Labradar Review

[Heavyweight]

Hey guys....when I was doing my research on the Labradar doppler chronograph I couldn't find anything on this forum so I thought I'd add my experience here.

FYI I bought the unit about three weeks ago. It's running their 1.1.4 firmware which is the latest available on their website for download. If you have a Labradar and bought it early on, you want to be sure you keep up with the latest software updates. It's my understanding that many issues have been resolved with these upgrades.

I've had my unit out to the range three times now and it has performed flawlessly each time. Initial setup is simple per the included instructions and once that is done you only need to point the unit at your target and turn it on to get going.

I purchased the radar, base plate, case and air rifle trigger. My only complaint so far would be that I couldn't get my suppressed rifles to trigger the unit...even the supersonic stuff. But I knew going in that might be the case. The $40 addition of the air rifle microphone solved the problem. Since then my Labradar has not failed to pick up a shot.

I'm sure you guys know the Labradar will give you velocity readings out to 100 yards. My .30 caliber stuff has no problem being picked up all the way out there. My .260 Remington is a bit different...sometimes it will and sometimes it won't. Most times the readings peter out around 70 yards for me. And my .22 stuff will read out to 25 yards.

I have the first generation Magnetospeed. It has always done a great job on accurate velocity reading but it throws my POI way off on two of my main rifles.....and I couldn't get consistent groups with that POI shift. And I can't use this early version with my suppressors or handguns of course. The Labradar has worked well with all my handguns....even the suppressed .22.

Overall I give the Labradar 5 out of 5 stars. It works exactly as advertised. My one and only complaint is cost. For $559 they should at least throw in the case. Instead you have to purchase everything separately. Consequently I've got about $700 into it. Well, $720 really because I bought a rechargeable battery pack so I wouldn't constantly be feeding 6 AAs into it. A basic 10,000 mAh battery pack will run the radar a solid 8 hours of continuous use...
Maybe more.

Bottom line....expensive, but it's easy to use and it just works. If you guys have any questions just shout.

Stay safe.

Heavyweight

[P2000]

I had no issues with shooting mine 223 suppressed. I had to turn the sensitivity to maximum, and have the end of the suppressor only 2 inches to the left of the unit and roughly 1 inch behind the unit. With 77gr ammo, it tracked out to around 65 yards if I remember right.

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

Really interested in getting one of these. Sounds so much easier and less complex than the shades versions. Is there enough data and software out there that take that data out to 100 yards and help with fitting it into a ballistics program?

Is the battery pack just a USB jack of some kind?

[P2000]

Really interested in getting one of these. Sounds so much easier and less complex than the shades versions. Is there enough data and software out there that take that data out to 100 yards and help with fitting it into a ballistics program?

Is the battery pack just a USB jack of some kind?

The optional battery pack is just a standard USB one, nothing special. I'm just using 6 AA rechargeable batteries. I bring 6 spares with me. This thing eats battery depending on the settings. I get 2-3 hours use out of 6 AA rechargeables.

Regarding a ballistics programs using the data from this, it might be out there but I don't know. If you put an SD card in it you get more data. Without the SD card you only get velocity at a few user-chosen distances, which is what you see on the screen. However if you put an SD card in there you can upload a spreadsheet table for each shot with a velocity data points for each radar pulse until it can't see the bullet any more. For 223 with a boat tail 77gr, I'm getting around 60 data points for each shot.

One nice thing is that it stores data in shot series. So for load development it keeps everything organized for you. You just have to remember what series number corresponds to what you were shooting. Each series can be uploaded and viewed as a spreadsheet where it gives you standard deviation, ES and more.

Another nice thing is that you get velocity at whatever distance you want, so for example my Nosler reloading manual lists velocities at 15 yards from the muzzle, which is no problem with the LabRadar.

One last nice thing is that it sets up very quickly without going down range, and you would really, really have to screw up to shoot it on accident.

Just be prepared, everyone at the range is going to wonder what that thing is.

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

Stopped by MileHigh on Friday and picked one up.

Got it out to the range. I just bought the unit and the case.

