FFS vs. Cold Bore

Bigwheels

Gunny Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
  • Jun 16, 2007
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    Anacortes WA
    I've been trying to research the benefits/draw backs of switching to Cold Bore. I have been using FFS loaded in a Dell Axim X30 for many years, & have had great success with it. However I now understand that Cold Bore will calculate some aspects of the trajectory better than FFS. Such as head/tail wind, & up/down angle fire.
    I am also told that with Cold Bore if my cheap PDA dies I would have to buy the program again to replace it while my current FFS (version III I think) is stored on a card, & can be switched easily. In fact I have loaded it on 3 PDA's over the years. I even have it on my PC, laptop, & PDA at the same time.
    So I'm looking for confirmation/repudiation of anything/everything I have read. I'm also hoping that some of the instructors here with experience using both ( Cory, Low Light, etc) will chime in.
    Thanks.
     
    I think if you are using the latest MS stuff, the Surface, Windows Phone, along with a PDA, Coldbore is the hands down winner here.

    It now links to every thing and you can SkyDrive your data and move it around between your devices.

    I don't think you have to pay again if your PDA dies, I think you can just get a new license activated without paying a second time. Not sure but I can ask them ? That part is a gray area for me.

    But lately using the Windows Phone version as well as playing with it on a Surface, it's really good. I have found the wind calls to be spot on compared to using the AB Kestrel. The AB Kestrel elevation was perfect, the wind was off, so I went backing to using the calls from ColdBore.

    On the desktop and in the PDA its a bit confusing for some, but it's really robust. It has a bit of QuickLoad with some load data, it has a big and constantly updated library and it's able to print all kinds of charts for you so you have a hard copy. The Windows Phone version on the other hand is great, it's fast to use, accurate, you can swap data back and forth, and it's actually doing the work others claim to do. (they mostly use a flat rate, this doesn't)

    If your stuff is older, tech wise, I see no reason to change. FFS Is awesome, it works well on older systems, the chip is handy, and if you don't have the ability to take advantage of the new tech, why switch.
     
    Low Light. Thanks for your input. I am wanting to have a dedicated PDA just for my ELR work that will give me accurate outputs under any, & all field conditions. I use the cheap PDA ( $30. On e bay) to keep the price down where I can without sacrificing performance. The only reason I'm considering the switch is from CB's ability to calculate 360* wind, & differentiate up/down angle fire. Though admittedly I have never had an issue with the solutions FFS has given me. Have you ever actually seen a divergent result from FFS from these functions? If I have, I have probably credited it to the ever present up/down drafts in the mountains where I shoot.
    Thanks.