Trouble with LabRadar

[Augenblick]

So after shooting my Caldwell chronograph dead I bought a lab radar. I took it to the range and couldn't get it to trigger using 147gr factory supers, RAR, Liberty Anthem S. I was set up correctly, right out of the book. Proper muzzle placement, trigger level and source all correct.

I finally called customer service which was excellent. The rep checked all my settings, had me place the muzzle 6" to the side and 6" behind the LabRadar and couldn't get it to trigger. He told me it was very quiet and asked what can I was using as there were a few that were quiet enough (thunderbeast and a couple others) that they couldn't trigger with the blast sensors. He had me tap to he sides where the sensors are located and they did cause a trigger signal. Having exhausted his troubleshooting remedies he had me switch to Doppler for the trigger and it worked. He congratulated me on the quiet can and said he would add it to his list of cans too quiet to trigger the labradar.

He recommended the airgun microphone trigger that they sell and steered me away from third party recoil sensors because he said they could work well for 10 rounds and then be kind of off for 10 rounds.

Have any of you experienced this and if so what are your solutions?

[BJK]

I recently experienced that with subsonic rimfire out of a rifle length barrel. I didn't take the time to solve it but If I had I would have used the doppler trigger. Next time at the range it's going to count so I'll get it to work.

My biggest issue is to remember to shut off the Bluetooth in the truck so that my phone can connect to the unit. I prefer, by far, the app to use the LabRadar rather than the backside panel.

Having moved to LabRadar from skyscreens I love my LabRadar. I can set it up in 5 minutes if I'm slow, and use it anywhere. I couldn't do that with my skyscreen (IR) unit.

[dellet]

I think I have always used Doppler.

Early on the reviews suggested that it would not work for most of my shooting needs, I have found that not to be true. Maybe because of the Doppler setting,

Full metal jacket bullets should be a problem. Something about the lead base and shape, a cupped base does not bounce the signal back to the unit in a straight path. Some people have claimed lead can also be a problem. 22 caliber might be too small to pick up and can fade out at distances past 100 yards. These were classic complaints.

The smallest cartridge I have tested is a 22 CB short from a 28” barrel. @680-700 fps. No problem to 50 yards.

Hollow base bullets seem to work fine.

The biggest problem I have is the splits for velocity. I shoot a lot of cartridges between 12-2000 FPS. The overlap of pistol and rifle settings is right where I often shoot, 1600-1800 seems to be the trouble spot.

The only other issue I have had was an unstable shooting bench. Should read folding card table, with heavy recoil. 38-55 with a 375 grain bullet. For some reason the unit has trouble gathering readings when it’s bouncing across the table.

I don’t know if you tried, or if it was suggested, shoot the same load with and without the suppressor. That should prove whether or not the problem is the Mic.

[Augenblick]

I did try it without the suppressor and it worked as intended.

The rep said that the doppler wasn't his first choice for a trigger because the projectile had to be a few feet past the labradar before it triggered so you don't get muzzle velocity. I think he mentioned something about the interval velocities as well but I can't remember it. I'll call again and find out. The customer service really was great. Quick connection and right to the issue.

Overall I really enjoyed my first time out with the labradar. Quick and easy setup and worked great once I figured out the trigger issue and I'm not going to shoot it.

[BJK]

Yes, doppler is covered in the manual as being the second choice due to the distance where it get's picked up. Too, the smaller the bullet diameter the less area to reflect the signal so it's "lost" closer to the unit than a larger caliber, again, in the manual. The only reason I mention the manual is because no one needs to take my word for it. If one goes to the LabRadar site a digital version of the manual can be downloaded in .pdf format and that makes it easy to look info' up in it rather than flipping pages.

[dellet]

Doppler may not get you the full potential of the LabRadar, but it is far more accurate and provides much more information than a standard chronograph, that unless your shooting high end matches, it won’t matter.

One of the features is the velocity over distance features. This allows you to estimate actual BC. When you verify that number with actual drops at different distances, you can decide if it’s accurate enough for your purposes. All I can say is that it is much more accurate than using published BC’s. Even more so when shooting subsonic. No one really publishes information for speeds under 1000 fps.

Honestly you probably have a bigger loss of accuracy not setting up the unit exactly the same every time, than most people will find switching between the trigger method.

[bangbangping]

He ... steered me away from third party recoil sensors because he said they could work well for 10 rounds and then be kind of off for 10 rounds.

I've tried every method there is. Ended up settling on the JKL trigger. After probably a thousand rounds, the only time it hasn't worked is when I forgot to stick it to the gun. The only downside is that it's so sensitive you can trigger it by working the bolt on a bolt action.

[Augenblick]

So I'm going the tinkers route. I bought some high sensitivity vibration switches and some 3.5mm phone jack cables and I'll get it tuned up and report back.

[Augenblick]

So I made my external trigger and plugged it in to test. Soldered two wires to the sensor and a few pieces of shrink tubing, so easy to make. Working as intended, really cheap to make. It is crazy sensitive. I adjusted the trigger level down to level 8 so it takes a decent tap to trigger. I'll have to adjust on the range to really see. If it is still too sensitive I'll order the normal sensitivity switches ($4-5/10 pack). I just mounted it to a picatiny QD mount. Looks great. I'll report back with pictures after the range.

Bangbang did you have to adjust trigger level/sensitivity with the JKL trigger?

[Augenblick]

Home made recoil trigger worked very well. As expected I had to adjust the trigger level.

I first shot supers (freedom munitions 147 gr) through the the RAR and the trigger worked great on level 6. 1974 fps.

Next i went to shoot the same round through the Rattler and couldn't get it to track the projectile. I switched to the blast trigger, Doppler, checked alignment nothing worked. I moved steel targets away from down range. Cleared obstacles from beam path. Something wasn't adding up. Turns out it was 11.5" of barrel length missing.

Apparently below 1600 fps you have to have it set for hand gun. I knew it would be slower just didn't know it would be that much slower. 1553 fps. So it was triggering but couldn't track the projectile at that velocity.

In retrospect it's kind of obvious but it was my first time shooting supers out of the Rattler since my first can was not rated for supersonics in the Rattler.

It was just my second time out with the labradar so I'm chalking it up to the learning curve.

Overall I really like it. I did the straw modification for alignment. I really like the recoil trigger. Easy to set up.