I started out with a CZ455 and some subsonic ammo. Where I screwed up is that I didn't buy the 'stand'. I have a bunch of tripods, and I thought one of them was the kind without a center post and 'spider' legs. I was wrong about the tripod I brought. So it is like 2.5 feet in the air, and it isn't hearing the pfffft from the subsonic. I try leaning it over to the side as I saw in someone set up- that didn't work. I tried some standard velocity ammo thinking it was louder. That didn't work. Tried moving the unit slightly in front of the muzzle plane- that didn't work.

Ok, wrong tripod. If you are going to prone out, get the base, or engineer something to keep the unit more in line and closer to the unit. My fault.

Not my fault is the aiming notch. Not very helpful. It seems that the aiming of the beam is critical to the max performance, and that notch is less than accurate. They need to engineer that with a peep of something. You can't see the beam, so who knows where it is going.

The menu system is quirky. I eventually got the swing of it, but I think in this day and age things should be easier. The set up menu is pretty easy. The series and arming it are not as straightforward. I ended up turning on&off the unit sometimes when I got stuck it seemed. The manual is pretty good. Words and diagrams to explain stuff. Like I said, I got it eventually. It would be nice if there was a sticker on the unit, or even molded into it as reference.

I eventually put it to the side until I got out my .308 bolt gun. It has a Surefire break on it. No trouble triggering it, even with the non-optimal positioning. I screwed up because I actually lied to you. I got one 22lr to register, but said it had a V0 of 724 fps. (Looking at the shot data I think it was such bad data, that when it calced things out, the results were goofy.) I forgot to clear that out of the series, so the calcs that the unit does for the 308 series in the computer are jacked. I also forgot to change the bullet weight from 40gr from trying the 22lr. Argh.

I ended up with 42 shots. I put the SD card in my computer and there are files that there with the data. Double clicking on them brought them open in Excel. There is a summary one for the whole series, and then for each shot the raw data from that one shot.

So in the summary data set, it gives you V0 and then the other points you picked. I had it set at 10m increments out to V50.

So I cleaned up the 22lr data point and worked it in Excel. My Rem700 ACC 18 inch barrel 308 with FGMM 7.62x51 175 gr ammo averaged V0=2620 and a STD(P)=15.3.

V10=2603
V20=2585
V30=2569
All with STD about 15.3

The Data for V40 and V50 started to have some shots not registering.

I pulled open some of the individual shots and saw why. The unit reports out a bunch of data points. It looks like the unit is trying to do a reading every 0.001 seconds. The first of my data points is at 17.57 meters and it reports out velocity every 0.001 until 0.042021 seconds at 33.39m. From there it is getting readings every 0.002 to 0.011. The data also includes a SNR that goes from 18.06 for 17.57m falling to a 7.1 at 33.39m when the data interval starts to increase.

So it looks like it is getting good data between 17.57m and 32.6m. Probably due to my non-optimal set up.

I did shoot at three different targets, and the one at 500m gave me the best data. Don't know if that is because I could aim it better, or less ground clutter. One of those got good data from 15m out to 50m.

Really interested in getting the unit optimally place to see how that affects the data. Perhaps that will help with the triggering, but I might get the trigger just to be sure.

Menus could be a little easier, the aiming sight could be a bit more refined.

When it works it works great. When it doesn't it gets frustrating. Happy so far. When I get it optimized on the set up. I'll fully be able to appreciate it.




FYI, if you like the older tech, MileHigh are getting ready to put a cool kit together with the magneto (sp?) muzzle 'chronograph' that comes with some cool stuff and a version of the Kestrel. I think it will save you a $100 IIRC over buying things separate.

[P2000]

I hold a cheap ballpoint pen in the notch to aim with, kind of silly but it works well enough. I wish they came with something like a clip on sight. The height of the unit in relation to the muzzle makes a big difference with triggering and tracking. The muzzle should be centered vertically to the unit. And ideally close to the unit even though there are settings for having the muzzle farther away.

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

Works with Nerf bullets in Doppler mode. About 150fps. My son was impressed.

[batman4706]

I use a piece of soda straw glued to the notch with RTV.

