This will be the 3rd Crony in 20 years. I bought a Magnetospeed a while back but it doesn't work on pistols, and I don't like having to shoot through the "window" on photo cronys.

My concerns are-

Are they reliable across a wide range of calibers?
Relatively easy to operate?
Easy to set up?
Worth the money?

Yes
https://www.ar15.com/forums/Precision-Rifles/LABRADAR-v-MAGENTOSPEED-v-SHOOTING-CHRONY-comparison-FYI-APP-NOW-AVAILABLE-in-OP/10-6511/

@popnfresh would be the one to ask. Based on his analysis I will likely replace my magnetospeed with the labradar so I can crony pistols and my precision rifles without worrying about poi shift.

LabRadar can chrono arrows. It’s really a setting.
Work in any light or weather.
Set up on your bench.

If you have the coin, get it.

Love mine.

Set up is easier and faster than an optical chrony and you don't have the limitations in what firearms (or bows, apparently) you can use it with a la the Magnetospeed.

The downrange readings are also nice. I've used them in conjunction with long range targets to confirm manufacturer BCs or make my own for certain loads.

Do you have the money to blow?

Is knowing pistol velocity that important to you? I really don't care much myself, one time usually and that's it.
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Range of calibers:

I have used mine for .380 auto in pistol and that's it, worked fine.

In rifle, 223 to 45-70 it has worked flawlessly.

In 22lr it doesn't work worth a damn by itself , I think you need the remote microphone.  Again I don't really care about 22lr velocity.
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Easy of set up:

I have used it many times now and can set it up faster than I can setup my Magnetospeed. As a bonus over the Magnetospeed with multiple rifles you just set the next rifle under it and go, nothing to change, no swapping the bayonet.

I use a photo tripod with a ball head, set it in line with my rifle bipod and aim the V notch at my targets. I have found no need to add aiming tubes or anything.
Then just power it on and arm it.

It likes to be used on longer ranges (25yds+), I have gotten funky operation in short narrow shooting lanes(12yds x10yds).

On a very rare occasion the shooter next to me(~6-8ft) with a 338+brake will trigger the unit. That is rare and it doesn't pick up his velocity, it gives a message that it couldn't track the bullet.

I have never used it on internal battery power. I use a 11,000 amp hour pack connected by a usb cable. Can use it for several hours without worrying about disarming or whatever.
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Operation:
Operating it can be as simple as turning it on and arming it. This is what I usually do.

If you want to know energy or power factor  then you have to set  bullet weight and maybe caliber, which is simple enough.

I don't really care about that stuff. I may be shooting a 230gr 30cal but the setting is for a 55gr 22cal, it still works fine for MV, energy will be wrong though.

The only setting after initial setup you really have to worry about is pistol vs. rifle.

The new phone app is very nice because all that can be done from your phone and you will have the velocity info as well.
The app is a bit buggy , during a string my phone will sometimes lose the unit, but still worthwhile.
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Worth the money:

That depends. My main reason to get it was for long range shooting.
With multiple rifles, each having multiple loads, it was time consuming and ammo consuming with the Magnetospeed. Have to get velocities for each load, take off bayonet then fire more round to get zero data.

With Labradar I can use half the ammo and waste half the time. Plus I can use it all the while I'm shooting, if a shot is way off I can check the MV to see if that was the issue.

If not for the long range shooting I would have stuck with my Magnetospeed and Shooting Chrony.

If you wait for Thanksgiving you can likey get one for $400 from Brownells.

How I set mine up.
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Nice case to protect it(I bought this, not included unfortunately)
Pelican 1490
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Yes you want one

Great write up. Thanks for all the info. The main reason I want it is to get MV for my long range precision rounds without having to shoot a string for MV, then shoot a group for accuracy.

I usually do the OBT method so I'm pretty confident in the load, but I still want proof of group/zero so I end up wasting a lot of ammo (and the bullets are expensive).

Looks like you have verified that I still need one. Thanks again!

