Kestrel 800.784.4221 Instruction Manual

AVAILABLE WITH

Wireless Data Transfer

I NS TR UC TI ON M AN UA L

2

To maximize the accuracy and reliability of your readings:

• Ensure that your Kestrel Ballistics Weather Meter is in good repair and within factory calibration.

• Take readings frequently and carefully according to the guidelines above.

• Allow your meter’s readings to stabilize after signicant changes in temperature or humidity (i.e., changing location
from indoors to outdoors).

• Allow a margin of safety for changing conditions and reading errors (2-3% of reading is recommended).

Your Kestrel Ballistics Weather Meter is designed to provide accurate measurement

of current conditions only. Depending on your location and environment,

conditions may change rapidly.

Rapid temperature and humidity changes (i.e., moving your meter from indoors to outdoors) may cause inaccurate readings of
temperature and humidity as well as all readings that rely on either of these values. Before relying on a Kestrel Ballistics Weather
Meter readings, use care to either a) force air ow over the sensors by waving or slinging your meter through the air; or b) wait
until your unit’s readings have stabilized, indicating it has equilibrated to its new environment.

Use extra care and good judgment when referring to your Kestrel Ballistics Weather Meter to make

any decisions regarding safety, health or property protection.

CAUTION

!

3

Features & Options .............................................. 4

Getting to Know Your Kestrel ............................ 5

Battery Installation .............................................. 6

Compass Calibration and Setup ....................... 7

Barometric Pressure & Altitude Setup ............. 9

AB MODE

Basic Navigation and Getting Started ............. 10

Gun Selection ....................................................... 11

Gun Library & Information Screen ................... 12

Target Screen ........................................................ 15

Environment Screen............................................ 17

Range Card Screen .............................................. 18

Ballistics Screen ................................................... 19

Calibration & Custom Drag Curves ................... 19

Bluetooth Setup ................................................... 20

Quick Keys ............................................................. 21

WEATHER MODE

Setup and Options .............................................. 22

Screen Navigation ............................................... 25

Impeller Replacement ........................................ 26

Using the Bootloader ......................................... 27

Glossary of Terms................................................. 28

Ballistic & Environmental Quick Ref ................. 29

Full Range Card Data Sample ............................ 31

Specications ....................................................... 33

Choosing & Using Batteries ............................... 35

Warranty ................................................................ 37

OVERVIEW

*for BLUETOOTH®-enabled models ONLY

NK, manufacturer of Kestrel brand Ballistics Weather Meters
is available to answer questions and provide support.
Contact NK by phone: [phone]; fax: [phone];
email: [e-mail]; or web: NKhome.com

4

FEATURES & OPTIONS

Standard • | Optional

Measurement/ Units of Measure Icon 4500

w/Applied Ballistics

Wind Direction (Cardinal Points, Degrees)

.

Wind Speed | Air Speed (mph | fpm | Bft | m/s | km/h | kt)

.

Crosswind Calculation (mph | fpm | Bft | m/s | km/h | kt)

.

Headwind | Tailwind (mph | fpm | Bft | m/s | km/h | kt)

.

Temperature* (˚F | ˚C)

.

Wind Chill (˚F | ˚C)

.

Relative Humidity (Gpp | G/kg)

.

Heat Stress Index (˚F | ˚C)

.

Dewpoint Temp (˚F | ˚C)

.

Wet Bulb Temp (˚F | ˚C)

.

Barometric Pressure (inHg | hPA | psi | mb)

.

Altitude, m | ft

.

Density Altitude, m | ft

.

Pressure Trend

.

Backlit Display

.

Data Storage Points 2900

BLUETOOTH®

NV Backlight

.

5

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR KESTREL

BACK

DATA UPLOAD

OPTICAL COUPLER

SERIAL NUMBER

AAA BATTERIES (2)

(Lithium recommended)

AMBIENT
TEMPERATURE
SENSOR

WIDE RANGE
PRESSURE
SENSOR

STABILIZING
BATTERY
ORIENTATION SHIM

FRONT

MANUAL

MEMORY

BUTTON

POWER / SETUP

BUTTON

BACKLIGHT
BUTTON

NAVIGATION
BUTTONS

SELECT / EXIT
BUTTON

HUMIDITY

SENSOR

REPLACEABLE
IMPELLER

Even when the Kestrel display is o, the unit will still automati-

cally collect and store data at the dened rate (see “Memory
Options” ). To completely power down the unit, you must
remove the batteries (and lose time / date and other settings)

* All Kestrel Meters with

temperature measurement
allow you to measure air,
water and snow temperature.

