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BallisticsARC weather

Voyager77

Private
Minuteman
Dec 9, 2017
6
1
Have the free version, just starting with it. When i hit reload weather it only brings up 5 locations in TX, doesnt seem to sync to your location. Do you need to buy the premium version to do so? Thx
 
Yes, only 5 paid or not. It's getting weather from a closest "major" location, prolly from some service like weather.com or similar off the internet. Meaning, if youre a 100 miles from the nearest "station", that's the best youre gonna get using the "auto" feature. One of the spots I shoot is BFE, 1.5 hours from the nearest town, "if/when" I have cell service (sketchy) it pulls weather from the town closest, 70-ish miles away. Which of course is useless, cuz I'm also at 5000' elevation as well. Manual entry from the kestrel is still a the primary method or buy one the weather meters that sync.
 
I also get five stations which are all "local" airports. I recently purchased the $45 WeatherFlow wind meter which plugs into my cell phone earphone jack. I'm still learning to use it but it seems to work.
 
I had a bit of bewilderment at the time duration too but I also felt that the 30 seconds was way to long before the update. I actually like the 3 seconds. With 30 seconds I might have a gust of 10 but then it settles down to 2mph and with 30 seconds it would just show 2 mph. 3 seconds allows me to take multiple samples and get quick little snap shots of how dynamic it is. Now I can get a 2, a 6 and a 10 mph and choose which sample I want to use. Usually its the highest and I can just adjust back to 0 for the lower wind speeds.
 
Have the free version, just starting with it. When i hit reload weather it only brings up 5 locations in TX, doesnt seem to sync to your location. Do you need to buy the premium version to do so? Thx

I’ve got the paid version but if you go to the “Chart” tab and press the location button, it imports your current location into the software. Then you go back to the weather tab and press on the “reload” button, it will give you the 5 closest weather stations to your current location. If you don’t update the location on the chart tab it will just continue to give you the same 5 from it last location. Hope that helps.
 
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Does anybody know if the blue weather flow meter and the tan one for “precision shooting” are actually the same thing? I heard somewhere that they’re actually the same thing in different colors. If they are, I’m just going to pick up the blue to use with BallisticsARC. Aside from being cheap, I’d prefer to have one that might not hide itself in the grass.......
 
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Just heard back and the blue as it is currently will be compatible with BallisticsARC in the future. They can’t guarantee that any new ones that weatherflow comes out with (other than the precision shooting one), will be compatible.
 
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I ended up getting the green “precision shooting” one, and used it during a match this last weekend. Worked like a charm! I only turned on my blue tooth every time I needed a reading, so it didn’t end up eating my battery on my phone too bad. I didn’t have any connectivity problems during the match. One thing that was kinda strange is that the headphone jack is plastic? And you still have to use Bluetooth? That seemed a little strange....

Nevertheless, I’m happy now!
 
The headphone jack is merely for attaching it to your phone as a holder. It has zero use for connectivity


Yeah, that would be too awesome if it could connect like that. I suppose that headphone jacks are only equipped for one way info transfer (I hope I’m wrong). If they could sell another attachment that goes into the power cord slot, I’m sure people would buy it if it gives you non-blue tooth connectivity.
 
It takes forever for my weather meter to catch up with current conditions. If it’s in my truck in the a/c, it takes over 5 minutes for it to reach current conditions outside of the truck. Anyone else have that issue?
 
It took a good 4-5 minutes for it to catch up to the correct Density Altitude, but the other readings were pretty fast. I think I heard someone say the DA thing is the same with Kestrels, is that true?
 
It takes forever for my weather meter to catch up with current conditions. If it’s in my truck in the a/c, it takes over 5 minutes for it to reach current conditions outside of the truck. Anyone else have that issue?

https://help.weatherflow.com/hc/en-us/articles/210646428-WEATHERmeter-Readings

“The WEATHERmeter's temperature and humidity sensor can take a little time to adapt to changes. Example: If you have it indoors in 40% humidity and 72° then walk outside to 70% humidity and 90°, it's going to take some time (depending on how windy it is - the more airflow the faster) for the meter to report ambient conditions.
Also note that temperature and humidity readings are best taken in the shade without anything surrounding them. Leaving the WEATHERmeter in direct sun for more than a few minutes can cause it to heat up and report higher temperature and lower humidity readings. Unlike a permanently-mounted weather station, the WEATHERmeter (like other handheld meters) does not have a solar radiation shield. for all factors that can lead to inaccurate Temperate readings
 
Have the free version, just starting with it. When i hit reload weather it only brings up 5 locations in TX, doesnt seem to sync to your location. Do you need to buy the premium version to do so? Thx

This post is a few months old but in case you’re still having trouble, you can delete the default range card in the menu that comes on the app and save your range as a range card so it pops up when you open the app. If you’re in a new location you have to delete the shooting position and target pins before it’ll pull weather from stations relative to your location.
 
I ended up getting the green “precision shooting” one, and used it during a match this last weekend. Worked like a charm! I only turned on my blue tooth every time I needed a reading, so it didn’t end up eating my battery on my phone too bad. I didn’t have any connectivity problems during the match. One thing that was kinda strange is that the headphone jack is plastic? And you still have to use Bluetooth? That seemed a little strange....

Nevertheless, I’m happy now!
Adding to old discussion. The blue weatherflow meter and the tan ballistics have the same hardware but the firmware is different. The first time you connect to the blue weatherflow it will offer to update the firmware which makes it having the same firmware as the tan unit. This process is not reversible though.

