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(More customer reviews)I waited to post my review until now so I can tell you how good this unit is AFTER a full year of using it 18 hours every day.
I have two pyr pups on our hilly farm. They are livestock guardian dogs and I need to know where they are on property, and if they leave the property as pyrs often figure out how to exit the fenced pastures. If they are chasing a predator off, they will leave the property. There are many places they can go on the farm where I cannot see them and need to know where they are. Pyrs are too big to wear the collars as they come from Garmin, so I went to my local pet store and purchased a 2nd collar that was black and the same width and thickness as the collar the DC-30 is installed on. Attaching the 2nd collar works fine and lengthens the collar size to fit the large breed dogs just fine.
I already had DeLorme Mapping software (SA 2009+ and Topo) and both these programs accept track and waypoint information from Garmin gps units, so I didn't purchase Garmin's mapping or ariel photography since I already have it.
Tracking dogs in hilly country, the radios can have times when they cannot communicate, so I have to pay attention to the Astro 220 on a regular basis. If they are more than .12 mile from the house, I download the track to learn where the dog is on the map. If they are too close to the property line, I can go outside and call them home or if they have left the farm property, I can get into my pickup with the Astro 220 and know where to drive to pick them up.
We are VERY PLEASED with the functionality of the unit for tracking a dog and not losing it. We don't use it for hunting.
One flaw I found is that I CANNOT receive the radio signal as far as Garmin claims. I believe they claim 7 miles, but I lose the signal at 2 miles or less.
If someone steals a dog, the dog will be out of range too fast for you to know where the dog has gone. I take my dogs in the car at times, and leave their collars on to see how far it tracks me, and the dog's signal is lost roughly about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 miles from home. When I do this, I leave the Astro 220 on at home attached to my computer and I go off with the dog.
I highly recommend this unit for people who need to prevent loss of their dogs from their property. You can see their track if they go out into the street, and know WHERE they are to go get them. If you don't have the collar and they go off property, you don't know where to go looking. Having the collars means I don't worry near as much about my dogs. I know when they are in the pastures and out of sight. I know when they're off property and where to go get them. This relieves a LOT of worry.
I think this would help people who show their dogs and might have prevented the loss of the dog who disappeared at the airport a year or so ago after winning best of breed at Westminster.
There's new software to download that makes the power use of the DC-30's much more conservative and so the collars last longer.
If you don't have mapping software already, I recommend getting the ariel photography for your Astro 220 or else a Garmin mapping program for your computer, especially with ariel photography. I use Delorme Street Atlas Plus and DeLorme Topo software, and it talks to my new gps just fine.
Before we got this unit, we researched ALL the gps dog trackers on the market, and this one costs more, but gives considerably more information and we felt the others were not worth the money. We still feel that way a full year later. In fact, I just ordered a third collar for one of our adult dogs who moves around the property a LOT.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Garmin Astro 220 + 2 DC30 Dog Tracking Collars Bundle
Garmin ASTRO BUNDLE DC 30 Collar x 2 Plus Astro 220. Tired of searching for your hunting dog in tall grass or dense cover? Now you can leave the hunting entirely to him. Introducing Astro, the first high sensitivity GPS enabled dog tracking system for hunters and sportsmen. This unique system pinpoints your dogs position and shows you exactly where he is, even when you cant see or hear him. The Astro system includes a bright color screen handheld GPS device and the rugged, all weather DC 30 collar. The collar has an integrated GPS transmitter and is specially weighted so the antenna will always point to the sky for optimum signal. To get started, just take Astro outdoors and turn on the handheld and transmitter to acquire GPS satellite signals. Then attach the DC 30 to your dog. Now you are ready to turn him loose / no other setup required. As often as every five seconds, your dogs DC 30 transmits his position to your handheld, and you can see his current location and a trail of where he is been on the Map page of your handheld. Switch over to the Dog Tracker page to view a compass pointing to your dogs location as well as his current status: whether he is running, sitting, on point or treeing quarry. Astro can also sound an alarm to let you know instantly when your dog goes on point. Astro boasts a high sensitivity GPS receiver that can track your dogs position even in the densest cover. You can track up to ten dogs at one time with Astro, at a distance of up to seven miles away /depending on terrain/. The system transmits information by line of sight, so it reaches farthest in flat, open territory
Click here for more information about Garmin Astro 220 + 2 DC30 Dog Tracking Collars Bundle
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