[Ryno12]

I just received mine yesterday (9/15/16) & it came with firmware ver 1.1.5. I found the aiming notch & setup menu very easy to use.
I only tested it shooting a suppressed 300BLK with subs. I did have a few errors initially. It triggered but the unit "failed to track". I was using the microphone & had the muzzle approximately 3" in front (downrange) of the unit as instructed in the manual. I decided to set the "velocity range" to handgun because the expected velocity of the 300 subs were more in the middle of the handgun range (vs rifle where it's at the extreme lower end) & it worked every time after that.

I don't have much time on the unit so far but my initial impressions of it are very positive.

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

Interesting trip to the range. I got the mic for the 22lr subsonic. I shot at an indoor range, so I couldn't put stuff out front, but I brought a dowel rod, duct taped it to my stock parallel to the barrel and put that at the 8 oclock position, even with the muzzle.

1. It triggered for the 22
2. It also triggered for all the other guns in the range- 100 yard indoor range for rifles.
3. When it triggered for the other guns, it either
-Wouldn't track
-Would give really low velocity numbers 600-800fps. My only guess was that the spall from hitting the rear retaining wall was triggering the unit?
4. I had some 22lr that said 1300fps, when it really was about 1050. I don't know what was going on here.
5. Even with the straw method, I still had some missing shots where it triggered, but didn't see the round. That gets really annoying having to hit the return button. I don't know why, unless it was just being a 22 or if the backstop was acting to screw up the radar.

The data ended up being really dirty between the other guns triggering it and low data or the few high shots I had. Having to hit enter for each unseen shot triggered by another gun was a pain. I did have about 10 minutes to shoot with out anyone else there and got better data.

I think I combined the worst things- indoors near high power guns, with a subsonic 22 with a metallic backstop.

I was trying to get windless zeros and groups with different ammo and the Vel data was second. I eventually just turned it off.

When I press 'delete' it makes you press the down arrow and then enter (checkmark), I'd really rather have it just delete. More pushes, more alignment issues. Plus a handheld remote would be nice so you wouldn't have to break position.

I think most of my gripes are 22, subsonic and indoor range. Shot 7.62 outside, by yourself and it works great.

I have a battery pack that wouldn't power it. The AAs I had in were down to one bar and I wondered if this was messing with the radar power and acquisition. The pack has a power button on it to enable power, but the unit (fully charged and will do an ipad 4 times) would come on for a split second and then it and battery shut down. On the clock for the lane, so I didn't have time to fiddle-fart with it. I suggest trying your battery pack first.

When it works, it's great, when it doesn't- man it makes shooting not fun.

[Ryno12]

Interesting trip to the range. I got the mic for the 22lr subsonic. I shot at an indoor range, so I couldn't put stuff out front, but I brought a dowel rod, duct taped it to my stock parallel to the barrel and put that at the 8 oclock position, even with the muzzle.

1. It triggered for the 22
2. It also triggered for all the other guns in the range- 100 yard indoor range for rifles.
3. When it triggered for the other guns, it either
-Wouldn't track
-Would give really low velocity numbers 600-800fps. My only guess was that the spall from hitting the rear retaining wall was triggering the unit?
4. I had some 22lr that said 1300fps, when it really was about 1050. I don't know what was going on here.
5. Even with the straw method, I still had some missing shots where it triggered, but didn't see the round. That gets really annoying having to hit the return button. I don't know why, unless it was just being a 22 or if the backstop was acting to screw up the radar.

The data ended up being really dirty between the other guns triggering it and low data or the few high shots I had. Having to hit enter for each unseen shot triggered by another gun was a pain. I did have about 10 minutes to shoot with out anyone else there and got better data.

I think I combined the worst things- indoors near high power guns, with a subsonic 22 with a metallic backstop.

I was trying to get windless zeros and groups with different ammo and the Vel data was second. I eventually just turned it off.

When I press 'delete' it makes you press the down arrow and then enter (checkmark), I'd really rather have it just delete. More pushes, more alignment issues. Plus a handheld remote would be nice so you wouldn't have to break position.

