Labradar Recoil Trigger (A $5 diy project)

[UL1700]

Ok 1st off I take no responsibility for any damage you may do to your Labrader. That out of the way, if you are looking for a reliable trigger for your Labrader here is how to do it.

You will need a:

Fast Vibration Sensor e.g https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/5-Pack-Fast ... 2749.l2649

A 1.5K ohm resistor e.g https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/CR25-0-25W- ... ctupt=true

1 100nf Capacitor e.g https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Monolithic- ... SwkHFb~huL

A stereo 3.5mm jack plug and wire (i cut up a headphone lead)

A mount (your design)

Ok so the microphones supplied by Labrader have a low pass filler in hence the cap and resistor. You may get away without but realistically its easy and cheap to build so why risk it. To wire up simply connect one leg of the capacitor to one leg of the resistor to one leg of the vibration sensor (three connections on one joint) now connect the other leg of the resistor to the tip of the jack (normally the blue wire) the leg of the capacitor to the middle of the jack (normally the red wire) and the remaining leg of the vibration sensor to the back of the jack (normally the screen) and you have it a vibration activated trigger for the Labradar.

20200806_114849 by James Elphick, on Flickr

Trial Setup

[UL1700]

Labradar Original Wiring

20200803_162205 by James Elphick, on Flickr

[UL1700]

Mine mounted in a old v cheap bubble level, you can mount the filter components at the plug or the rifle end

20200806_141038 by James Elphick, on Flickr

[UL1700]

Any questions feel free to ask

20200806_141329 by James Elphick, on Flickr

James

[Gyro]

I have a question. Am I the only shooter who has had problems getting a Labradar to pick up a shot ? Make that lots of shots.

[6.5x55ai]

Interesting.
I tried to purchase from 2 of the known (to me) makers/sellers in the States.
One guy replied that he doesn't export whilst the other did not reply to my multiple emails.
Tried to buy thru an intermediary and they wanted about a 100 us bucks to perform the service.

So a homebuilt solution interests me.

[UL1700]

I have a question. Am I the only shooter who has had problems getting a Labradar to pick up a shot ? Make that lots of shots.

Yes can be an utter shit, mine got much worse once the new "acoustic" shed was built to shoot from at LangLang. Playing with the sensitivity settings helped but its still infuriating when it happens.

[UL1700]

Interesting.
I tried to purchase from 2 of the known (to me) makers/sellers in the States.
One guy replied that he doesn't export whilst the other did not reply to my multiple emails.
Tried to buy thru an intermediary and they wanted about a 100 us bucks to perform the service.

So a homebuilt solution interests me.

Well if you are half handy with a soldering iron, they are very easy to make. I have seen the "commercial" options but had several issues with them including size, fitment (Velcro ) price and availability, and method of manufacture (appear to be 3d printed and potted)

[Rich4]

Great work, thanks for sharing

[SPI200]

I have a question. Am I the only shooter who has had problems getting a Labradar to pick up a shot ? Make that lots of shots.

Hi Gyro,

Your definately not alone. Our club got one for our 22 rimfire shooters to test ammo, so many missed shots it was unusable. We got the Air rifle microphone and it works much better but still needs to be placed near the muzzle to trigger every time.


Cheers

Dave

[Tim L]

Have you got any components left James?
It looks like those triggers are only available from China,,, via carrier pigeon!

[UL1700]

Have you got any components left James?
It looks like those triggers are only available from China,,, via carrier pigeon!

I'm down to my last one but I found a 10 pack on ebay here:

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/283970102112

I have stacks of caps and resistors so I you are prepared to wait I can get more switches and probably post out enough components for you to make two units for $5 you would need to source your own lead and mount. If I can find cheap enough plugs and mounts I may make a few up to fit to the pic rail as shown but it won't be quick as I will probably have to get the mounts from China

[AlanF]

I've had no problems with missed shots, just an occasional extra phantom shot of around 2000fps that doesn't correlate with other shooting, and only a minor nuisance. I bought a recoil trigger for the sole reason of bringing the Labrador buttons within easy arm's reach. Works very well.

[6.5x55ai]

I have a question. Am I the only shooter who has had problems getting a Labradar to pick up a shot ? Make that lots of shots.

Hi Gyro,

Your definately not alone. Our club got one for our 22 rimfire shooters to test ammo, so many missed shots it was unusable. We got the Air rifle microphone and it works much better but still needs to be placed near the muzzle to trigger every time.


Cheers

Dave

I have fired hundreds of 22 rf past mine using the airgun mic and once getting the correct internal setting and microphone position sorted I never missed a shot. That included testing ammo with suppressor ( sorry, swear word...) fitted.
Also no issues with my PCP also with suppressor.

BUT, still get the odd failure to detect with CF though despite having close to perfect alignment ie all bars displayed.
Have also read of issues with the airgun mics. Variable performance between different mics.

Recoil trigger way to go.

BTW I use the phone app to communicate - no reaching over to hit buttons or getting up and going around to reach buttons. But surprise surprise it occasionally drops its connection.

[AlanF]

We have multiple LabRadars being used at Rosedale and there have been a few problems. One recently discovered was faulty SD cards (two instances) so try changing that first if you're getting missed shots. Mine has been ultra reliable. If you're having problems it may be worthwhile trying the settings below - they may not be what you think you should have, but they work for me .

Set Proj. offset : 12 in
Set distances : 1 Dx1, 2 Dx2, 3 Dx3, 4 Dx4, 5 Dx5 (yd)
Trigger source : Trigger
Trigger level : Level 1
TX Channel : Different from everybody else!
TX Power : Low