Labradar Range Setup and Operation

[@stenmoller5700]

Sir, I commend you on brilliant videos and a clarity which should be the envy of any teacher.

[@knowledge2you]

Thank you Sten. Your comment is appreciated.

[@2713walker]

Excellent video….clearest one I’ve seen re basics of operation. Thanks.

[@erikjensen6503]

And i really appreciate your videos on the Dillon as well using a 550b and it is wonderful

[@ozkhan5850]

Brilliantly done. Really enjoyed watching. Thank You.

[@knowledge2you]

You are very welcome Oz.

[@asbestos52]

Very useful info and to the point. Very nicely done, and thanks for the data sheet.

[@knowledge2you]

Thanks asbestos52. I hope you find the form useful.

[@Myfootinplaces]

Great video! I loved that you stuck to the facts. Great job!

[@knowledge2you]

Thomas, I am glad you found it useful.

[@jimh8023]

Thanks for the video, you do a great job providing detailed information. Can you provide information on your brass catcher when you have time. Thanks!

[@knowledge2you]

Thank you Jim. The brass catcher is from CMM Shooting Sports. Their link is below. They call it the ultimate brass catcher. At one of the ranges I compete at, the shooting tables are so small, there is no room for the brass catchers metal base. So I purchased the CMM clamp base. Also, if it is windy and you are shooting a lot, the catcher can become top heavy. When that happens, I place a box of ammo on the base plate. www.cm-machine.com/

[@erikjensen6503]

As a fairly new reloader i have been looking to get a chronometer. In research the labradar seems to have good reviews, accuracy, simplicity in setup and works from the shooting line. Do you ever use it on the range when others are shooting? Any issues with it? Cost is high but buy one cry once. Is it worth the cost?

[@knowledge2you]

I realize I answered this on the other video, but if someone else reads your comment and has the same question, here is my answer. Yes, I have used it when there were other shooters. But they were on the adjacent range, so they were not close. I used the Trigger Level preference to decrease the sensitivity by selecting a higher Trigger Level value. If they are shooting right next to you, you will have two issues. One, you may not be able to set a high enough Trigger Level to prevent their muzzle blasts from triggering your device. Second, lets assume you can set a high enough Trigger Level so that only your blast causes the Labradar to start measuring, if the person next to you fires at about the same time as you do, then as the Labradar starts recording your velocities, the other person’s bullet may enter the radar’s signal, thus causing erroneous readings. This may show up as a low signal-to-noise ratio in the individual shot csv files. What you may have to do is monitor the shooters around you. When you see an opportunity to shoot when no one else is, you can take your shot. Remember, you don’t have to hit the 10 or A ring for the Labradar to do its job. Also, learn how to delete a shot in a series while at the range. If you are waiting and you see someone else’s shot set off your unit, once it has finished recording, delete that shot. Not the ideal situation, but there is no way I would use a traditional chronograph when people are shooting close to me. A typical chronograph is placed in front of the firing line, and if someone accidentally shoots it, you may not have recourse since you intentionally put an object (your chronograph) down range.

[@theLubenator]

I do enjoy all the videos of yours, no-matter if they do apply or not to my needs! Thank you! I've a question regarding the battery you purchased for your Labradar. It does say 10k mAh battery and my question is does it last one day or more/not?

[@knowledge2you]

Thank you Lubenator. Yes, the battery has lasted me for the better part of a day. When I was finished for the day, it still showed plenty of charge remaining. The day before I know I am going to use it, I check the battery level (press the button), and if less than 90%, I charge it. By the way, the battery can be used to recharge a mobile phone, not just power the Labradar.

[@knowledge2you]

Lubenator, the following comment showed up in my feed, but I do not see it in the comments section of the video. Sometimes I get notified of a comment but then it does not show up for some reason. “knowledge2you Thank you! I'll probably pick one up. Today I went to the range for a first time with the Labradar and I did my velocities checked and zeroed based on V. Now at home and without SD card installed (did not arrive on time yet) I can not download my files via the USB cable provided! Wonder why? Is their a restriction? Is SD card a must for download option to be available? Another question pops up now, in later time when SD card is installed in place, would the recorded data be automatically recorded to it or it's lost? The manual doesn't specify anything about all that....very vaguely downloading explained...” In case you did not delete the comment, part of the answer is on page 17, section 4.3.9, v 1.2 of the User Manual, it states ‘The data recorded in the internal memory only (while there was no SD card inserted) cannot be accessed by USB. It is only viewable on the display screen’. So, this means that any data stored in the internal memory of the Labradar cannot be downloaded. Once you insert a SD card, any previous data stored in internal memory will not be written to the card. However, you do not have to tell the Labradar to write NEW data to the card. It does it automatically.

