|
Editorial Review Garmin ASTRO BUNDLE DC 30 Collar 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. ... Read more Reviews 
An Upgrade from their earlier astro (orange box style), October 24, 2009
This astro should be pointed out that its fixed many of the bugs those of us early adopters encountered (like using velcro to attach anything to a dog was mistake 1).
The early versions featured an orange "box" with a non-amplified antenna built into the top of it, plus a li-ion battery. You got a velcro harness to hold it on the dog and keep it pointing skyward. After 2-3 trips the velcro was full of hair and the antennas were being broken by anxious dogs racing through brush.
Garmin re-designed the astro and fortunately for us all we had to do was buy the upgraded collar design. The (now black) collar works the same but features an amplified antenna on top, the electronics box down below where it naturally hangs, and an improved longer antenna with better range (about 25% better in my testing)
From the top of one mountain I can now find my dog 7.48 miles away with almost full signal strength, so this really works. Getting to the dog is another matter.
The collar transmits either every 5, 10, or 30 seconds. 10 is a good value as you get about 2 days of use from the transmitter before the battery dies. 5 seconds will die in under a day (about 18 hours). These settings are made by placing the collar in close proximity to the handheld tracker and uploading them.
Finally for the radio folk the collar transmits on the MURS VHF frequencies at 2 watts digital. The frequencies are 151.82, 151.88, 151.94, 154.57 (old analog radio channel - not a good choice) and 154.6 (same as 154.57) [all in MHZ]
The 151 frequencies provide the best range near towns becuase every fast food drive through uses the 154 frequencies to talk around. These correspond to the last 2 sets of 10 channels in the Astro.
If you are wondering how they get 10 channels on one frequency, its simple - both the receiver and transmitter have GPS inside, so they know EXACTLY when a second clicks by to a great precision. They then divide a time period (1 second) into 10 parts, each 1/10 of a second long. Channel 23 for example specifies frequency 2 (151.94) and timeslot 3 - the 3rd 1/10 of a second after 0.00 seconds. Since the radio and the transmitter both know when the transmission will happen the radio tunes frequency 2 at 0.3 seconds after a second "ticks" to listen for the 1/10 second transmission from the collar.
The only problem with this is you can not put multiple collars next to each other as the receiver needs time to process the data it receives (about another 1/10 second) so if 151.94 is a good channel for you, pick dog numbers of 21, 23, 25, 27, and 29 if you have multiple dogs on one system or are hunting with another astro user. Also, you can't have the radio tune different channels at the same time, so don't pick dog A on channel 14 and dog B on channel 24 because their transmissions will be at the same time on 2 different freqencies.
Keeping those simple rules of separation in mind you can track alot of dogs a long ways with Astro.
One trick pony, but it is a pretty good trick, July 18, 2009
Nowadays when you can see your mailbox from space on google earth, basic cell phones have gps and mp3 players and you can buy 16gb usb flash drives for less than the cost of a tank of gas, technology products come with high expectations, especially ones with $500 price tags. The Garmin Astro meets expectations, but stops there rather abruptly. Okay, that may be a bit critical. The technology is pretty amazing. When you first get it out of the box, work through the quick start guide, and put it on your dog, it is impressive. Once our Schipperke, Lucy, was more than about 15 yards away the handheld unit clearly and accurately showed her position on a simple color map and the dog tracker pointed at her approximate location while correctly tracking her distance. My wife walked across our neighborhood with Lucy and from our home, I could easily follow their entire walk(500 yards away). But the glow wore off quickly. When you start to examine the features of the device, you'll realize that there isn't much more too it. Outside of the one (admittedly cool) feature, the GPS is basically a run of the mill GPS from 5 or 10 years ago. The included map shows highways, but not surface roads (it costs another $100 to download detailed maps). It has a compass, a barometric altimeter and some gps games that I'll probably never play. The collar (despite being an improvement from previous versions) is also a bit big and bulky for a small dog, though seeing Lucy run with that antenna sticking up fromm her collar is awful cute. In total, we love being able to let Lucy run free in the forest without those moments of panic when we don't know where she is, so I'm glad I own the Garmin Astro. I was on the fence between 3 and 4 stars and price pushed me to 3. At $500, I'm still not sure it's worth it. Fundamentally, this is a GPS unit that communicates with another GPS unit via radio. I can't see any reason why this shouldn't be half the price. Give it two years and I anticipate that it will be. For now, this appears to be among the best gps dog trackers available, but that it isn't saying very much.
I can't recommend this highly enough!, December 26, 2009
I purchased the Astro 220/DC30 in May of 2009 for my Samoyed who if you have ever owned a sled dog (Samoyeds, Huskies, etc), you know all too well their fondness for roaming, chasing, and running all the while forgetting to listen (ignoring is more like it!) for you calling them!
I now feel extremely comfortable when my dog is off leash on hikes, as the Astro 220 does as advertised. I know whether my dog is on the move, treeing some sort of critter, or resting. I also know what direction she is located and approximately how far away she is. It's also come in handy finding my way back to the car a couple of times.
On the occasions that I have had to retrieve her the GPS/compass has been 100% on the mark each time. It saves me a lot of time wandering through the woods aimlessly calling her with that slightly panicked edge to my voice!
So far the collar has withstood several swims, miles of terrain, lots of digging into boroughs, and rough-housing with other dogs.
As someone else mentioned, make sure the units sync up before you release your dog. I sync them off the dog, then put the collar on her. Carry spare AA batteries with you. I get about 24 hours out of a set on the Astro. You don't want to be DOA when you are looking for your pup. The collar however gives me about 15 hours on a recharge with the 5 second refresh.
