DC 40 collars. Are they reliable?

[Jmesonp1]

I just switched to these collars from the old wildlifes. so far Ive lost service several times and one quit working all together. It took a little licking 2 weeks before it quit but Ive heard of wildlifes that got eaten by a gator and still work. Anyone else having trouble?

[firemedic]

I've had 2 of them for well over a year now and I'm happy with them. You're right that they aren't as durable as our old style radio collars......however, the trade off is well worth it to me. There are 2 things that you can do to get the most out of your collars,.... if you're not doing this already be sure to keep your receiver and collars updated. The other is to give the collars and receiver time to get hooked up to the satellites before you put the collars on your dogs.....it doesn't take long, but it's a pretty big deal seems to me. Also, get a long range antenna if you don't have one yet....you will need it sooner or later.

[SwampHunter]

How do you update them ?

[RyanTBH]

Well I downloaded the web updater from the garmin site. I was able to update my astro, but can't get the collars to update. Advice?

[brad s]

After u update the handheld. Turn one collar on and on the handheld u have go to menu and press update collar and hit find device on your pc and it should bring up the dc 40. Its kinda hard to explain on here. B easier to tell u or show u. Hope this helps.

[firemedic]

For you boys that are having a time updating and such.....if you don't already have one....get an owners manual from Garmin.....if you do have one.... READ it from cover to cover and keep it with you at all times......wonderful little thing to have handy. I can't stress this enough....having this little booklet will make your life a LOT easier.

[RyanTBH]

For you boys that are having a time updating and such.....if you don't already have one....get an owners manual from Garmin.....if you do have one.... READ it from cover to cover and keep it with you at all times......wonderful little thing to have handy. I can't stress this enough....having this little booklet will make your life a LOT easier.

LOL! I couldn't agree more, and I have shorted myself by misplacing mine. I am deff gona be making a cheat sheet when I upgrade to the 320. Those things are capable of so much. But when you get a new toy, do you really take the time to read the manual, or do you just get excited and start playing? LOL! That's some good advice right there.

[RyanTBH]

Ok... I figured it out, and I'll share.

1. Connect Garmin with computer using your USB cable.
2. Download webupdater from Garmin.
3. Fully charge your collars and make sure your Astro has new or charged batteries.
4. Connect desired collar to the Garmin Astro.
5. Go to the dog list, and select the desired collar, and select show info.
6. Once in the show info screen, select menu again, and scroll down to upgrade dog unit.
7. Open the webupdater and click next, your device should show up in the webupdater screen if it connected to your Astro unit.
8. If your device is connected it will then tell you in the webupdater that your collar is being updated. Let it run, and repeat for each collar.

I'd suggest doing this soon because Garmin just came out with another upgrade for the units, Astro and DCs.

Hope this helps.