Kestrel 4000 Series Computer Interface, USB

I ride my bicycle for exercise. I have a Garmin eTrax GPS on the bike to keep track of my speed and distance. I live in Phoenix but it still gets cold sometimes during the winter. I wanted to be able to track the weather while I ride my bike so I bought a Kestrel portable weather station that I mounted on the bike also. I was mostly interested in the effects of wind/wind chill and how that effected my speed and comfort. I wanted to be able to graph my rides so I needed a way to dump the data from the Kestrel to my Macintosh. Unfortunately, the software for the Kestrel 4000 Series Interface doesn't support the Macintosh operating system. For cases like this I also run Windows on my Macs. I have two MacBook Pro laptops, one 15 inch running Windows XP and Mac Leopard and a 17 inch MacBook Pro running Windows 7 and Mac Snow Leopard. I use Parallels to run the Windows programs on the Macs. Anyway, The Macs don't have DB-9 serial ports so I needed a USB to serial adapter. The serial adapter that came with the Kestrel 4000 Series Interface wouldn't work with my setup but I had a KeySpan 19HS serial to USB adapter and it works great. So I am able to access the data from the Kestrel with my Macs. The actual connection between the Kestrel and the Kestrel 4000 Series Interface is optical. You must make sure the Kestrel sits properly in it's cradle and is secured with the elastic band. If you disturb the cradle/Kestrel during file transfer the connection will be broken and the transfer will stop. You will have to restart the file transfer. So I'm very happy with both the Kestrel and being able to access the data with the Kestrel 4000 Series Interface on my Macs and it works fine on both. So it is indirectly compatible with Mac Leopard/running Windows XP and or with Snow Leopard running Windows 7. What this really says it that the Kestrel 4000 Series Interface works with both versions of Windows with a USB to serial converter. As a plus the software that is supplied with the Kestrel 4000 Series Interface has a great customizable graphing function built in. I hope this helps.Terry

Kestrel is very proud of there hardware and for as much as thing costs it should at least work consistently and give you some increased functionality.It connected to my Kestrel 4500nv Horus twice and locked the unit up both times requiring me to remove the batteries to reset it. A pain because each time you open the battery door you have to re-calibrate the compass.Now it wont even connect to it again. My PC is Windows XP with all the latest patches, etc.And even if it did work reliably well, you don't really gain any features that make it worthwhile. If you have Horus version Kestrel and are buying this for it, do yourself a favor and download the Horus software and look at the fields in the software. That's all you can update so you don't gain any additional function. Not at all worth the price of this unit just to update a handful of fields. And it doesn't come with the full Kestrel weather monitoring software, rather a very limited log gathering function that only collects data while the unit is powered onThe really frustrating part is that if you upload a new set of custom rifles to your kestrel the minute you make a change to one you uploaded, it automatically creates a second version of that named rifle and you have to edit it with the kestrel and not the computer defeating the purpose of getting the accessory. You cannot make a change to an uploaded rifle without it generating an additional copy of that rifle. Very irritating.Trust me, you do not need this! It does not give you any function that you can't do already on your Kestrel directly. This thing is apparently nothing more but a purpose built accessory to make Kestrel more money. And any time you think your gonna save updating your rifles data via computer than on the unit directly will probably be spent trying to get this thing to work with your PC.Don't get me wrong I love the actual 4500nv Horus unit. Its brilliant and works extremely well. Kestrel is just pulling the wool over your eyes on this device and managing your data via computer.

Date: July 15, 2015.I was really hoping to like my Kestrel 4500 NV and to download the weather data. My 4500NV is not bluetooth-enabled, so I also ordered the Kestrel USB interface. The Kestrel interface comes in a box with instructions on how to download the interface driver from Kestrel's website. I am computer literate, and followed the instructions. The driver for the interface does not work. "No Port Found" is the message. My computer is a Win7 Professional machine. No issues with the computer. Either the driver does not work, or the USB interface does not work.July 19 Update: I brought this problem to Kestrel's attention and got an immediate reply. Kestrel is customer service-oriented. After attempting to connect with a new driver from Kestrel, the next step is for Kestrel to send a replacement RS232-USB cable. Apparently there have been some cable problems, so we'll see.July 21, 2015 Update: Kestrel customer service sent a replacement RS232 to USB cable promptly, and now my 4500NV communicates with the software. It works. The communication software takes a bit of learning, but it's easy enough.

The Kestrel that snaps into this cradle does not make good connection. I have to fight with the cradle and the Kestrel weather station to get it to read off the computer. It works good when it connects but I have to fight with it a lot. I am under pressure when I am racing and have to fight with this to make it talk to each other just adds more pressure on me.

It works. It would be find at about 1/4 the price they're charging. They would probably still make a profit. If it really costs $80 or more, then they need to find a new manufacturer.

This is a must for your Kestrel. You can set down, down load and review your day at the range. Then adjust and reload for your next visit. Super device for an Awesome unit. This shooter was and is very satisfied !

It failed! Ran all of us around in circles!

This a great companion to my Kestrel 4200. Installation is quick and easy. After plugging into a USB port the 4200 shows up as a com port on the computer in the Kestrel Communicator software that can be downloaded for free. Then it is very easy to view, chart, import, export and back up logged data from the 4200 to xml, csv, or txt files on the computer. The charting within the Communicator software is simple and flexible. I use the export to csv files to do more complex analysis in Excel. I would highly recommend this if you have a Kestrel 4000 series Tracker.

A++++

Delivered exactly as specified. All I had to do was download the latest software and it worked first time.