Lab radar opinions

odoylerules

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Dec 6, 2016
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I'm looking for experiences and reviews on the lab radar chrono. Do you own one? How is it to work with? Would you recommend it?
Thanks guys
 
Easy as pie and no POI shift when using it. I use it for every range shot now.

They now have an app for use with a phone but i haven't used that yet. Only thing I wish you could do was add more shots in a series...Makes it hard to do a round robin approach with load dev unless you want to manually calculate ES (easy) and SD (harder).

Get the rechargeable USB battery pack...
 
I have one , and I do like it . I read they eat up batteries quickly , so I bought the battery pack also . I read about guys not being able to reach the buttons from a shooting position . I have my timer set for a long period of time , so it doesn't time out on me . after each blast the timer is reset . I mostly shoot prone , so I just use a piece of plywood for the base . you will need to shield it from the blast of a muzzle brake . I was using a cement block , but the blast will blow small pieces of the block and these will hit you and your gun . I have a small chip in the obj lens of my NXS scope from this . I made a shield out of a piece of wood , but it needs refined . I've got a couple weird readings ( I don't have anything that shoots 13066 FPS ) , but the battery pack went dead shortly there after , I'm guessing low voltage caused these readings . get it aimed correctly and it works well . the only thing I find as a con is , when you leave a shot string you can not go back and add more shots to it . I would like to go shooting with say 3 different rifles . shot string 1 would be my 7mm rem mag , string 2 would be my 7mm-08 , and string 3 would be my 338 lapua . I could keep all the one rifles info on that particular string if I could go back to that string and add more shots to it . the way I use it is just let the string fill up and it goes to the next string . I log my info in a note pad . here are a couple pics .
 

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Now that the Bluetooth App is available to "arm" the LabRadar, I like mine. The App is a must, in my opinion. It's also a lot easier to program the LabRadar settings using the App compared to pressing the programming buttons on the LabRadar itself.

The biggest unknown is how long they'll last before needing repaired. They've only been out for a couple years, so they haven't been thru the rigors and test of time.
 
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Now that the Bluetooth App is available to "arm" the LabRadar, I like mine. The App is a must, in my opinion. It's also a lot easier to program the LabRadar settings using the App compared to pressing the programming buttons on the LabRadar itself.

The biggest unknown is how long they'll last before needed repaired. They've only been out for a couple years, so they haven't been thru the rigors and test of time.

Does that help shooting with a suppressor? I don't have one but have been around a couple. I know the ones we were using were not initiating on anything with a suppressor. Since it wasn't mine I didn't look into a fix.
 
I love it. Best chronograph I've evver used. Hated the Magnetospeed. It's even better now that the iphone app is available. It just plain works. I've never had it pickup other shots at the range. I've used it with 260, 6.5x55 and 7 Rem mag and have no problems with it at all. As far as I'm concerned, it's a msut have.
 
I thought of another thing worth mentioning . be extra gentle when plugging and unplugging the mini USB cable into the labradar unit , mine is a little loose . I've bought another cable , and it does fit better , but it's not like it was when new . I must have stretched the mini USB in the labradar unit a little .
 
As jimbires stated not being able to go back to a previous string and add additional shots is a bit of a bug bear but I just start a new string and record which string is which. I have had the odd time when it won't record a shot even when everything is lined up with the target but this seems to happen more with .224 calibre rifles such as the 22.250. It would be nice if it would record to 4500 fps rather than the 3900 fps that they are limited to. The new phone app is a great addition and as phorwath wrote it does make the programming much easier. I have found that the bench mounting plate is a little light but it is easy to add a little weight to it to make it more stable. Other than these little hiccups I think it is a great piece of equipment and I use it every time I go to the range and is the difference between the LabRadar and older chronographs.
Would I buy it again? In a heartbeat!
 
Would you guys recommend the accessory plate from lab radar, or some specific tripod you've found that works better?
 
I've been using my LabRadar for a couple of years now and I really like it much better than any other chronograph I've owned/used. That said there are some issues most of which are captured above in previous posts.
  • I met a gentleman at one of the ranges I shoot at who has a suppressed 300 mag (I think Nosler Mag). It will not trigger his LabRadar so he uses it in Doppler mode. Problem is the range we were using has upper and lower baffles which interferes and the LabRadar doesn't work well in Doppler mode.
  • I have also had trouble my LabRadar tracking the bullets through the baffles. I can only get about 60-70% of them to read velocity. I suspect this is due to reflections from the baffles. Triggering is generally not a problem as I have no suppressed rifles.
  • I've had trouble with the USB plug and have had to replace the cables frequently. I went on eBay and bought a bunch and keep several on hand.
  • The LabRadar app is a big improvement but I was hoping it would allow me to go back and add shots to previous strings but it will not.
  • I recommend a heavy duty tripod but I have been using a relatively expensive one and it works ok. I have noticed that the muzzle blast will occasionally move the LabRadar and I have to readjust so I'm going to upgrade to a more robust tripod.
  • Depending on your shooting bench dimensions you may or may not be able to use a bench top mount. I use a mini tripod on the bench and it works OK with short barreled rifles or rifles with muzzle brakes. When shooting my non-braked long barreled 223 Rem, due to lack of bench space the muzzle is about 6" beyond the LabRadar and will not trigger. That rifle requires that I put the muzzle right next to or in front of the LabRadr to get it to trigger. This requires that I use a tripod in front of the bench.
 
Does that help shooting with a suppressor? I don't have one but have been around a couple. I know the ones we were using were not initiating on anything with a suppressor. Since it wasn't mine I didn't look into a fix.

No, the App just allows for easier programming and most importantly, arming the LR prior to shooting from the prone position. The prone position places the shooter beyond arms reach from the unit's "Arm" button.

I don't shoot suppressed, so have no exerience with that.

I've used the accessory plate. It works well from the prone position, as Len stated.
 
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Would you guys recommend the accessory plate from lab radar, or some specific tripod you've found that works better?



I used a scrap piece of plywood from putting a stainless steel chimney through the wall at camp . I drilled a hole in the center , and put a 1/4-20 bolt through the tight fitting hole . hammered the hex head of the bolt in flush with the wood .

it would be nice to have a ball mount to be able to better aim the labradar . I'll probably buy the regular plate .
 
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