Thoughts on the LabRadar

I looked hard at the Lab Radar when I was shooting/reloading a lot. But I've slowed down and don't check velocity on every load and new loads are getting fewer and fewer. And $500.00+ for a tool that I might use four or five times a year is a bit much. Now, when I hit the lottery, a Lab Radar is high on my list...

I've been using my Pro Chrono for my air gun testing in my shop and for that, it's easy to set up and fairly accurate...

IMtheNRA said:

Based on my own personal experience, it is extremely convenient. However, it is also very fragile. Do not expect field grade durability from this equipment. I had mine repaired because the convenience was worth the price. If they
ever release a hardened model or one with a longer warranty, I would definitely upgrade to that one.

Click to expand...

I use mine indoors and outdoors. I treat it like any of my electronic tools I use in the field for my job. I do agree that it is not a hardened military grade piece of equipment which if it was the price would be stupid expensive but I’ve not had any issues with it because of use.
What did you have to get repaired?

Three of the screws that hold one of the PC boards inside came loose and fell out. They were rattling inside the labradar. It is a known issue. Two of the holes turned out to be too big for the screws, so I couldn't repair it myself and lab radar had to replace that half of the case. The USB port not only came loose from the case, but it also got wallowed out and did not provide a good grip on the USB cable plugged into it. The third and final problem was the LCD display became defective, and turned green with illegible characters. Labradar charged me about 150 or 160 bucks to fix all that, which I thought was a reasonable cost for an out of warranty repair.

Equipment does not have to be sub-milspec in order to be considered not field grade durable.

Four others and myself have had the LabRadar for several years and two have had them from the beginning of them on the market. So far none have had any issues like what you had and they get used a lot. Will have to keep an eye on them.
One thing that is irritating is the Bluetooth with iPhone sometimes works perfect sometimes not and that is with all of them even with the newest software. But it sure isn’t a deal breaker though. Like anything you get some good ones and you get some bad ones. So far we seem to have some good ones.

I have had mine for at least four years. Love it. I am a tech geek and love having all the data that I can get for my reloads. If you shoot long range, you will like its ability to accurately compute the bullets true ballistic coefficient.

I love my LabRadar.
Wonder why I had waited as long as I did to buy one.
Would definitely buy again.
I will say that when I read that there is a learning curve to learning to use it, I thought that could not be true, or at least not that complicated because in the videos it looks so easy to use. It is not hard to use, but there IS a learning curve. You really have to line up the firearm muzzle with the sensor area half way up the side of the case of the device or it just will not pick up the shots. You can make changes to the settings and the menus and settings are VERY easy to use and change, but it can be frustrating when the device does not pick up the fired shots unless the positioning is pretty close to perfect. Having said that, I still love the thing and can't see why anyone would get a different device, really.

peels said:

If you want load velocity info, the LabRadar certainly is one of the top chronographs to consider.

While it works great and is accurate, it is not without flaws. The main complaints from users seems to be the aiming of the unit, missed triggers, and short battery life.

The short battery life issue can be easily solved with a cheap battery pack.

Most people resolve the aiming issue with aiming aids. As simple as a cut to size drinking straw taped to the aiming notch is enough to resolve.

The sound based trigger is probably the most frustrating issue (if yours ever act up). The sound trigger also requires you to place the unit properly based on the type of firearm used (with and without brake, with silencer, 22LR, air gun, etc.) For centerfire rifles, solution is to get an external recoil trigger (or make one yourself)

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/labradar-recoil-trigger-diy.872618/

I have been using my home made recoil triggerfor the past few times for load workup. I can setup the labradar at a single location and not have to worry about shooting rifles with or without brake or different barrel lengths. It has made a good product simple and enjoyable to use.

I highly recommend the labradar and a recoil trigger.

Click to expand...

I'll second the recoil trigger. Never have to worry about the unit not picking up a shot.

Where to buy the recoil trigger?

gifbohane said:

Where to buy the recoil trigger?

Click to expand...

Here's the one I bought.
https://jklprecision.com/product/labradar-trigger/

I have an early LabRadar and like it very much. An external battery is a must but any USB battery pack should work just fine although I bought one from LabRadar when I bought the unit.

Aiming the LabRadar is important but I've found the the crude sites on the unit adequate. Maybe when using longer ranges than 100 yards a more precise aiming system might be needed.

I've not had any problems with triggering the unit as long as I remember to change it to the type of firearm being used (pistol vs rifle). Maybe supressed firearms might be a problem but I do not own any suppressors.

I save the data to a memory card, mine does not have blue tooth capability. It works fine. I transfer the data to the spread sheet program in my computer for results. I have no need to see the data in the field short of the individual shot info that shows up in the LabRadar's display.

Guns with muzzle brakes need to have the LabRadar shielded from the blast from the muzzle brakes. I've taped some corrugate material to the side of the LabRadar and it has worked reasonably well. If you shoot alot of guns with muzzle brakes, a more permanent shield would be in order.

I have an early version of the Magnetospeed chronograph. What a pain to attach it to the barrel. Figuring out the proper spacers to use and getting the tightening of the bayonet just right is not simple. In my opinion, not user friendly. Maybe the newer versions are better.

With the LabRadar system, it is nice that the unit is not in harms way of the bullet. I've had a few optical sensor chronographs expire from "lead poisoning". I do not expect the LabRadar unit to have that problem.

Just one data point.