magneto speed wins that challenge hands down with a matter of seconds to setup,

MagnetoSpeed is quick enough to mount on a barrel, but not so much with different suppressors. And I don't mount my MS on my barrels to avoid any influence with the harmonics. When shooting various guns with various barrel lengths and/or muzzle brake lengths, adjustments for the location of the MS and the alignment to the bore need to be made. With this Garmin Zero, all of that kind of thing is gone.

 

[JimSC]

You do have to ask yourself what drove Labradar to have such a large form factor when Garmin used such a smaller one. There must be a reason for it. Rarely does an engineering company build a small thing and then decide to put it into a very large (and costlier) box.

Labradar is still using the same design as when it came out in 2015 (?) it was a poor design then and they have done nothing to fix its flaws or address any of it's many short comings since its release. The company never had any competition until recently and until now the competitors were small companies without a lot of N American and Western Europe tech support. Labradar should have come out with Labradar II and Labradar III but they figured they had a monopoly so why bother?

The Garman has changed that and launched at a competitive price, unlike some recent entries that decided they were worth $1000 USD. If the Garman proves to be reliable within a year you won't be able to give a Labradar away. The people who are selling theirs now are smart

 

[wildcatter]

MagnetoSpeed is quick enough to mount on a barrel, but not so much with different suppressors. And I don't mount my MS on my barrels to avoid any influence with the harmonics. When shooting various guns with various barrel lengths and/or muzzle brake lengths, adjustments for the location of the MS and the alignment to the bore need to be made. With this Garmin Zero, all of that kind of thing is gone.

View attachment 1486200

It certainly will work well for you, and easier than setting up my chrony. But till the old Gama takes a dump, with its been close to doing twice over the years, I'll be hanging on to it. The good thing about it, changing guns with or without breaks are no problem.

The magnetospeed working on barrel harmonics is something I have no experiance with, but can see that it very well could. Like I said my buddies was only used to confirm both were working correctly. But load development is the only time I use mine, and would maybe use the Garman more often.

 

[SGK]

Labradar is still using the same design as when it came out in 2015 (?) it was a poor design then and they have done nothing to fix its flaws or address any of it's many short comings since its release. The company never had any competition until recently and until now the competitors were small companies without a lot of N American and Western Europe tech support. Labradar should have come out with Labradar II and Labradar III but they figured they had a monopoly so why bother?

The Garman has changed that and launched at a competitive price, unlike some recent entries that decided they were worth $1000 USD. If the Garman proves to be reliable within a year you won't be able to give a Labradar away. The people who are selling theirs now are smart

Not denying the minor challenges of the Labradar (they are minor and mine has worked flawlessly since I got it) but my point was a different one. You don't put small electronics in a big box for nothing. I've never pulled one to pieces but I do wonder what drove them to use a bigger form factor in the first place. Perhaps a bigger 'antenna'.

EDIT

Teardown photos suggest this is the case. Perhaps it was unnecessarily big.

LABRADAR Radar, Velocity Detector Teardown Internal Photos R1410104-245 Rev A Infinition

Radar, Velocity Detector Int Photos details for FCC ID PDG-LABRADAR made by Infinition Inc. Document Includes Internal Photos R1410104-245 Rev A

fccid.io

 

[urbanrifleman]

Honestly, if you look around our technology hasn't really advanced very much in the last 60 years. A car still looks like a car, a jet plane still looks like a jet plane, a bulldozer still looks like a bulldozer... The advancement of technology is kind of an illusion.

Except in the case of electronics and anything that can hook to these little computers that everyone holds up to their face. I'm sure these little devices will be just fine.

 

[JimSC]

Not denying the minor challenges of the Labradar (they are minor and mine has worked flawlessly since I got it) but my point was a different one. You don't put small electronics in a big box for nothing. I've never pulled one to pieces but I do wonder what drove them to use a bigger form factor in the first place. Perhaps a bigger 'antenna'.

EDIT

Teardown photos suggest this is the case. Perhaps it was unnecessarily big.

LABRADAR Radar, Velocity Detector Teardown Internal Photos R1410104-245 Rev A Infinition

Radar, Velocity Detector Int Photos details for FCC ID PDG-LABRADAR made by Infinition Inc. Document Includes Internal Photos R1410104-245 Rev A

fccid.io

over large form factor combined with a clunky interface, excessive power consumption with no onboard rechargeable source, a fragile USB connector for backup power, triggering that needed an optional external trigger for reliable shot pickup are not minor issues to me.

I have been waiting for a good replacement for my optical for years now. The Bulletseeker and almost hit the mark except for price and major US distribution. FX true ballistic was also overpriced to what benefits it offered. Garman coming out a few hundred less will be a good thing for all shooters. I fully expect to see price drops on the other Dopplars soon

 

[LCazador]

What's a paper clip?

It's a single shot manual stapler.

Frank

Kind of like the new terminology for a gun is " a cordless paper puncher", LOL!

 

[Kracken McGraw]

It’s getting comical reading all the for sale Labradar’s in the Classifieds.