I think most of my gripes are 22, subsonic and indoor range. Shot 7.62 outside, by yourself and it works great.

I have a battery pack that wouldn't power it. The AAs I had in were down to one bar and I wondered if this was messing with the radar power and acquisition. The pack has a power button on it to enable power, but the unit (fully charged and will do an ipad 4 times) would come on for a split second and then it and battery shut down. On the clock for the lane, so I didn't have time to fiddle-fart with it. I suggest trying your battery pack first.

When it works, it's great, when it doesn't- man it makes shooting not fun.

That sucks. It certainly can be finicky with subs. Couple things to try:

Have the "Velocity" set for "Handgun"when shooting subs. This helped me immensely.

Make sure the "Offset" is set properly. Mine needs to be at 6" when using the OEM mic bracket placed closest to the center of unit. I had to have the muzzle even with or just slightly behind the mic when using a can. Alignment with center of the unit is critical when shooting subs.

Confirm that the unit is properly aimed directly at the target.

Make sure the Trigger Source is set to "Trigger".

You may have to adjust the Trigger Level higher if you're picking up others shots. This may prove especially difficult if you're shooting subs at an indoor public range.

Good luck. I had to mess with mine a fair amount before I got it dialed in with subs. If I shoot suppressed, I need to make sure the muzzle placement is in the exact spot every time.


As far as battery packs go, I bought an Aukey 12000mAH solar charger from Amazon. It works awesome. The solar charger works great & I haven't had to recharge the unit yet. Obviously it depends on your frequency of usage but it'll recharge itself with just the lights on in my reloading room, where it spends most of it's time.
I did try a smaller unit first and it powered up the unit but the moment I turned on the orange light, it'd die immediately. You need a battery pack with some sack to power up this thing.

[P2000]

Because Labradar is a radar, using it at an indoor range with metallic backstop is probably a worst case scenario. I wouldn't even try it. The manual doesn't clearly say it won't work in those conditions, but it does say this:

9. RANGE
........
In order to achieve the best accuracy possible, the user must use the product correctly and take
care of some details:
•
Make sure that the Labradar is aligned correctly with the target.
•
Make sure that the position of the gun relative to the LabRadar is correct.
•
Use a firing range that has no obstacles or obtrusions close to or in the line of fire.
(Clear line of sight)
•
Make sure that the parameters entered in the LabRadar configuration match you installation.
Due to microwaves signals nature, range performance of the LabRadar can differ depending
on the environmental conditions:
•
Temperature;
•
Humidity;
•
Particles in the air;
•
Signal reflection on the ground, trees, wall and any other surface in the line of fire.
•
Frequency channel used for transmission;
•
Electrical Interference in the area;

Also, maybe the doppler trigger mode would work better if other shooters are louder than what you are shooting.

[Ryno12]

Also, maybe the doppler trigger mode would work better if other shooters are louder than what you are shooting.

I doubt the Doppler mode would work with 22LR. The manual states Doppler should not be used with firearms and only be used with large projectiles traveling at slow speeds, such as arrows.

I tried it with 300BLK subs just for S&G & it didn't pick up anything.

[P2000]

I doubt the Doppler mode would work with 22LR. The manual states Doppler should not be used with firearms and only be used with large projectiles traveling at slow speeds, such as arrows.

I tried it with 300BLK subs just for S&G & it didn't pick up anything.
Good to know, thanks


Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk

[Ryno12]

Another thing to note, in case you're having issues recording data to an SD, make sure to format the card prior to using it in the Labradar.

I initially tried 3 different SD cards (125MB, 8GB, 32GB) & none would work. I contacted Labradar & they told me to try to format them. After that, they all worked.

I also noticed a difference in speed with old cards. One particular card, an ancient 125MB card, took over 5 seconds between shots to display/record shot data. A new 8GB (class 4) was almost instantaneous.

While you don't necessarily need a large SD card, I would certainly get one at least a class 4 or faster.

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

Is there a minimum size for the SD card? I'm just using a 16GB.