6

• Insert batteries into bottom of
Kestrel unit as shown on battery
door.

• Snap door closed.

Turning ON and OFF

• Press

to turn on the meter.

• Hold for 3 seconds to turn o
the meter.

You can also select “O” on the

Main Setup Menu options.

Date & Time

• Press

to enter the Main Setup

Menu.

• Use

or to highlight Date

& Time.

• Press to enter the Date & Time

Screen.

• Press

or to change each value.

BATTERY INSTALLATION

KESTREL 4500:

AAA batteries have a magnetic signature strong
enough to aect the Kestrel 4500’s compass
readings. Please follow this extra step to ensure
the batteries stay in proper orientation.

Before closing the door, push the plastic shim
(provided with unit) between batteries and place
clear ring on end over positive battery “bump.”

When replacing batteries in the Kestrel 4500, always keep

the shim and re-insert with new batteries as described.

7

In addition to Wind Speed and Wind Chill, the Kestrel
with Applied Ballistics Software also measures

Direction, Headwind/Tailwind and Crosswind.

Digital Compass Calibration

The Kestrel meter's digital compass must be calibrated

to correct for the AAA batteries’ magnetic eld. It must
be re-calibrated every time the battery door is opened,
and it will not display or log any direction values until
calibration is complete.

**Impeller should be removed during calibration for best
results.

• Remove the impeller by pressing the edges to pop it out
(reinsert after calibration is complete).

To Calibrate:

• In Main Setup Menu, use

or to highlight

“System”, then press

.

• Press

to highlight “Compass Cal”, then press .

Follow the prompts on screen:

• Press

to start.

• Slowly spin the upright meter around three (3) full times.

• Each rotation should take approximately 10 seconds.

• When calibration is nished, the screen will read
“Cal Complete”.

• Press

to exit to Main Menu.

To verify the digital compass’ accuracy, test it against a

compass; the Kestrel meter readings should be within
±5° of the reference compass or better. If readings appear
incorrect, simply run the calibration routine again.
Unit should be held vertically with the back facing the
direction being measured.

Calibration Error Messages

There are three error messages that the meter may
display during calibration. Press

to exit the error

screen and run the calibration again.

• Magnetic Batteries: The magnetic eld of the Kestrel’s
batteries is interfering with calibration. Try opening
the battery door, rotate one or both batteries, and run
the calibration again. If
error persists, try using a
dierent brand of battery.

• Too Slow: The unit was
spun too slowly during
calibration.

• Too Fast: The unit was
spun too quickly during

calibration.

COMPASS CALIBRATION AND SETUP

3x

Figure 1

8

Measuring Direction

The Kestrel 4500’s digital compass must be vertical to

achieve accurate readings. Keep the unit positioned as
close to vertical as possible when using any compass­related feature. After opening the battery door, you
must re-run the calibration routine or readings will not
register. For maximum accuracy, the impeller should be
spinning while measuring to eliminate its magnetic pull.

True North vs. Magnetic North Readings

The Kestrel 4500's default Direction display mode is
Magnetic North.

To view Direction in True North mode:

• Go to weather mode in the Direction screen, press

.

• Use

or to choose your mode.

• If you choose True North, use

to highlight “Varia-

tion”, then use

or to input the Variation for your

location.

To measure Direction:

• Hold the unit vertically and point the BACK of the unit
toward the direction you want to measure.

• The unit will display the cardinal direction and degrees.

The Direction measurement does not record Max and

Average and will display N/A on that mode screen.

Measuring Headwind/Tailwind & Crosswind

The Kestrel 4500 automatically calculates Headwind and
Crosswind with respect to a runway or target direction.
You must rst set the “Heading” to view these measure­ments:

• Press

while on the Headwind or Crosswind screen.

• Use

or to choose “Auto Set” or “Manual Set”,

then press

.

In Auto Set: Point the unit down the runway or target,
then press

to automatically set the heading.

In Manual Set: Use

or to enter the known runway

or target heading, and press

to save.

Both screens will always display the Magnetic North

heading at the top (even if the Direction screen is set to
True North mode).

• After setting the heading, scroll to the desired
parameter and orient the Kestrel so the wind blows
directly through the impeller.

Info for Wind Speed & Direction of re for ballistic
solutions can be found on pg 16.

COMPASS CALIBRATION AND SETUP CONT.