Does anyone know if the app accounts for spin drift and if so can it be turned off? I've read through the 65 page manual but didn't see it mentioned anywhere.
AFAIK the ballistic engine in BallisticArc app does not calculate secondary functions such as apin drift and coriolis.
 
With the Kestrels you spin them on the lanyard a few times and they catch up quick, maybe a minute
You can do the same with weatherflow. They provide a tripod adapter with an eyelid. Thread a lanyard through it and spin the meter in the air like you do with a kestrel.
 
Adding to old discussion. The blue weatherflow meter and the tan ballistics have the same hardware but the firmware is different. The first time you connect to the blue weatherflow it will offer to update the firmware which makes it having the same firmware as the tan unit. This process is not reversible though.


AFAIK the ballistic engine in BallisticArc app does not calculate secondary functions such as apin drift and coriolis.
Thank you. I would think if it did account for spin or coriolis it would have an option to turn them off but I saw no mention of it on the app or in their manual. I wonder if the wind predictions would be valid at longer ranges where these effects might have an impact. I haven't shot past 1200 yards while using the program.
 
Does anyone know if the app accounts for spin drift and if so can it be turned off? I've read through the 65 page manual but didn't see it mentioned anywhere.
ballisticarc.JPG

According to the manual on their website it says that barrel twist will apply spin drift. If you don't want spin, don't put in the twist. I have a rifle set up with and without barrel twist and I've never actually noticed a difference in the output with barrel twist added or without.
 
Thank you for pointing that out. I just testing removing the rifle twist in the app setup. Comparing the solution with or without rifle twist set up, at 1000 yard for 6.5mm ELD-X the difference in windage given by ballisticarc is 0.1 mil. With strelok or AB the difference is 0.3 mil. Something is off with ballistic arc spin drift if it is somehow actually accounting for it.

Thank you. I would think if it did account for spin or coriolis it would have an option to turn them off but I saw no mention of it on the app or in their manual. I wonder if the wind predictions would be valid at longer ranges where these effects might have an impact. I haven't shot past 1200 yards while using the program.

Looks like you can set the twist rate to blank and save.
 
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Thank you for pointing that out. I just testing removing the rifle twist in the app setup. Comparing the solution with or without rifle twist set up, at 1000 yard for 6.5mm ELD-X the difference in windage given by ballisticarc is 0.1 mil. With strelok or AB the difference is 0.3 mil. Something is off with ballistic arc spin drift if it is somehow actually accounting for it.



Looks like you can set the twist rate to blank and save.
Thank you. I'll have to compare the spin drift with some other apps to see how they match up.
 
Thank you. I'll have to compare the spin drift with some other apps to see how they match up.

From my (limited) experience, spin drift is overcompensated in a lot of software, which is why most people just turn spin drift off. With no wind, I have 2 different apps that will give me .3 mils at a grand. Real world conditions that puts me off of the plate. It's probably shooter error, but turning spin off and using their hold, I'm getting hits. @Lowlight has said something similar several times about spin drift and he has been doing this almost as long as I've been alive.

ETA: I'm also shooting a 6 Creed at about 1000 feet above sea level, so your mileage may vary.
 
Thank you. I would think if it did account for spin or coriolis it would have an option to turn them off but I saw no mention of it on the app or in their manual. I wonder if the wind predictions would be valid at longer ranges where these effects might have an impact. I haven't shot past 1200 yards while using the program.

Coriolis is automatically accounted for with lat and shot bearing. Keep this in mind when evaluating spin drift. One scenario you can run is setting location to 0,0 and run solutions in Comp mode at 0,90,180,and 270 deg. Sorry for the late input.
 
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If you use the weatherflow, make sure to calibrate the compass every time you take the battery out...I made that mistake last weekend. The app was giving me a wind call of .7 mils right in the medium wind, but the wind was coming from my left. I had to work my own wind calls, which worked fine (ended up being 1-1.2 mils left in a medium wind). It wasn't until the end of the day that I realized the compass needed calibrated because the compass direction wasn't changing like it should. Calibrated it and everything worked fine from there.

As per Weatherflow support, no need to calibrate the new ones anymore.

Tim Nicholas (WeatherFlow Support)
Jun 3, 13:14 EDT
Hi Chuck,

New WeatherMeters (yours) do not have magnetometers. The new models will no longer be able to discern direction on their own. The reason your friend's calibrates on your phone is because it has a magnetometer.

The application is not working as expected. When you connect a new meter, (no magnetometer) the app should bypass the compass calibration. You cannot get through compass calibration because of a technical bug between either the app or the new meter firmware. We are investigating and will provide a fix as soon as possible.

That being said - there is nothing wrong with your meter. You can still mount the meter to a vane but when you are using the app to take a reading, remember to point your phone in the same direction the vane is turned to.

I hope this helps!
Kind Regards,
Tim Nicholas
WeatherFlow Support
 
As per Weatherflow support, no need to calibrate the new ones anymore.

Tim Nicholas (WeatherFlow Support)
Jun 3, 13:14 EDT
Hi Chuck,

New WeatherMeters (yours) do not have magnetometers. The new models will no longer be able to discern direction on their own. The reason your friend's calibrates on your phone is because it has a magnetometer.

The application is not working as expected. When you connect a new meter, (no magnetometer) the app should bypass the compass calibration. You cannot get through compass calibration because of a technical bug between either the app or the new meter firmware. We are investigating and will provide a fix as soon as possible.

That being said - there is nothing wrong with your meter. You can still mount the meter to a vane but when you are using the app to take a reading, remember to point your phone in the same direction the vane is turned to.

I hope this helps!
Kind Regards,
Tim Nicholas
WeatherFlow Support
Chuck,

If WF doesn't get you squared away, contact me at [email protected]