Garmin problem on last hunt, something to think about.

[Circle C]

lazyj,

    I guess the collar could have turned, but it was fine when I got the dog back, and I have never witnessed it turning in the past. If it did happen to turn during the hunt, then it righted itself at some point.

Rex,

    I sure don't mind losing any saved info if it will help to keep this from happening again.


Somebody told me the other day, that the higher the number setting on the collar, the better the range they got. Not sure if there is anything to this... anyone else heard of this?  I don't understand how the GPS technology works to know if that even makes any sense.

[bghogdogtx]

The garmin is great when it works.  And is your Worst enemy when it dosent.  Its a sick feeling knowing your dogs are out there and you can't find them

[Bryant]

Somebody told me the other day, that the higher the number setting on the collar, the better the range they got. Not sure if there is anything to this... anyone else heard of this?

Theoretically this would be correct, because the higher the collar number the higher the radio frequency.  BUT, the band of frequencies used are so close together that you would never be able to tell the difference without some type of special equipment to test transmission strength.

[Cristina]

Yeah Chris that's why I want one! It could make our hunts run a lot smoother!

[scdogman]

Ditto,

Always the garmin and a regular tracking collar. 

[Cutter]

had similar problems with mine kept losing dogs then picking them up in totally different directions would show them north when they would be east. Got mad that night threw that one in the river, bought another one it works fine, have never had any problems with it yet.

[makenbeans]

Had the arrows pointing the complete opposite direction , calibrated the gps the next round out seemed to fix the problem.
My dog close to medium so dont really know how well it works at long dist. but ill calibrate evry time i put him down.
NO PROBLEMS since.

[Lockedon]

Had the same problem one time.  We had all the ID numbers close together.  We seperated the numbers and the problem went away.  Example:  frequency numbers were 10, 11, 12, 13   ----  we changed them to 2, 8, 14, 20.

[mississippi hog]

the problem we always had was... the garmin would work great for 3-4 hours, but after then the dog would become a ? mark on the screen, it would still update his movements and we could follow him but it would not log his tracks on the map. then after about 30 minutes to an hour of this it would show him stopped. Only thing, no dog in that spot. So we would break out the quick track and he'd be anywhere from 1/2 mile to 3 miles from there... Once we would catch the hog, I could power off-on and it would be back to normal... WE NEVER RUN JUST GARMIN... TO RISKY!!!!

[coach]

I never run the transmitter on all the time to track the dogs, but I have learned that no matter what recalibrate the transmitter every hunt, and the truck base antenna has better reception than the long range antenna. Will post what happened to me this sunday.

[Circle C]

Anyone running modified antennas on their Garmin systems?

[Circle C]

Yesterday a member here forwarded me some info on using different antenna's to improve the range on the Garmin systems. I read what he sent, then did some additional research. I ordered an "upgraded" rubber antenna for the handheld, it should be in sometime next week.Then yesterday evening, it dawned on me that I know a man that owns a large communications company with an office 10 minutes from mine. I called him up last night and told him that I want to increase the range on my Garmin, and told him what frequencies I am dealing with.   Thursday AM I have an appointment to meet with one of his technicians. Here is what we are going to try. Using a ~48" magnetic mount antenna, with a 2.5 db gain, tuning it to 151-154 mhz.  In theory the Garmin puts out 2 watts of signal. They said in reality, it probably puts out something more like 1.5 watts. Matching that with a tuned 2.5 db antenna, it should put out closer to 4 watts. This should, at least in theory, significantly increase the range.

Some claims I have read are. "upgraded rubber antenna"  4-5 mile range
Tuned magnetic mount antenna, 14-15 mile range.
Now, if I can achieve half of the claimed distances, I will be pleased.

Anyone else tried something like this, and if so, what results have you seen?

[cantexduck]

 Keep us updated with what you find out, Chris.

[bghogdogtx]

Way out of my league there.  Are you speaking in English. HAHA

[Bryant]

Chris,

Interesting to see what he says, but here's how I see it.

The Garmin handheld does not "put out" anything.  The collar is what's doing the transmitting.  By changing the receiver's antenna to an antenna actually tuned to the correct frequency you stand a better chance of receiving the signal being broadcast.  However, none of this will effect signal strength of the "transmitting device" (which is the collar).

[Circle C]

Bryant,

    You may be correct, but you still have to receive the signal.   Go out to your truck, and unscrew the antenna from the cowl. Now see what kind of reception you get when you turn the radio on. I don't fully understand how the gain can effect the reception, and I may find that it does not have any effect at all, I should know something in two days though.
Something else to think about. If you are having trouble receiving signal on your television, you go out and buy an amplified antenna. Your tv is the receiver, yet you still amplify that antenna

Why wouldn't the same apply to low level frequencies, that are used in MURS and VHF?

[Bump]

Bryant,

    You may be correct, but you still have to receive the signal.   Go out to your truck, and unscrew the antenna from the cowl. Now see what kind of reception you get when you turn the radio on. I don't fully understand how the gain can effect the reception, and I may find that it does not have any effect at all, I should know something in two days though.
Something else to think about. If you are having trouble receiving signal on your television, you go out and buy an amplified antenna. Your tv is the receiver, yet you still amplify that antenna

Why wouldn't the same apply to low level frequencies, that are used in MURS and VHF?

All of this is over my head but hoping you come up with something on this. I would think if the long range antenna doubles the range of the rubber antenna....hopefully a correctly tuned gain on a longer range antenna can be found.

[Circle C]

Bump,
    What kind of range are you typically seeing with your magnetic antenna hooked up?



Side note:
The radio man that I spoke with last night went into some detail (over my head) regarding physics, attenuation, etc.  However, one of the things that I did understand is that the soil content in the area you are hunting has a definite affect on the signal range.  If you hunt an area with a high iron ore content, you will get much better range out of your Garmin, than someone with little to no iron ore in the soil.  That might explain why some people report better range out of their Garmin systems than others.

[crackerc]

I am glad I read this post. I have been on the fence about buying a Garmin but haven't yet. I know the DC-30 collar is a big improvement over the DC-20 but I am not convinced all the bugs are worked out...yet.

I hunted with two guys a few weeks ago, both had the Garmin Astro and Dc-30 collars. One kept getting an "interference" reading on his collar (while his dog was off hunting) and he said he needed to change something on the collar but the dog/collar had to be within a few feet of you to do so. That isn't any help if the dog pulls out before coming back and you can't get a signal.

The other guys Astro was telling us north was to our east....I had a regular compass and I followed it to come out on the road. If I had used his Astro reading I would still be lost in the woods.....

So I feel there is room for improvement on the Garmin units. Longer range would definately help. Hopefully Garmin will use everyone's input to build a better unit. THEN I may buy one.........

[Circle C]

The other guys Astro was telling us north was to our east....I had a regular compass and I followed it to come out on the road. If I had used his Astro reading I would still be lost in the woods.....

This was due to operator error.  You need to calibrate the compass before the hunt. I am pretty sure it triangulates based on the satellites it connects with on that particular hunt.  I mistakenly thought that once I had calibrated the compass on a particular piece of land, that it would remember the settings. I learned the hard way, it does not work that way. Just recalibrate prior to each hunt, and you will not have any problems.



I agree that there is plenty of room for improvement. That's why I run both the DC-30 and the radio collars. 

That said, to date, I have had more issues with Tracker brand radio collars, than I ever have with the DC-30's.  For radio I run Quicktrack, and some Mike Kelley collars, and would not hesitate to run Marshall, or Wildlife. I will not buy another Tracker product.