 

[Rsadams]

Sorry but my lab radar is new and it works perfectly , never missed anything if it's setup properly but to each their own bought the external trigger but never had to use it...... I really like mine best gun related thing I've bought in awhile.... Hopefully the Garmin will work good for the people who buy them.... Really hope they work better than the gps units I have had from them...

 

[Mauser06]

The smaller unit sure would be nice.


Like someone else said, I've shied away from jumping into new electronics...maybe once it's proven and tested over a period of time, I'll upgrade...if it is an upgrade.

If you've ever been to a PRS match, we usually have an hour or so to check zero....I usually try to avoid it but once in a while time doesn't allow so there I am....carrying a 24lb rig, rear bag, and labradar in a bulky hard case. The parking area is usually a little ways off from the zero range too...


Be interesting to see how the new kid on the block shakes out.

 

[Straightshooter1]

Sorry but my lab radar is new and it works perfectly , never missed anything if it's setup properly but to each their own bought the external trigger but never had to use it...... I really like mine best gun related thing I've bought in awhile.... Hopefully the Garmin will work good for the people who buy them.... Really hope they work better than the gps units I have had from them...

Hmmm??? I've been using Garmin GPS's for about 20 years and they all have had no problems or issues. My most recent Garmin GPS that I've had for 4 yrs now also has a dashcam and a backup camera that connects wirelessly and all it's feature have worked great. I expect the Garmin Zero that'll be arriving in a couple days will perform as expected. But of course, there's always those outliers that happen and cause some people to sour on the company.

 

[DiffEQ]

I was being facetious. I work for an engineering company. When full scale use of CAD came on line and drafting tables ended up in the burn pile, we started to generate more paper than ever and that continues here more than 30 years later.

Sorry for the derail. Couldn’t resist.

If you haven't tried it yet, look into Bluebeam. We use it extensively to review and annotate drawings to had to the CAD guys to finalize. I might print 100 pages per year now, and that's including instruction checklists for technicians to work on some equipment.
However, I'm not counting the printouts for code inspections where we must have printouts because the regulatory agency requires signatures in ink.

You do have to ask yourself what drove Labradar to have such a large form factor when Garmin used such a smaller one. There must be a reason for it. Rarely does an engineering company build a small thing and then decide to put it into a very large (and costlier) box.

Why the Garmin is much smaller?

1. Antenna
2. The algorithm and electronics that process the received reflections.
3. Reverse engineer a Labradar, identify its weak points and what can be improved. Apparently a lot.
4. Labradar was lazy, milked its cash cow as much as it could, and did not listen to their customers because they were the only game in town.

 

[DiffEQ]

Read Bryan Litz’s review on his web-site.

Unfortunately this requires a subscription, which apparently is $10/month. I'm too friggin' cheap for that.

 

[STORM2]

I’m gonna buy a large box of paper clips BEFORE the waiting period kicks in.…and keep the BOX.

 

[rijndael]

Unfortunately this requires a subscription, which apparently is $10/month. I'm too friggin' cheap for that.

I read the article with a free account

 

[209jones]

I'm doubtful Lab Radar will come out with a new product to replace theirs, they may just drop chronos altogether, how long that'll take to happen, don't know. Unless they had something in the works already, there is a chance the engineering and new production setup expense isn't worth it.
I can see Garmin coming up with a couple more models with more features added in down the road, who knows what they have been thinking about and what tech is available altogether in their system.

 

[kountryboy2]

Honestly, if you look around our technology hasn't really advanced very much in the last 60 years. A car still looks like a car, a jet plane still looks like a jet plane, a bulldozer still looks like a bulldozer... The advancement of technology is kind of an illusion.

Except in the case of electronics and anything that can hook to these little computers that everyone holds up to their face. I'm sure these little devices will be just fine.

How many 60 year old cars lasted,300,000 miles?

 

[rardoin]

As @JimSC points out, LabRadar has done little to nothing to fix flaws in the hardware and software since it has been introduced. My micro USB connector was loose from the start and they wanted to charge me to replace it....with the same crappy connector design. The smartphone to device Bluetooth connection is spotty at best and that was not addressed despite many user complaints. I have had Garmin navigation equipment in boats for years and currently Garmin avionics in a plane. They are very responsive to user issues and also seek input to improve functionality. My LabRadar has been on the shelf for over 3 years and I use a MagnetoSpeed for velocity work now but I do miss the ability to capture velocity while testing for group/ladders. I might get suckered in to the Garmin rig. LOL

If any of my shootin' buds catch my wife asking on the F-Class bookface about shooting gifts this Christmas.......you know what to say. he he.

 

[Chocdawg]

Unfortunately this requires a subscription, which apparently is $10/month. I'm too friggin' cheap for that.

FYI - Their is a no-charge blog area also available. Quite informative.

 

[urbanrifleman]

How many 60 year old cars lasted,300,000 miles?

Still a car. Where's my hovercraft helicopter jet car?