Labradar Chronograph

[ny32182]

I've never shot mine, and don't plan to, either.

There is no prize for getting the bullet as close to the sensors as possible. Shoot up into the top half of the available area under the screens, and you should never come anywhere close to hitting the chrono.

 

[Jim Watson]

I don't chronograph as much as I used to, if I did, I would buy a Labradar. As it is, my Pro Chrono Digital is adequate.

Its main advantage to me is that it is right beside you on the firing line. No back and forth walk to align Skyscreens.
If you shoot on a crowded range, not having to beg permission of a range officer and other shooters to go downrange to set up, align, and then recover gear is a huge advantage.

It does not track a bullet as far as the early artist's conception showed.
Will it get you widely enough separated readings to figure BC of a mystery bullet?

 

[jmorris]

I've never shot mine, and don't plan to, either.

There is no prize for getting the bullet as close to the sensors as possible. Shoot up into the top half of the available area under the screens, and you should never come anywhere close to hitting the chrono.

That's the way I see it, no need to chronograph loads that can't stay inside a pie plate at 10 ft.

My "stop making all that racket" fix has an even smaller entrance and exit and I haven't put any more holes in it yet either.

 

[gspn]

Jmorris - that is the BIGGEST suppressor I have ever seen!!!!

What a novel idea.

 

[climbnjump]

Will it get you widely enough separated readings to figure BC of a mystery bullet?

The short answer: Nope.

Depending on the caliber and design of the base of the bullet, it will track out to about 130 yards or so - less for smaller calibers. That's not far enough to get accurate BCs. The BC of a bullet isn't a constant but varies as the speed of the bullet varies. Testing over such a short range as the LabRadar is capable of, just isn't going to result in a realistic number suitable for long range shooting.

 

[cfullgraf]

I've never shot mine, and don't plan to, either.

There is no prize for getting the bullet as close to the sensors as possible. Shoot up into the top half of the available area under the screens, and you should never come anywhere close to hitting the chrono.

I never planned to shoot my chronographs either but both happened when I got in a hurry to finish before a couple of rain storms. One was a 45 ACP M1911, the other a 204 Ruger rifle. Haste makes waste.

An update...

I'm liking the LabRadar. I'm finding it quicker and easier to set up than either a typical optical chronograph or a Magnetospeed. (I shoot out back so I do not have to compete with other shooters at public range.)

So far, the only miss-read that I have had was when I did not arm the unit. I do wait to see the current shot data on the screen before shooting the next. I've collected 30-40 or so strings of data, mostly handgun since I acquired the LabRadar.

Aiming the unit is crude but I have not had any issues. I just take time. But, some kind of aiming aide would make it easier. A longer sight radius would be helpful.

The LabRadar stores data in .csv files (comma separated values). They use a semi-colon for the delimiter, which I understand is fine for Microsoft based software but does not work with Apple's Numbers. So, I have to rinse the file through a text editor to change the semi-colons to commas. Then the file loads in Table format in Numbers. The files include a summary file and then a data file for each shot.

I add some information to the Numbers file and print it out for filing.

The down range data is interesting but I have not really found any use for it yet. My range is only 100 yards, so a 130 yard limit is not a restriction for me--yet.

In reviewing the data from the LabRadar and previous data from other chronographs, I have been seeing some discrepancies. I'm not sure if it is different dates and conditions or something related to the instruments. I'll probably set up a second chronograph and collect data from the two chronographs simultaneously.

 

[Load Master]

The short answer: Nope.

Depending on the caliber and design of the base of the bullet, it will track out to about 130 yards or so - less for smaller calibers. That's not far enough to get accurate BCs. The BC of a bullet isn't a constant but varies as the speed of the bullet varies. Testing over such a short range as the LabRadar is capable of, just isn't going to result in a realistic number suitable for long range shooting.

It might not be a perfect calculation, but it can be used to compare different bullet shapes and design if you choose to do so.



The best distance with a 30 cal bullet is 100 yards data capture. With .223 the best distance data capture is about 60 yards.

I read where the future units might be chainable. Allowing a number of units to talk to each other and cover a longer distance than what is possible with one. I won't hold my breath for this, but maybe someday.

 

[climbnjump]

It might not be a perfect calculation, but it can be used to compare different bullet shapes and design if you choose to do so.

I guess my short answer from a couple of posts above was too short really, because it reflects my bias for using the numbers for long range.

So yep, if you are trying to accomplish what you suggested, it will do that. But accurate BC calcs for long range shooting - no.

Early on, I compared LabRadar track data for a few 6mm bullets to published BC data in Brian Litz's book, "Applied Ballistics for Long Range Shooting"and basically came up with about a +/- 5% or so error from his published short range data. And short range data almost always tends to overstate the true effective BC needed for longer range ballistics.

(Like your .223 data, I was only getting about 60 yards of track data for the 6mm bullets and that just isn't enough for accurate BC calcs.)

So I guess the LabRadar data that is close enough to be interesting, but not close enough for what I was trying to do.

 

[Jim Watson]

Equipment check at the IDPA match yesterday had a LabRadar.
It worked fine on pistol bullets and obviously very convenient to set up with no risk of shooting the detectors by working hurriedly to get through 144 guns.