Labradar was developed by infinition, who makes commercial grade ballistic radars. I've used infinition radars many times in ballistics tests. Reliable triggering is critical, and these radars are triggered acoustically by placing a microphone right next to the muzzle. They also sell optical triggers, but I haven't used one.
In my experience, even the expensive infinition radars are limited to about 600 yards range or less for small calibers. Ballistic radars can be somewhat sensitive to terrain features and down range objects.
In my work, I'm often looking for spin rate data. With the infinition radars we use, data analysis is largely a manual process, often requiring some trial and error. Doppler sidebands have to be identified in noisy data and fit to an analytic function. Operation could be easier for just muzzle velocities.
If the Labradar works well, I'm buying one. The YouTube videos look pretty cool, but I rarely use a chrono when no one else is shooting next to me. If the Labradar doesn't operate reliably at a public range, I'll pass.
Before I commit to buying, I want to see a few range reports under typical shooting conditions, especially at a covered line with other shooters next to the radar. My main concerns are:
How reliable is the software? I want an accurate muzzle velocity every time I pull the trigger. When I set up an optical chrono, that's what I get at least 95% of the time. If the Labradar software is not robust, that won't happen.
You have to manually arm the Labradar before each shot. The software takes about a second to process data and display results after the gun fires. Then you have to arm the radar again for the next shot. The settings menu offers five trigger levels. After optimizing trigger levels, how often does the Labradar false trigger when someone next to me fires a gun? What if I'm firing an unbraked .223 rifle and the person next to me is firing a braked .338 Edge?
Do I need the external trigger for archery to prevent false triggers? How much does it cost and when will it be available? I would prefer to attach a trigger to the gun. This what I usually do when I want a reliable trigger in a ballistics test.
Do metallic targets down range cause interference if they are within the field of view of the antenna? A 12" metal target will have a radar cross section 2,300 times higher than that of a .25 cal bullet. Will the radar receiver handle that background signal? Labradar has two power levels. The lower one is recommended to reduce interference from down range objects, but this setting has a shorter range. How much shorter?
