Setting up a Labradar Chrono

Doublehelix · Jul 20, 2017

On page 3 of the existing 3-page thread on "best chrono for the money", I started asking some questions about setting up my new Labradar chronograph, but I did not want to dilute or hijack that thread too much, so I decided to start a new thread.

Here is a link to that existing thread if anyone is interested:
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/best-chrono-for-the-money.819535/

I have a new Labradar that I am very excited to try out, and I feel pretty good about most of the settings and have spent a fair amount of time reading the manual, watching YouTube videos, etc.

One question that I have is about setting up the measurement distances, Dx1 to Dx5. The manual says that Dx1 is used to calculate Power Factor, and the default setting is at 11 yards.

11 yards is 33 feet (see how good I am at higher math!

), and I don't think I have ever seen ANY standard shoot-through chrony setup 33 feet away from the gun, yet they are used to calculate PF all the time.

Is there anything magical about that 11 yard number? Is that an average distance for max velocity or something? I did some Google searches and came up with nothing on this.

It is not a problem leaving the setting at 11 yards for most outdoor testing, but today is hot, humid and threatens to thunderstorm, and I really want to play with my new toy! That means indoor range, and the overall distances are only out to 65 feet I think.

Thanks for any info you can provide, or any other "gotchas" that I may need to be aware of.

Doublehelix · Jul 20, 2017

So, day one with my new Labradar, and it worked flawlessly. Pretty impressive actually as I had zero issues. I was pretty prepared as I mentioned in my first post, so I am sure that helped.

I was at an indoor range, but I was the only person on the line, so I did not have to try and deal with false readings, and I could keep the LR set at the most sensitive setting, so it was a pretty ideal situation to test it with. I am glad that my first time out was that easy, if the range had been busy, I am sure I would have had a harder time and would have had to play with things to get it right.

I am pretty excited overall. This is really a great product.

cfullgraf · Jul 20, 2017

That's good news. Glad you are pleased with the LabRadar. I have been happy with mine.

I'm working from memory and that is probably not a good thing. I think all the distance settings can be manually adjusted so you can set Dx1 to what ever you like. LabRadar just uses Dx1 to calculate power factor. Why they chose 11 yards as the default, I have no idea either.

But then, I've slept a bit since I last looked at the instruction manual.

entropy · Jul 20, 2017

Do Labradors go fast enough to Chrono?

Maybe the tail wag.....

Demi-human · Jul 21, 2017

Excellent findings Doublehelix. I am hoping Santa will remember I didn't buy as many firearms as I could have this year and I will find one of the LabRadar units under the tree.

I like my Caldwell unit fine enough. It wears a bullet hole just to the left of the display and still works fine.
I have no idea how it got there.

My greatest foil comes from lining up the target. Last time it was set I decided to just shoot through it, regardless of target alignment. I then proceeded to cut down twenty or thirty Birch saplings, just to the right of the target, with my Eagle. I was not impressed with me.
I was impressed by the lumberjack abilities of the Desert Eagle.

While I can not yet help with the technical questions with the LabRadar, I do wish you much enjoyment from it.

Doublehelix · Jul 21, 2017

Haha @entropy and @Demi-human! I love the lumberjack analogy of your Desert Eagle. That thing could probably take down a California Redwood!

I have to admit that I was a bit nervous after seeing a few YouTube videos with guys that could not get it to work at all. Honestly, I have no idea what they were doing wrong as it seemed pretty straight-forward after reading the manual and watching a couple of videos.

Even though this thing is pricey, I love it already. It was setup and ready to go in just a minute or two without any issues. So easy! No hassles, no point of aim issues with the strap-on chronys (Magneto Speed), no setup or light issues with the standard shoot-through models. It is just bliss!!! But the cost... (ouch).

I got a chance to play with the data last night, and I have to say, I am really impressed there as well. This thing is crazy cool, and there is way more data available than I really need, but it is fun to play around nonetheless and see what kinds of cool charts and graphs I can come up with in Excel!

Overall, after one session, I am thrilled. I will report back after a week or two once I really have a chance to analyze some new load workups and put it to *real* use.

Captaingyro · Jul 21, 2017

I assist a hand loading writer with his data collection and the LabRadar has been a Godsend. We frequently hit the range with thirty or forty different loads, sometime shot out of a variety of guns, and the LR has saved us quite a bit of time, especially in initial setup. Not having to align sky screens with a target, or worry about different lighting conditions, is a great luxury.

Initially the various sequences of button pushes were hard to master. Parts of the instructions are a little obtuse, and we are changing bullet weights frequently, so there was a learning curve. However, after hours of using the thing the buttons have become pretty much second nature.

Reliability, with one exception, has been remarkable. Occasionally it will miss a shot, but we can usually figure out what went wrong pretty quickly. The one shortcoming we've found involved shooting some 22 BR loads: the LR just can't see a 35 grain bullet doing better than 4000 fps. Since that's a relatively isolated corner of the shooting world we're certainly willing to live with it, and overall we love this thing.

Offfhand · Jul 22, 2017

Here's a quick and easy tip for anyone using or thinking about getting a Labradar chrono: The base sold by Labradar is a little more than a flimsy, underweight, overpriced piece of junk so I made a more workable base from a piece of 1/4" steel plate, as shown in attached photo, and attaching the chrono to a Wilton Jr. Powerarm with camera quick-detach mounts. The weight holds the unit securely in place on bench and the Powerarm allows easy positioning (sighting at target) and locks rigidly in place.

Captaingyro · Jul 24, 2017

First class job Offfhand. That's not going anywhere.

Setting up a Labradar Chrono

Doublehelix

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Demi-human

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