9

Setting Barometric Pressure & Altitude

The Kestrel meter measures “station pressure”, which
changes in response to both changes in altitude and
changes in atmosphere. Barometric pressure is a
measurement of the air pressure adjusted to sea level.

Station pressure is displayed if the reference altitude is

set to zero. This is needed for ballistics solutions as well.

Be sure to adjust your reference measurements for

altitude and/or barometric pressure when you change
your location or when there have been dramatic
changes in weather conditions.

Obtaining Station Pressure

• In the Main Setup Menu, use or to highlight
“Weather Mode”, then press .

• Use or to scroll to highlight the “BARO” screen

• Press to enter the “REF BARO” screen

• Set the reference altitude to zero for station pressure.
Set it to your current altitude if you want barometric
pressure

Baro—Displays current Barometric Pressure
Ref Alt—Use

or

to set the known Altitude

Sync Alt—Use or to switch “On” and sync the Baro
reading to the “Altitude” screen

When “Sync Alt” is turned “On,” the current

“Density Altitude” screen data is calculated from the

absolute values of station pressure, relative humidity
and temp., and is not aected by the reference values
entered in the “Baro” and “Altitude” screens.

BAROMETRIC PRESSURE & ALTITUDE SETUP

Barometric Pressure data is automatically used as a
reference for Altitude, and both screens will show
accurate readings.

syncs

REF ALT

Alt 877
Ref.Baro 30.97

SyncBaro On

adjust exit

REF BARO

Baro

Ref.Alt 877

SyncAlt

adjust exit

Setting Altitude

• In the Main Setup Menu, use or to highlight
“Weather Mode”, then press .

• Use or to highlight the “Baro” screen

• Press to enter the “REF ALT” screen

• Set the reference altitude to your current altitude.

When “Sync Baro” is turned “On,” the current Altitude
data is automatically used as a reference for Barometric
Pressure, and both screens will show accurate readings.

REF BARO

Baro 30.15
Ref.Alt 115

SyncAlt On

adjust exit

syncs

REF ALT

Alt

Ref.Baro 30.15

SyncBaro

adjust exit

10

BASIC NAVIGATION & GETTING STARTED

Up-Arrow

Down-Arrow

Left-Arrow

Right-Arrow

Center Key

Capture

Power On/
Escape Key

Backlight

Quick Tips:

Your Shooter's Weather Meter with Applied Ballistics
(AB) can operate in Weather mode or AB mode. For
instructions related to Weather Mode, see page 23.

Compass must be calibrated in order for directional
features to work in AB mode. Compass calibration can be
done from the main menu screen. See page 7.

Pressing

will allow you to exit out of a particular screen.

When a ballistics parameter is underlined, this indicates
that the value cannot be changed manually on the
current screen. This is either because it is a calculated
value or determined by the sensors. Press and hold for
2 seconds to power down the Kestrel regardless of current

THE KESTREL HAS SEVEN NAVIGATION KEYS:

screen. Press twice in rapid succession to instantly
change between Weather mode and AB mode.
Any changes in information are automatically saved
upon exiting the current screen. There are four
exceptions to this rule where an “accept” screen appears
upon exiting: the Target Range estimator, the Target
Speed estimator, and the MV and DSF Calibration
screens.

Getting started with AB Mode

The three main data input groups are gun, target
and environment. The aiming solutions for Elevation,
Windage and Coriolis are displayed on the Main AB
screen.

1. Gun Information 2. Target

Active

TR

DoF

Ide

g

Icos

TS

TD

WD

WS1

WS2

TARGET

Yes

1000

000º

0˚

1.000º

0mph

L-R

12oc

5mph

10mph

A box indicates amount of
data shown on display.

Data below box indicates
additional information
available by pressing .

*Note: Please see p. 28 for
abbreviation glossary.

GUN Laru308

MV 2550FPS

DC G1

BC 0.475

BW 175gr

BD 0.308in

BL 1.240in

ZR 100m

BH 2.75in

ZH

ZO

RT 11.25in

RTd Right

EUNIT mil

Eclck n/a

Wunit mil

Wclck n/a

Cal MV

Cal DSF

View DSF

Clear DSF

11

3. Environment

These three main data groups
determine an accurate ring
solution. The rst step in getting a
ring solution is selecting your gun.