[@knowledge2you]

In case you have not seen it, I do have a video on the organizing, downloading and analyzing of the Labradar data. kzbin.info/www/bejne/goWTZZuffLatmJo

[@theLubenator]

@@knowledge2you Thank you! I found that part in the manual yesterday... disappointing to know that the data would be available only on my cellphone in many pages and scrolls, ratter one spreadsheet on one screen! They could have made that file on the internal memory for cellphone app to be an excel file as well. People could safe the data and emailed to self and others as needed. I thank you! You have been very kind to all of us!

[@knowledge2you]

@@theLubenator I am glad you were able to find it, even though it is not what you wanted. The manual did say that when recording data in internal memory, it records less data than what it records on the SD card. I do not know what data they don't record/store, but they obviously want us to use SD cards. As a side note, if a buddy goes to the range with you to record velocities on your Labradar, make sure they bring their own SD card. It will be a lot easier for them to take home their own SD card than you downloading it and emailing a bunch of files to them.

[@hbsoldier3]

Great video, any chance I could get a copy of your data sheet?

[@knowledge2you]

Sure. When you click the link below, it should open in another tab of your web browser. Click the download icon to copy it to your computer. Then perform your due diligence by scanning it for viruses before opening it. drive.google.com/file/d/1Ocj8yfEVaGXTTwGw30kiQal896Lhim4y/view?usp=sharing

[@JNRK3006]

Great videos!! Your descriptions make perfect sense and are comprehensive with the information. A question or two.....I have several series on the LR (no SD card...yet....I just took it out and started using it).......I get how to find Power Factor by holding down the ARM button for several seconds and getting to the three screens showing me KE and PF.....HOWEVER...I seem to be only able to do it for the last series. I have been unable to scroll back to a previous series and get the PF and KE info. Also, is there a way to add shots to a series previously fired? If I'm on series 0005 and want to add shots to series 0003, can I? And how? I've tried to select a series (previous to the last one shot), hit the ENTER button which displays the last shot of that series, but when I hit the ARM button it kicks me back to the last shot of the last series I shot, not the one previous to it that I want to add to. Thanks again for putting this information out there!!

[@knowledge2you]

Unfortunately, there is no way to add a shot to a 'previous' series. If you were desperate to add a shot to series 0003 and did not care at all about series 0004 and 0005, you could try deleting series 0004 and 0005, but that is an educated guess on my part since I have not actually tried it. [I know they are not on the SD card, but if they were, you could have copied series 0004 and 0005 to a computer, then delete them in the Labradar unit (don't delete a series off the SD card via your computer) and might be able to add shots to series 0003.] The reason I think this would work is because a series is not locked until you create another series and if you delete the current series, the last previous series becomes the current series. I do not think you will be able to look at the 'additional' PF and KE screens because as soon as you press the Arm button, its going to take you to the current series. But let me do some research regarding this and I will get back to you.

[@knowledge2you]

@Sleeplessknights I have confirmed (on my own Labradar) that if you are willing to delete series 4 and 5, you will be able to add shots to series 3. LR will only add shots to the current/most recent series. By deleting series 4 and 5, series 3 becomes the current series. I have also confirmed that you can only see the KE and PF screens on the current series. This is because once you put LR into arm mode, it automatically jumps to the current series and will stay there. And you can only see these screens in arm mode. [Correction. See additional post below.]

