EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

i have 3 collars 2 have been updated.1 has not.all collars seem to work the same.sometimes i loose collar #1 and cant get it back even if dog is on the lead.even if u deleate it put it back in it wont pick it up.leave it off a few min.still the same.next hunt it works perfect if u can call a garmin perfect.that hunt collar #2 or #3 may do the same thing.its crazy how they do.next  hunt they may do fine.i almost went in on a hog makin noise the other night thAt wasnt caught.thought a dog had it.wrong!! lost it on garmin so i wasnt sure.

Last couple times out I had same problem.  Mine have all been on original collar that came with 320.  I'm gonna call Garmin and see what they say.  Will post response. 

I've noticed if there are power lines around they act pretty dang funny. I updated my dc30 collars and hand held and they were acting funny so I took the update off the reciever and they worked like a top. also I've run the dc30 and dc40 on the 320 system and it seemed to me that the dc30 collars stayed picked up farther then the 40.s will. Kinda funny how all this stuff works.

I just updated to the 320 and bought another DC40 as part of the package.  I have two DC 40's and 4 DC 30's that I've been using with my 220.  I can't track the two DC 40's beyond 50 yards.    :-\

I did purchase a Tuff Skin antenna to see if that helps and a I bought one of the flexible 16" antennas for the 320 to see if that also helps.  If the Tuff Skin works, I guess I'll be buying more of them?

It stinks that you spend so much money on something and it comes to you in need of aftermarket products in order for it work correctly.   >:(

Been using the 320 and four dc40s for several months now. Had trouble getting it to calibrate one night but other than that no problems..... Knocking on wood now.

I had the same problem with the DC 40. I had to clear the collar from the unit and open the collar disconnect the battery for 10 minuts. Then add the collar back to the unit and do the update. It cleared my problem with loosing signal to the collar.

I had the same problem with 2 of my collars within two weeks apart. Updated them and no effect. Called garmin and sent them back. They sent me brand new collars.

I am still waiting for the final upgrade...when all the bugs are gone... :)

Hope you aren't holding your breath while ya wait?   ;D

I just tested my new Tuff Skins antenna on one of my DC-40s and it greatly improved my range,.  I was impressed.  But to be fair, I had also added the 16" flexible antenna to my new 320.  But my other DC-40, with the factory antenna, was the only one that I dropped signal on.  The DC-30s, with factory antennas, all kept a signal at about a mile, which is far as I drove from the house before turning around.
And FYI, I put my Astro 220 up for sale on Ebay.  Just got the 320 in for Christmas, no longer need the 220.

The real test will come this week when we put them on the dogs on a hunt.   ???

I had the same problem with my dc 40's less than 7 months old . I called garmin and they sent me 3 new antennas for my collars . I put them on Christmas day and tried them the next . I got away from one dog I left in the trailer almost a mile and still picked up good . The other collar never lost signal . I hope the problem is solved . May want to call and ask them to send you new antennas for your collars .

I just got in from a hunt, took all day, between sewing up a dog, and taking another to the vet, but we made it and had a good test of the new equipment.

First off, I've using an Astro 220, two DC-40 collars, and four DC-30's, all with factory antennas.  I was getting about 400 yards of range on the DC-30s and and if I was lucky, about 50 yards on the DC-40s.  YEP, that wasn't a typo, I was only getting about 50 yards of range before losing signal on the DC40's.  Not good on a big ranch with dogs that range out well beyond 50 yards. 
What did I do to try an improve my situation? 
First, I ordered the 16" flexible antenna that will fit both the 220 and the 320. 
Second, I ordered one of the TuffSkin antennas that will fit both the DC30 and the DC40.   I only ordered one because I wanted to see if it was worth the money.
Third, I ordered the 320 along with a new DC40.

Today, I put the TuffSkin antenna on one of my old DC40's, one that I was losing signal at 50 yards, and I put the 16" antenna on the new 320.  I also downloaded the BirdsEye of the area that I hunt. 