I'll never go back... but I use mine in my back yard, so setup is easy and there are no other shooters around. I'd say it takes me no longer than 20 seconds to set it up.  Used it for pistols (.380 and .45), .22s, .223, .308, .444, .458, and others. I use the microphone when shooting 308/223 suppressed.  Subsonic suppressed are a little more tricky, but once you get it in the right spot it's golden.  I also use a battery pack and it lasts multiple sessions between charge.  There is a bluetooth app out now, but I haven't loaded it yet as I don't really need it.

If you are at the mercy of a public range, I have read it can be a little more challenging not picking up other shots (especially if the guy next to you is shooting his 300 win mag).

I got one Monday. I have not had a chance to use it extensively but man was it easy to set up. I will never use an optical chrony again.

I have heard they have problems with round balls but I have not tried one to confirm. That's pretty niche though anyway.

Lab radar looks awesome.. but from watching military arms channel "operate" the GUI. It's a cluster fuck. Could be SOO much better..

I’ve been curious to try one, but not enough to push it to the front of must buy list.

I regularly use my magnetospeed on pistols.

Another perk of having suppressors.

The free phone app eliminates that issue.

I like mine.  All the good points mentioned above, but what I appreciate is the data management.  All done shooting and measuring, pull the SD card and the data is all in XLS format for spreadsheet manipulation.  So easy.

I'll compile the data, often merging several test cells onto one sheet.   Print it and add to my log book.  Makes for a neat and organized record.

The new firmware update and the phone app makes it much easier to operate. I tried it last week and makes operation so much easier, not that it was difficult before the update.

You definitely want one. I love mine, and can't recommend it highly enough. Mine even reads .22 LR from a pistol, but as mentioned, not that anyone cares, but I wanted to test it.

I had no issues with it before, but I do admit that the phone app is a really nice addition, and makes things loads easier.

I chrony pistol loads quite a bit at much less than 25 yards. I usually have my target at 10-15 yards, and the backstop/berm is probably 5 yards behind that. Seems to work well at that distance.

One thing to watch when shooting semi-autos... you need to give it a second or two between shots to process the previous shot and get ready for the next shot. Sometimes I get antsy and fire sequential shots too early and it will miss one. Just be patient, fire a shot, then pause and wait a second before shooting again.

I also have an external USB battery pack that I use to power mine, never have used the internal batteries.

I have a nice tripod with the ball head as well, and it is a snap to setup.

THE BIGGEST PROBLEM I HAVE: All my friends want to borrow it! Once they see it in action, they can't imagine going back to their old optical chronies, and want to borrow it all the time. My recommendation is to hide it from all your friends!!! LOL!

As soon as you see one in action, you will want one.  They just hit the market when I bought my Magnetospeed.  I wish I had waited, but I had an immediate need for a project.

I absolutely hate the fact that I need the directions to negotiate the menus on the Magnetospeed and have to have my reading glasses for those directions.  I have used the fucking thing exactly twice. Then I saw the Labradar at the range.  My woodie lifted the shooting bench.

The phone app is awesome and the firmware update seemed to fix the inconsistent readings I was getting.

Great idea. I see more and more people switching to the labradar.

Those with experience with the mobile app, any chance you could take some screen shots of the interface, setup, data, etc. and maybe discuss how you get the data onto a computer (if that's possible through the app).

That has interested me since I heard about the app and I can't seem to find much information on it post update.

Here are a couple of screen shots from the app:





The data comes off the Labradar as a .CSV file which can be imported directly into Excel. I created a macro to format the data a bit for my tastes, and I made the macro so that it calculates all the statistics in real time so that if I delete an obvious out-of-whack shot, it automatically recalculates all of the stats.

Here is a screen shot of the data output both BEFORE and AFTER running my macro:

BEFORE:



AFTER:



If anyone is interested in the macro, email me, but make sure you understand how to install and run macros in Excel before requesting, I am just up to teaching Excel to the masses!

I added a button on my toolbar in Excel that runs the macro with a single click, and makes my life pretty easy.

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I really like the fact that I can test for accuracy and speed with very little setup time.

How well do they work in a shorter indoor range 15yrds max

Better than I expected honestly. You can control the sensitivity, so even shooters in nearby bays do not trigger the unit. I also got stuck one time next to a concrete wall and was positive that it would never work, but surprisingly, it worked perfectly.

