I got my new Plrf yesterday. It is very nice. I ranged a hill 7800m away last night, off hand. That's 2600m farther than my 15c can do.
Today I mapped the beam using a tripod and aiming at power lines. It looks like a vertical beam 2x1mrad.
I also paired it with my Kestrel. Once paired and locked, you can turn the Kestrel off and then turn it back on when needed without additional fumbling.
The Plrf transmits the equivalent horizontal range and your shot direction to the Kestrel which gives you the firing solution compensating for wind. The speed of the "transaction" between the Plrf and Kestrel is instant, or not:
For example, you can set the time of the BT connection from 15s to 15m. If the former, the Plrf remains asleep until you take a measurement. It then establishes a connection with Kestrel and sends the data which takes about 15s from the time you push the button. Then it disconnects after 15s of inactivity and goes to sleep until you take another measurement. If, on the other hand, you set the BT connection for a longer period, then the rate of transmission is instant during the connection period.
I identified one issue, however: if the Plrf sends a distance reading outside 20-3800m, the Kestrel will throw an error message and terminate the BT connection. The Plrf will then attempt to reconnect, but it won't be able to. It will stop trying after 30-40 seconds and go to sleep. Once that occurs, taking another measurement will cause the Plrf to reestablish the BT connection which takes 15s. So basically if you range outside the 20-3800m window, your BT connection will go down for about a minute while everything resets. I don't like that, so I emailed AB hoping they can fix the issue in their next software upgrade.
Is this setup worth $10k? Nope. But it sure is beautiful. The 25c with Kestrel weighs the same as a 15c by itself. The 25c is more ergonomic and easier to operate. The glass in the 25c is better. The 25c ranges farther. The 25c has a more useful beam orientation: it is vertical. The 15c has a diagonal beam sloping downward from left to right. The BT is very convenient. The thought of cables in the wilderness just doesn't appeal to me.
Today I mapped the beam using a tripod and aiming at power lines. It looks like a vertical beam 2x1mrad.
I also paired it with my Kestrel. Once paired and locked, you can turn the Kestrel off and then turn it back on when needed without additional fumbling.
The Plrf transmits the equivalent horizontal range and your shot direction to the Kestrel which gives you the firing solution compensating for wind. The speed of the "transaction" between the Plrf and Kestrel is instant, or not:
For example, you can set the time of the BT connection from 15s to 15m. If the former, the Plrf remains asleep until you take a measurement. It then establishes a connection with Kestrel and sends the data which takes about 15s from the time you push the button. Then it disconnects after 15s of inactivity and goes to sleep until you take another measurement. If, on the other hand, you set the BT connection for a longer period, then the rate of transmission is instant during the connection period.
I identified one issue, however: if the Plrf sends a distance reading outside 20-3800m, the Kestrel will throw an error message and terminate the BT connection. The Plrf will then attempt to reconnect, but it won't be able to. It will stop trying after 30-40 seconds and go to sleep. Once that occurs, taking another measurement will cause the Plrf to reestablish the BT connection which takes 15s. So basically if you range outside the 20-3800m window, your BT connection will go down for about a minute while everything resets. I don't like that, so I emailed AB hoping they can fix the issue in their next software upgrade.
Is this setup worth $10k? Nope. But it sure is beautiful. The 25c with Kestrel weighs the same as a 15c by itself. The 25c is more ergonomic and easier to operate. The glass in the 25c is better. The 25c ranges farther. The 25c has a more useful beam orientation: it is vertical. The 15c has a diagonal beam sloping downward from left to right. The BT is very convenient. The thought of cables in the wilderness just doesn't appeal to me.
