Ketsrel with or without Bluetooth for FFS??????

[matt2143]

I have been thinking about the pros and cons of picking up a Kestrel with Bluetooth or not. This will be used with FFS on a Nomad. I am curious to hear others inputs on the subject.

The way I operate is I check the DA at random intervals but keep my PDA handy. I doubt I would ever keep my Kestrel out and on during a shooting trip since I rarely shoot on a square range and having the Kestrel baking in the sun while on the ground will give me inaccurate results. My other concern is turning on and off Bluetooth each time on the Nomad and using more battery life on both devices to run the BT. I do see the benefit for those that can set a Kestrel on a tripod with the wind vane but most of what I do is gauge wind direction and speed via other methods and usually use the Kestrel at the FFP for a double check.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[JohnnyC]

The only time I ever use the bluetooth with FFS is when I have it on the weather vane mount, and that's only when I'm scouting if I have to shoot from a position on a ridgeline. Other than that, it stays off. It's easy enough to input DA yourself. I got a smoking deal on it, that's the only reason I got bluetooth.

 

[matt2143]

can you input just a DA value into FFS? I thought I had to input temp, humidity, and pressure....

 

[EXTREMEPREJUDICE]

Personally I believe it's a no brainer. If you have the Bluetooth it is providing the atmospheric data in real time to the ballistic computer so that you can concentrate on making the shot, rather than collecting and inputting data. Sure, you can do it manually but with that in mind you can do your homework and create baseline dope and use a data book and wind reading experience to make your call too. Since you can cycle it on/off (save battery) the only real consideration is the cost and if you have purchased FFS and a Nomad (sizeable investment) why not get the most out of the kit you can? Actually, I really like using it when I am calibrating the software to work with my load development and am doing some tweeking to the ballistic app to match what actually is happening. Of course, like everything else your individual plan and process will be different than mine so......................YMMV.

 

[thrusty]

Personally, I was looking for the Bluetooth model. Just seems like a nice feature if you can sync it up to your ipod/iphone where it's streaming the data right to your ballistic app. Keeps you from having to manually input the data. I had also planed on getting the weather vain and setting it up on a tripod on a match day. Maybe if I do that and charge guys a $5.00 fee to connect to the Bluetooth during the match I could pay it off.

 

[Lowlight]

It's not good to leave the Bluetooth running because it kills the batteries on both units.

You don't need to constantly update weather in real time, once an hour is generally enough.

 

[scorehi]

I have both FFS and a Bluetooth Kestrel. When I first set it up I thought it was cool, real time and everything. When it came down to it, it was a very complicated way to do something very simple. Atmospheric conditions don't change that fast. If you need to update conditions in FFS it is so simple, just look at your Kestrel and open presets in FFS enter it and it is done. To use the Bluetooth you have to establish a connection and let it update. When the PDA automatically shuts off after a designated period of time while connected it reeks havoc and sometimes locks up my PDA and I have to do a hard boot to get it up again. Way too much time, way too much trouble. You will spend a bunch of time playing with your PDA and much less time with your rifle. Frank is right, to leave it on is a huge drain on the batteries of both unites. You constantly have to establish a connection then terminate the connection its a needless pain. It will solve for wind but the wind where I am at is never
the same as it is along the bullet path. When I'm on the side of a mountain protected by trees and I'm going to shoot across a canyon it is worthless. You have to look up at the tree tops, levees on the trees of the other side of the canyon and make the best guess you can. I guess if you put the kestrel on a 50 ft stick with a weather vane on the top you might get some useful data but it can't compensate for the terrain and how the wind is going to behave along the bullet path. The crosswind function of the Kestrel is way faster than tying to use the Bluetooth feature. I bought the Bluetooth Kestrel as soon as it came out used it a few times and realized it was just not worth it and I have not used it since and I'm not planning on using it again. I do however have a Bluetooth range finder that I use with FFS and it is just way too cool.

 

[matt2143]

Yea I have no intentions of using the kestrel on the line for windage solutions since everywhere I shoot has no consistency, could be 2-3 mph at FFP and 15+ downrange. I was just looking for input on the weather data side. It is only 3 values and my original guess was that battery life would experience a negative effect on both units. Thanks guys I went with a non BT kestrel again to conserve battery power on the kestrel and more importantly the NOMAD since I do not have the AA battery boot. I do not need up to the minute data and wind values are from what I read down range.

 

[LastShot300]

I run ColdBore (Mobile) from Patagonia, and is very easy to pair the software to the Kestrel.

Since ColdBore takes Density Altitude (or all the usual parameters) in order to maximize battery, sometimes it's pretty much easy to read DA out of the Kestrel and enter the value onto the software. A thing I have found, is the Kestrel interface of ColdBore automatically takes the units from the Kestrel and there is no need to setup the right units like in FFS. You can mix up units in any module and the software will do the rest for you. No chance for an operator error.