Results:

With the old DC40 with the new TuffSkin antenna, I didn't drop signal until she was at .91 miles and by taking the 320 out of it's mount and holding it above my head, I picked the signal right back up.   I was impressed.   :o

I rarely dropped the old DC30's signal today and they were routinely out at 700-900 yards. 
The brand new DC40 with factory antenna would drop out at around 500 yards.

I've already ordered more of the TuffSkin antennas for the DC40's and will be buying another DC40 soon to give a total of 8 collars.

To be honest, the last few months have been frustrating due to the poor signal strength and all the lost signals.  But after today, I have a lot more confidence it the system.  I still think it stinks that GARMIN doesn't sell the 320 or the collars without the best antenna they could find and it's up to us to spend more money on a brand new product to get it to work as it should.   ^o)

The factory antennas on the 40's break inside them. Mine did the same thing, and garmin sent me a new one TWICE. Lol. I stripped the coating off of the old one and the wire inside was broken.Finally i made one just like the tuff skins, and it has been working since.

 garmin should be paying you all for the research ...

LMAO 

I called GARMIN when they first came out with the 220 and the DC20, remember the one with the collar sticking straight up in the air.  Or at least it was in their pictures, but as we all know, gravity has a way of pulling things down.    :o


Anyway, I told them the hog doggers would be their biggest customers and not the bird dog hunters and that we could give them a lot of positive suggestions on how to do it correctly.  As in the DC20's antenna setup.  I told them that would never work, as soon as the dog starts walking, the antenna will swing downwards and be pointing at the ground.  I was told that the "engineers" had done extensive testing on them. 

Needless to say, he didn't want to hear what I had to say and I got the impression that they "thought" they knew everything there was to know about tracking collars.  I even remember telling him to look at a Wildlife Materials collar to see what one should look like.  He wasn't interested in my suggestions, but we all know how long those DC20's were in production before the DC30's came out and low and behold if they didn't resemble a normal tracking collar?   :o  I guess their "engineers" hadn't done as much testing as they had claimed.   ;D

Kemmercurs
I worked with a bunch of those engineers and tjey are like huntin dogs...lots of culls out there...and like a good huntin dog..we cherish the good ones... :)

You know that old saying...the day we know everything is the day we quit learning....that might be garmins problem...  :o

garmin is updating their system

thanks for all the help.i updated my 220 still have 1 collar droppin and not pickin back up.but others are doin right.sometimes getin dogs over a mile.plan on pickin up aftermarket antenas next week.i feel the original dc 20 collars and the units were sold premature.sold to be tested by the public.idk.they are great at sometimes and suck sometime when they shouldnt. but,thats life i guess.

you could get the truck mount antenna, might make the signal stronger

i aint never in the truck except drivin to and from the hunt. :P

I have a 220 and 4 DC30's and have tried several different setups to try and get more range and without a doubt the best setup is adding the tuff skins to the collars and the 14'' flexible antenna to the handheld.  I more than doubled my range that I was getting from the factory setup.  This combo also gets me more range than I ever got from the handheld long range or the magnetic truck mount. Believe it or not, I have picked my dogs up at over 2.0mi. I normally have a constant signal up to about 1.5mi and then it will start going in and out.  It also helps doing periodic maintenance.  I try to update my handheld as well as the collars at least about every 4-6 months. It also helps out if after every couple hunts (especially if your hunting in really muddy conditions) you take the collars apart, undo the wire connections, wirebrush the antenna connection, and just give everything a good cleaning with some warm soapy water. At this time I usually delete all my collars from the handheld and re-add them.  Also at the beginning of every hunt (if i remember), I clear all previous hunts, calibrate the compass, and go through each dog's info to make sure the collars got a full charge.  It's definately a little work keeping these things in tip-top shape, but being able to pick my dogs up 2.0mi out makes it worth while!

2 miles is awesome...but I wouldn't do all this work...my mn-10 would go for years without any maintenance or battery changes unless the collor broke and got wet in the internals.

Most every thing you are saying Garmin could make a fix so as not to do all the work you do prior to a hunt...