Super light. The manual says 2.1 lbs.

FWIW, mounting a lab radar isn't necessarily as easy as you might think.  For me, the cost/size/strength was optimized here - but of course YMMV.

https://www.ar15.com/forums/Armory/LabRadar-and-tripods-mounts/42-490284/

popnfresh I'm so jealous of your playground!

Turn on Bluetooth and location on your phone, turn on Labradar, then open app. LET THE APP DO THE CONNECTION. Don't try to connect manually through your Bluetooth menu.

Drag from left or tap the Labradar icon to get the menu.

Don't try to change any settings while the unit is armed, disarm then change settings.
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Then settings- application to setup fps, yards, etc.

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Then Labradar to setup Labradar itself.
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If you have multiple Labradars you would put them on different channels (TX Channel)
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TX Power "low" would be better for short ranges, "standard" for longer.
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Trigger level is how sensitive it is, setting "1", most sensitive, has worked for me.
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Source is how the unit is being triggered. "Trigger" uses the internal mic for gun shots, "Doppler" would be for big slow things like arrows I guess.
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The DX 1,2,3. ...are the distances the unit displays velocities or energy.
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Weapon Type is pretty clear but has velocity ranges.
Archery=66 to 738fps
Handgun=246 to 1722fps
Rifle= 984 to 3900fps
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Projectile Offset is how far the Labradar is from the barrel.
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Arm Time is how long the unit will stay armed without being triggered before disarming.

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At the top tap the "+" symbol to start a new string.

Then down is Series List which allows you to choose a previous shot string.

Series details show the avg, SD, ES, number of shots. At the bottom you can select fps, ft/lb or pf to see velocity, energy or power factor avg, etc.

Shot list allows you to select an individual shot from the string.

Shot details allows you to look at the details of an individual shot in the string.

Left and right arrows allow you to page through shots or strings.

Standard cheap-ish photo bipod with a ballhead and QD
I got from ebay.

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For rifle(or rested pistol) I always use it like this. It stays close to the barrel(the rifle is under it), out of the path of the muzzle brakes and the corner rests on the leg of the tripod for extra support.
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Standing pistol or rifle
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Took mine to the range today, for a 5 hr session.  What a great experience.

-6 AA rechargeable Enelops ran all day just fine
-The App is a godsend.  Much easier to change bullet weights, arm, start new strings, etc.  I do wish you could label your strings, but that's OK.  It does sometimes loose connection, but that'a non-item; as it seems to only happen while mid-string, and the labradar keeps on running just fine if so; so it's not a big deal.  
-Reconnecting after a lost connection is easier than I thought.  Just put the LabRadar from Active to InActive mode, and the App will be able to reconnect when you tell it to.  
-Reliability was good, though I am wondering if I should re-aim when changing targets now.  When I run it, I go and set up a days worth of targets all at once.  So there will be a 20' wide span of targets at 200 yards, and I just aim the LabRadar in the middle.  I'm not sure if that's ideal, as bullet's crossing in front of it going to a target on the far corner, perhaps will read different than actual velocity?  not sure.
-If anyone has figured out how to force this app to work on a Kindle Fire, that would be cool to know.  Same thing for Windows - this would be great coupled with something like a Surface Pro.

Love it!  Thank you sir for the macro, makes the analysis easier.  I like the boxes to add commentary on the load specifics.  I think if time allows, I'm going to dive into that, and see if I can:
A) Make it graph an overlay of all the shots on the summary page.
B) Autosave a .xls file of same name into the same directory (since .csv struggles apparently)
C) Put functions in there for Average and StndevA, rather than just the numbers, so that I can more easily delete a bad-shot within the new .xls file manually, and that will change the calcs when I do.
D) Run an entire directory of shots at a time (if that cn even be done)

I'll let ya know when I'm done - might not happen for a while.

This combined with your username made me laugh. Hahaha

I would love a copy once you get it finished. I don't have the labradar yet but will probably buy one this fall when I can catch one on sale.

