Doppler Chrongraph vs Oehler 35p

I was at the rifle range yesterday and several of my colleagues where extolling the virtues of Doppler chronographs. Up to now I’ve been using my trusty Oehler for almost 30 years. A little slow to set up and if you are not careful, blammo! Goodbye sky screen or worse yet electric eye. Luckily, they are not too expensive and the folks at Oehler don’t laugh too much when you call to reorder.

So anybody make the switch and if so, what do you like/dislike?  One thing I already noticed is you can set up multiple chronographs and take readings  (e.g. 10 ft from muzzle & @target) fairly easily.

Thanks agoin. Good shooting!

I switched to LabRadar, and am not looking to go back to two of my Oehlers.   Leaving aside that setting up LabRadar is way faster, it works at both outdoor and indoor ranges, provides for reliable reading up to 100 yards, not limited to 20 series, etc.  You really don't need multiple units, as it provides for reading at incremental distances.  Sample data below - indoor range, testing handgun ammo to 25 yards.

Stats - Average	758.63	fps
Stats - Highest	791.28	fps
Stats - Lowest	730.24	fps
Stats - Ext. Spread	61.04	fps
Stats - Std. Dev	19.94	fps
Shot ID	V0	V1	V10	V17	V20	V25	Ke0	Ke1	Ke10	Ke17	Ke20	Ke25	PF1	Proj. Weight	Date	Time
1	764	760	746	734	730	721	239	237	228	221	218	213	140.6	185	3/10/2019	9:37:18
2	730	729	716	705	701	691	219	218	210	204	201	196	134.87	185	3/10/2019	9:37:33
3	769	768	754	744	739	730	243	242	233	227	224	219	142.08	185	3/10/2019	9:38:50
4	791	781	764	750	746	735	257	250	239	231	228	221	144.49	185	3/10/2019	9:39:31
5	736	735	725	716	714	706	222	222	215	210	209	204	135.98	185	3/10/2019	9:42:32
6	741	737	726	717	714	704	225	222	216	210	209	203	136.35	185	3/10/2019	9:42:53
7	768	766	753	742	738	730	242	240	232	226	223	218	141.71	185	3/10/2019	9:43:05
8	774	773	760	749	745	737	246	245	237	230	227	223	143.01	185	3/10/2019	9:43:21
9	754	753	741	732	727	719	233	232	225	219	217	212	139.31	185	3/10/2019	9:43:30

 AP

I have and have used both for many years.  BOTH are of excellent precision and accuracy but the problem with the Ohler is to get the degree of precision of the Labradar you need at least a 4' rail and that is a PITA to carry around in your car/truck.

The other big reason is convenience.  Much easier to setup, no chance of shooting the chronograph, and no need to call time out at the range for a setup.

No comparison.

jlow wrote:The other big reason is convenience.  Much easier to setup, no chance of shooting the chronograph, and no need to call time out at the range for a setup.

+1 
This was my #1 reason for looking at the LabRadar was the statement above.  Having to stop the line to set it up was a hassle.  My outdoor range eventually banned ANYTHING past the firing line, even chronos. Luckily I had already bought the LabRadar.  All my indoor ranges let me use it - it is simply awesome!

I was the first one on this forum (May 2016) to buy one and I have had only 1 problem that was fixed basically overnight.  My card reader failed.
New tool - Labradar

Now you can control it with a mobile App too, both IOS & Android, which makes it even easier to control!
https://mylabradar.com/mobile-app/

- Dave

I was at the range shooting a ar15 with a suppressor.  A friend had his LabRadar doppler chronograph set up, so we tried about 10 shots with my rifle. it never pick one shot up. With a suppressor there must be something in the settings that need to be adjusted.

Neil308 wrote:I was at the range shooting a ar15 with a suppressor.  A friend had his LabRadar doppler chronograph set up, so we tried about 10 shots with my rifle. it never pick one shot up. With a suppressor there must be something in the settings that need to be adjusted.

FYI - from their FAQs
"Since there is very little muzzle blast pressure emitted from 22 rimfire, Airguns or suppressed firearms you may need to place Labradar approximately 3 inches in front of the muzzle and approximate 3 inches to the side. If your unit still will not trigger due to the low muzzle blast you can purchase the Air Gun Adapter to assist in triggering the radar."


- Dave

Another possible method for people using cans.  Change your trigger source to doppler as per these instructions:

Select the source of the event triggering the measurement.  The user can select from the following: 
• Trigger : Use the internal microphones built in the product’s enclosure or an external Trigger device. 
• Doppler : Use the Signal returned from the projectile to  Trigger the unit:  (Use of this mode should be considered with large projectiles travelling at really slow speed only). Do not use this mode for Firearms, it will affect the precision of the measurements.

jlow wrote:Another possible method for people using cans.  Change your trigger source to doppler as per these instructions:

Select the source of the event triggering the measurement.  The user can select from the following: 
• Trigger : Use the internal microphones built in the product’s enclosure or an external Trigger device. 
• Doppler : Use the Signal returned from the projectile to  Trigger the unit:  (Use of this mode should be considered with large projectiles travelling at really slow speed only). Do not use this mode for Firearms, it will affect the precision of the measurements.

The Doppler mode is more for archery/crossbow.  See in bold above.  The external trigger device is the one they recommend for air rifle/pistol & some suppressors.
https://buymylabradar.com/products/air-gun-trigger-adapter
-Dave

Thanks I missed that...