Interesting that I had 'No Service' on my phone at the indoor range. Don't know if that is when I had the unit on and active or not. Could be just the shielding in there and its effect on the unit.

I need to get it outside with the sensor and the base and prone out and get all the geometry just right. I had it set for 15cm, I was maybe closer to 30cm- AICS with spigot and bipod on a bench that isn't very long and I had to put it there or put the leg onto the base, which upsets the aim.

[hotrodder636]

I appreciate you guys putting this info out. I have gotten back into reloading, this time adding rifle cartridges to my reloading. I have been debating what to get for tracking velocity in my reloads. I was hoping to hear more positive reviews here than I had elsewhere.
I was looking at LabRadar due to the usability st my range. I am hoping to see a generation 2 coming out in 2017, then go from there.

[Stugotz]

I have a battery pack that wouldn't power it. The AAs I had in were down to one bar and I wondered if this was messing with the radar power and acquisition. The pack has a power button on it to enable power, but the unit (fully charged and will do an ipad 4 times) would come on for a split second and then it and battery shut down. On the clock for the lane, so I didn't have time to fiddle-fart with it. I suggest trying your battery pack first.

When it works, it's great, when it doesn't- man it makes shooting not fun.

I have a LabRadar I purchased about 5 weeks ago and purchased 2 external battery backs:

I have used my it a 1/2 dozen times and am still on the original battery charge which is registering 50% full.

Aibocn Power Bank 10,000mAh External Battery Charger (https://www.amazon.com/Aibocn-External-Battery-Flashlight-Smartphones/dp/B00VWV8LD4?th=1).

They have gone up in price from when I purchased mine @ $9.97, but at $10.49 each I believe it is still a great buy.

Same one they are selling Here for $24.95 (http://www.longrangehunting.com/store/usb-rechargable-battery-bank.html). :cool:

[Ryno12]

I've been testing a variety of different things with the Labradar & I have to say, I'm pretty impressed so far.
A buddy & I tested it with his Crossman BB gun, compound bow, & crossbow and all worked great. We did have a few issues with his crossbow initially. Doppler didn't seem to work all that good but using the microphone did. Use of a bench would be good too. The compound worked good & honestly, I was amazed at how well it worked on the BB gun.

Also, for those that don't have one yet, the following screenshots show the type of data recorded.

My 62gn HD loads in an 11.5"SBR

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161105/db1c05f4a97c8febb8075c1f85e14ffe.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161105/24a9e883a9c42b2d4ade0d3c8f12f935.jpg

My 147gn subs in a 9" 300BLK SBR

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161105/81b78d9362e2d53f0431fdfbd795b76d.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161105/f780e7c28e316b6e07d4653474370beb.jpg

The setup
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161105/b82e6ce3c8b1fa2f99c6d08fe2e63c3f.jpg

[hotrodder636]

That's dang cool. Looks like since it dumps into an Excel file, you could even graph the data...overlay different strings.

Though I have heard a few complains, nothing significant, I think I will be getting a LabRader vice a Magnetospeed or Chrony.

Thanks Ryno

[Ryno12]

No problem, anytime.

Apparently it has Bluetooth also so I'd really like to see a smartphone app where control could be taken over by the phone. My tripod is kinda flimsy so it'd be nice to not have to touch the unit between strings.
It'd be nice to have the data recorded right to the phone too.

[batman4706]

When I checked with them a few months back, they said it wasn't working yet.

Anyone know if it's working now?

[gunnerblue]

Great review, some of my own seasonal observations:

In reading the manual, it is written that the Labradar's accuracy might be affected by environmental conditions. I waited until a cold-snap in order to test mine. I measured the same velocity readings in 15-30 degree weather as I did over the summer (~90degrees). I was also worried that the radar reflecting off of snow would give inaccurate readings (though perhaps in my ignorance of radar-related topics this is not a concern). In any case, it appears that aiming the device at a snow-covered hillside has no effect on accuracy. Again, this was measured against previous results.

I agree that the unit can be tempermental in regards to placement. I, for one, can not get any readings with the 18" offset setting. I suppose that there is a very narrow window as there seems to be for the 6" and 12."