[@JNRK3006]

@@knowledge2you Hey thank you for the answers to my questions and the suggestion about deleting back to a previous series. This makes perfect sense and I'll utilize it next time at the range. Here's another question for you.............I understand why I'd want to set the first Dx distance at 10 feet if I was concerned about an accurate power factor for USPSA purposes (which I am for certain pistol loads), but why should I be concerned about these Dx distances for an application where all I'm concerned about is muzzle velocity? For building a hunting load for instance, is there a reason to adjust these out to a series of yardages? Or maybe a long range (1000 yd) load for a .308? I also want to thank you for the form that you showed in your videos. I made up something very similar for a written record. I appreciate the help!!

[@knowledge2you]

@@JNRK3006 You are not required to set the Dx distances. They are there for us to use as needed. Not using them will not lower the V0 accuracy. Using them will not improve the V0 accuracy. In the handgun sport I compete in, we shoot at two specific distances. 25 and 50 yards. So I set Dx 1 to something less that 25. I set Dx 2 to 25. I set Dx 3 to something between 25 and 50. I set Dx 4 to 50. And I set Dx 5 to something greater than 50. The only ones I care about are Dx 2 and 4. I am not a hunter, but assume I have my hunting scope marked for 50, 100, 200 and 300 yards. I would set my first three distances to 50, 100 and then 200. I would not be able to set a distance to 300 because the maximum you can set a Dx distance to is 273 yards (250 meters). The minimum is 1 yard (1 meter). The LR marketing material says its theoretical maximum is 100 yards. And that would be under ideal conditions. I am not sure if you had a chance to see the data analysis video (link below), but this is basically how LR works. When you shoot, once the LR picks up the projectile, it will start recording velocities until it can no longer pick up the projectile. In the shot series I use in the data analysis video, the LR did not pick up the projectile until it (the bullet) was about 18 feet down range. It then continued to record velocities about every half yard. And for that particular series, it recorded over 100 velocities even though the impact berm was 53 - 55 yards away. Once it has all these data points, LR then constructs a predictive model (my guess is a linear regression since there is a strong linear relationship between distance and velocity). It then uses that predictive model to calculate/estimate/predict muzzle velocity (V0). It then uses the same model to calculate what the velocity is for each Dx distance. Hence, setting the Dx distances to specific values will not affect how LR works. It kinda does not care what the Dx values are. It captures a large number of velocity data points and then uses those data points to predict V0 and the Dx distances. Which is actually a good thing because this allows us to set Dx to what we need and not worry if it will affect LR. kzbin.info/www/bejne/goWTZZuffLatmJo

[@JNRK3006]

knowledge2you excellent answer! I did watch your data analysis video......reading your answer above filled in some gaps in my understanding of the process. I appreciate your work on these videos!!

[@JoeInMemphis]

So every time the orange light did NOT blink when you fired, was that a shot it missed recording?

[@knowledge2you]

Yes. Not sure of all the reasons why it won't record a shot, but if I shoot too fast, it could miss subsequent shots. If you need a minimum number of shots, before creating a new series, use the display to see how many shots it actually recorded, and if not enough, shoot some more.

[@eltorrente1021]

I'm curious - if you have AA batteries installed, then plug in the usb power, will the unit draw power from the usb and not drain the batteries? I would want to keep the AA's installed but only use them for backup in case the usb device ran out of power.

[@knowledge2you]

I have never tried that since I only use the battery pack. However, the display will show, in the upper right, either a power cord symbol or a battery symbol to denote which one it is drawing power from. So if you put in the requisite batteries, plug in the battery pack, turn on the battery pack and then turn on the unit, I would assume the display will tell you which one it is using. If you are not going to use your unit for any length of time, you will want to remove the batteries.

[@tele1311]

Just got my labradar the other day...& I wondered the same thing. So I keep AA's in it to check settings & review shots. But when I'm using the unit for testing Velocity I run it off a battery pack. When you have batteries in the unit and it sees you plug in a power source from the USB it automatically switches over to that power source. And when you pull the USB it automatically switches to the internal batteries.

[@knowledge2you]

@@tele1311 That is good to know. Thanks for the info.

[@eltorrente1021]

@@tele1311 Thanks for the answer!

[@erikjensen6503]

What is the brass catcher that you are using?

[@knowledge2you]

CMM Shooting Sports

[@erikjensen6503]

Thanks. Never seen such a contraption but it will keep me from picking up strange brass and keep mine clean