Gun Selection

The Gun Selection screen allows you
to choose a precongured gun or

build your own. You may create and
store up to 16 guns. A user-created gun is dened as a
gun that has been modied for one or more parameter
values of the New Gun or any of the precongured guns.
A precongured gun is any gun loaded onto the Kestrel
using the AB Gun Loader software.

When a New Gun is modied, the name instantly
changes to UserGunX (where X is a number sux to
ensure the name is unique). If a precongured gun
(whose name ends in a letter) is modied, a number
will appear at the end to create a unique name. If a
precongured gun (whose name ends in a number)
is modied, a letter will appear at the end to create a
unique name.

• Turn on the unit. From the Main AB screen,

press to access the Main Setup Menu.

• Press to highlight “Gun
Selection.”

• Press to enter Gun
Selection Screen. Here, you
may choose a precongured
gun or build your own.

GUN SELECTION

To Choose a Precongured Gun:

• Press or to scroll through the dierent guns.

• Press to turn your selected gun “on” or “o.” “On”
means the gun is available to be selected in AB mode.
“O” means the gun is not available to be selected.
For example, setting multiple guns to “On”
allows you to quickly switch gun congurations
without going back to the Main Setup Menu.

• Pressing on a gun gives you
the option to edit or delete this
gun.

To Build A Gun:

You can build and name your gun
on the gun selection screen.

• Use to highlight New Gun and press .

• This will take you to the gun information screen
where you may adjust all gun parameters. Press up or
down to highlight the gun parameters.

• Use and to adjust each
value.

• To name your gun, scroll up to
highlight “Gun” and press .

• You will see a cursor appear
under the rst letter of New
Gun.

• Use the and buttons
to scroll through the alphabet
and numbers 0-9 and several
symbols. Pressing inserts a
space between characters. You
can choose between upper and
lowercase letters.

11 Gun select

Laru308

User Gun2
User Gun
300WinMag2

11 Gun select

MaruGun308
AR15a
300WinMag1

New Gun

exit

Lat

Temp

SP

RH

Dalt

ENVIRONMENT

No

42˚

75˚F

29.48inHg

50%

1729ft

Yes

Onetgt

GUN New Gun

MV

BC

BW

2900f

ps

0.533

190

g

r

12

GUN LIBRARY & INFORMATION SCREEN

• Once you’re on the desired letter, use to move
the cursor to the next space in the gun name.
Continue until the gun name is complete.

• When gun name is complete, press button to
save. (Gun will also automatically save upon
exiting screen.)

• Press to exit from the current screen.

Gun Library

There is room in the Kestrel for up to 16 guns. While it
is possible to copy a precongured gun to your Kestrel
and modify the parameter, you should use New Gun
and input all the parameters to ensure MV and DSF Cal
are accurately inputted. You can build a gun library on
a computer using the AB Gun Loader software, and
download the new gun library to the Kestrel (either via
Bluetooth® connection or the Kestrel wired interface).
Downloading a new gun library will automatically
overwrite the previous guns in the Kestrel.

*Note: You should upload any user-created guns to the AB
Gun Loader software that you want to save before down­loading new guns. The new guns will overwrite current
stored Kestrel guns.

Gun Information Screen

Once you have selected your gun, you’re now ready to
enter or modify all relevant parameters pertaining to the
set-up of your rie. These parameters include muzzle
velocity, drag curve, ballistic coecient, bullet weight,
bullet diameter, bullet length, zero range, zero height,
zero oset, bore height, rie twist, rie twist direction
and sight adjustment (click).

• On the Gun Information screen, use buttons to

highlight the gun parameters.

• Use and to adjust the value.

• Press to enter the highlighted parameter’s
screen. Here you are also able to adjust the
parameter’s value as well as the unit of measure.
(For example, meters per second to feet per second.)

• Press to exit to Main AB screen once all values are
correct.

See below for more information on Muzzle Velocity, Drag
Curves and Calibration.

Muzzle Velocity

• Use and to highlight “MV.”

• Press to enter MV screen.

• Use and to adjust the value.

Notes on Muzzle Velocity

• When a bullet is in the transonic range, a small dot
will appear to the left of the muzzle velocity value
(gure 1).

• When a bullet is in the subsonic range, a larger dot
will appear to the left of the muzzle velocity value
(gure 2).

• In cases where the bullet is supersonic, there are no dots
next to the muzzle velocity value.

MV

BC

BW

GUN Laru308

•

1360fps

0.470

175

g

r

MV

BC

BW

GUN Laru308

•

1103fps

0.470

175

g

r

Figure 1 Figure 2