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GPS Tracking collars

3K views 14 replies 8 participants last post by  xthine 
#1 ·
Hi there! So I'm not actually wanting to use one for a dog, however I am looking into them for a school project. I was looking at things that are actual satellite trackers like the Garmin controllers. What I was wondering and what I can't find is what happens when they go out of range? Like if they go out of that 9 miles range will they show back up once you get into that range?
 
#2 ·
I used the garmin Astro a lot when I was hunting and yes they'll drop out and pick back up depending on range. You'll never see a 9 mile range in real life tho. Depending on terrain you could drop signal in just a few hundred yards and that's happened to me before. The last one I bought was an Astro 320 so they may have newer and better units out now.
 
#4 · (Edited)
I have an Astro 320 with a DC50 collar. Yes the 9 miles is line of sight with no obstructions. Almost impossible to get. The newer Alphas still don't have significant range improvements. They have a touch screen interface and can talk to one collar which has GPS and tritronics ecollar OR a collar with just GPS.

The data is captured while the collar is out of range and can be retrieved by connecting to computer with USB port very easily using the free Garmin Basecamp software. A less detailed data set with the tracks is sent to the GPS handheld. Absolutely no problem if they do go out of range. You will lose the signal and it will reconnect when available. This can happen when you lose line of sight. Think like a radio. Communication between collar and handheld is by way of a radio

They are quite expensive and anything older than a 320 and DC50 is not worth having.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Our team has a 220 with 7 DC40 collars. and I greatly prefer my 320.

Our 220 handheld got fried by being too close to a base radio (you know about the 5watt radio thing frying them?) newer ones have a resistor in place to prevent that.

The 220 works. Same basic GPS receiver. to put the more detailed collar data into the computer you have to a transfer function then send it from the GPS handheld...but yes other than the susceptibility to death by radio...it is basically the same in terms of data acquisition.

For that issue, I would not suggest anybody buy a used one of that model.

Part of the frustrating issue is nobody asked SAR folks when they designed these things and the collar radio frequencies are very close to the frequencies used in SAR. What they did was use the marine VHF frequencies to avoid some licensing issues

EDIT I got my 320 DC50 for a steal the fall the alphas came out. $399 new at Cabelas. I have not seen that price touched since.
 
#7 ·
Totally with you Nancy on the frustration of not talking to SAR folks. Our county bought the 470...(right number?) the newer Astro. I can't tell you how many times I screamed in frustration. I also almost threw it in the river, snow, road.. about a dozen times. After 6 months... I think I have figured out enough of it to make it work for me. Harsh learning curve but not a lot of options.
 
#8 ·
It looks similar to the 320 with some bells whistles

Garmin Astro 320 vs Garmin Astro 430 - Lion Country Supply

It does have a learning curve. Took me FOREVER to figure out how to load a track representing our search area on the map AND be able to see my track and the dog's track.

But I really like the goto feature by moving the cursor to where you want to go

It is not as intuitive as the base platform (I think 62) on which it was built.
 
#9 ·
Gps are like cell phones.. New bells and whistles that make a learning curve frustrating, lol... And yes, know about the radio burn out issue.. But as to ease of use, because it is known ;) and straightforward - I like it... Although I am tempted by the Alpha... Alas, you need money to upgrade, lol
 
#10 ·
I have a friend with both an alpha and the 320 and he says "not really worth the upgrade"

For people going into it, with the 430 it looks like they realized that price of the alpha ruled out a lot of customers and came back with a basic model. Well, one that was not a touchscreen and could not run an e-collar.
 
#12 ·
Hi there! So I'm not actually wanting to use one for a dog, however I am looking into them for a school project. I was looking at things that are dog satellite trackers like the Garmin controllers. What I was wondering and what I can't find is what happens when they go out of range? Like if they go out of that 9 miles range will they show back up once you get into that range?
I use another pet tracker that supports geofencing. When my dog runs outside the range I set, I receive an alert, and the dog collar issues an alert to cause it to return to safe range. Garmin's biggest advantage over ordinary trackers is its ability to train pets, such as sounds, stimuli and vibrations.
 
#15 ·
A month ago I got a Fi Dog collar for Josie. I wear a Garmin (Fenix 6 Pro solar) when we walk and hike and of course the Garmin trumps the Fi in terms of location accuracy.
I wish the Fi did not have an auto stop function, our hike ends up being 4 or 5 different walks instead of just 1 activity.
Safety zones can be set for the Fi, and when the dog is out of range you get an alert.
 
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