Good work guys, this thread is an awesome resource for the labradar.

Popnfresh touched on this a little but I will expand.

If you shoot at ranges with other people you may get some false triggers. The only times I’ve had it happen is when the other shooter has a muzzle break. It’s only happened at covered shooting bays.

That’s really the only complaint I’ve had out of mine.

There should be a special place in hell for people that shoot muzzle breaks in covered shooting bays with a person 3-4ft away from them.

Is 10% off a good enough deal for a LabRadar or are there better deals at certain times?  Labor Day, Black Friday etc.   Bah, screw it.  10% is good enough shipped.  Guess I'm off to finally get one.  Hope it will work in the 100 yard indoor range I usually shoot at.

Wait until brownells has a better sale. Also check out otm tactical they have them in sale periodically.

I'm getting one.  Biggest hassle in hand loading has been getting to the range, getting the chrono setup and having good lighting conditions.  This would let me easily use it even on my recreational acreage where getting a tripod setup, inline, and level with the shooting lane is a flat pain in the ass.

Brownells has greater than 10% off deals?   I thought 500 was about the best one could do.

They do 15% sometimes. I haven’t checked to see if eBay has a seller for them.

I went back and looked otm had them $500 shipped a while back. So that’s right in line with them.

Around Thankgiving time they were on sale for 499 + 10% off code and free shipping.  $450 shipped.

What's the model of that tripod? I want to make sure I get the right thing, but the method of attachment on my labradar looks different than most of the ones I see on ebay.

Most any tripod should work. Most of them use the size screw.

If you are talking about my pictures, the bottom of my Labradar is showing the detachable mount  from the ball head threaded in place. The Labradar is just a standard 1/4-20 thread tripod mount hole.

Tripod model EDIT: Looks like it is no longer available, whatever you do don't get the Dynatran AT-360, I have it as well and it is flimsy plastic garbage.
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@popnfresh, why do you have it laying over the barrel at 90 degrees?  Why not just to the left side, back a few inches and upright (like the manual says.)   If you already commented on this, sorry I must have missed it.

Btw, I couldn't wait and got it at 10% + 7% Active Junkie from Brownells yesterday.

To get it close to the barrel. Standing up on that tripod makes it quite high. If I recall, it was preferable to keep the angle between the bullet path and Labradar small.

To keep it out of the muzzle brake blast. A low tripod would put it right in the blast.

I thought resting the corner on the tripod would take some stress off the mount hole.

Also It's a shorter distance to fall over and I can reach the "arm" button laying behind the rifle.

I already had the tripod so.....I just spent $700(case and Labradar full price) on a third chronograph, so if I already had something to use I was going to try to make it work.

I do think it is a better solution than what they sell, this works from prone to standing.  A board with a 1/4-20 screw sticking out of it would get the job done.

Find a good photography supply place and find what works for you.  This mount posted, with the winds we get at my range, would end up in catastrophe. 

I have my spotter on an XYX/theta gimbal from a high end tripod, mounted to a large c-clamp.  It is a standard camera mount.  It would work perfect for this app.

I also have a "magic arm" that would work for a lot of range setups. 

Photo supply places have tons of C-stands, clamps, weights, sandbags, etc that can be used to mount a rifle, spotter, tele, cam, or a labradar. 

Received it yesterday and took it to the indoor 100 yard range.  Worked great.  I did loose iphone/labradar connection several times but as posted previously, just disarm, reconnect.

A few times it looks like the 4th or 5th distance didn't read, no worries.  People shooting in the bays on either side of me didn't trigger the radar.  I had it it low mode as it suggested for indoor ranges.

Using a 18 dollar small tripod posted in this or popnfresh's topic.

I'm Using the macro posted above.  Now I just have to figure out how to have the macro available so I don't have to load it each time I open up a new series csv file.  Off to youtube for learning.

love mine.
mainly use it for load development of pistol rounds for my gun games.  
I can set to calculate pf

Been very happy with my LR.
App for iPhone had some issues but it looks like that’s new fixed.
Put mine on a Leofoto 223 tripod. Very cool Lillie tripod and works great for a spotter as well.