Aside from all that, if your dog is a hard-running type, you will be amazed at how much ground they can cover in an amazingly short time.
If there was a wish-list for this product I would say some sort of rechargeable battery for the handset would for me make it perfect. A second-tier wish would be to make it slightly smaller.
I am sure I will buy whatever the next-gen of this product is as it can only go from Very Good to Excellent, I think.
Very useful, December 3, 2009
This season we used the Astro 220 with six DC 30 collars for deer and hog hunting for the first time. The astro is a big improvement over radio trackers. We can determine precisely where the dogs are, which direction and how fast they are moving and recover then much more quickly. However,the range is limted. In flat terrain with heavy tree cover we found the maximum range is about one mile with the factory antenna. The unit does retain the dogs last known location so most times you can regain the lost signal by simply moving closer to that point. When I added the Garmin magnetic mount antenna I found the range is about doubled. You can also use your old radio collars as a backup. The two collars do not interfere with each other. We did have problems with the DC30 collars interfering with each other when they are in close proximity but Garmin gave us the solution with their online support. All in all we are pleased with the product and the support so far.
Astro 220 DC30 collar, October 1, 2008
I bought the Astro to use with my pointing dog, primarily for grouse and woodcock. I tried it at home, before an early season trip to North Dakota for sharptails, and it worked like a champ, tracking the dog as my wife walked her around the neighborhood, and beeping to show me the dog was on point when they stopped. But, in North Dakota, it would never tell me the dog was on point, even though she had been for a long time. I took it home, messed with it, and again, had it working at home. Back to ND two weeks later, same thing - the dog would be on point but the unit would not pick up the signal. I called Garmin, and the support rep said to change the COM setting to 30 seconds. That didn't make sense to me, but I tried it - no difference. I emailed at the same time to Garmin, and got an much better answer back the next day. "Likely the system had become corrupted, and you should perform a hard reset, and download the latest operating system at the same time." The instructions were very clear, and after performing those steps, the unit works like a champ. I used it this last weekend in the north woods of Minnesota, and it signals EVERYTIME the dog goes on point. It works great!!! I may get rid of the beeper collar completely (instead of just using it on point-mode only). I'll keep the bell, so I can track the dog between points. I also bought the Topo map, and that is a great help in the woods - know where the hills and potential swamps are, as well as most logging and all county roads. As other reviewers have mentioned, its not a "high end" GPS, and you still have to use a training collar, but it does what it is supposed to do (with the help of support at Garmin). I really like hunting without all the noise of a beeper collar, and I think the dog can hear me much better too. I'm surprised it works as well in the hills and woods as it does, as I have tracked my dog out 250+ yards. One other issue, if you have a small dog like mine (33 lbs.) the unit won't fit well around the neck as the two units (battery/radio and gps) are not flexible and not curved much. It's very uncomforatble for the dog, and kind of heavy. Overall, 8 out of 10.
Excellent system, but not quite perfect., January 4, 2010
This is the best thing available as far as I know, but it could be a little better. I refused to buy until they came out with the DC30 collar. Topo map software is a must-have. I wish they had the option for a shorter collar strap (beagles). As one other reviewer said, making this an all-in-one shock and track would be the bomb. Part of the appeal of this system is that I can tell when a dog is running off-game (deer) by the path they are taking (rabbits make circles, loops, etc.), so I can correct them before they get too far away and get in the highway. I keep one DC30 on an old dog I trust and the other one on younger dogs in training. When I see them separate, there is a good chance the puppy is going astray. I need the tracking collars on the dogs that also wear e-collars. It's quite a lot for a 20lb beagle to carry. I'll be upgrading to the lighter Tritronics G3 series as soon as I can afford it.
Expensive but worth it..., October 19, 2009
After reading all the reviews about less expensive solutions, I decided to give the Astro a try.
Everything comes in a rugged carrying case (for $500 it should). Turning on the unit, it found the collar on the first try. The collar has rechargable batteries, the Garmin handheld unit uses 2 AA batteries.
A few warnings to folks based on my experience:
1. If you let your dog go before the Garmin handheld unit is linked to the collar, I found it usually does not find it. Best advice is to put it on your dog and wait the minute so the Garmin handheld says it has "found" your dog. You should be within a few feet of your dog to get this work quickly.
2. The compass indicator is the most useful function. It tells you where your dog is with a simple compass arrow and gives you the distance. I find that the compass is accurate 95% of the time but the distance in yards is usally off quite a bit. The important thing to keep in mind is if you see yard froms dog going 50... 70... 90... 110... he or she is chasing something. I have never lost my dog and have done tests where she and a friend try to "loose" me but I found them every time.
3. The antenna seems to pretty sturdy. My dog will chase animals into a hole and get most of her body into it, collar and all. Nice that there is an extra antenna just in case with the unit.
The unit has lots of useful information like if your dog is running, sitting, or treed something. You can view a map of the dogs route too, which is interesting. There is also an ability to set up multiple marks so you can use the unit to return to a specific spot or even your vehicle. You can also track multiple dogs (each with their own D30 collar of course).
While the unit is expensive, the peace of mind of knowing where my dog is when she is out of site is priceless. By the way, I don't hunt, so anyone who takes their dog hiking off leash will love this unit as much as the most avid hunter.
confidence, October 13, 2009
I own and raise brittanys and have always enjoyed hunting them. This product has allowed me to hunt in deep cover and know where the dogs are and even better, get me back to the truck!! What a delight to follow the cover and dogs rather than always worrying about getting out of the woods!
Astros in K9 SAR, August 27, 2010
I bought 3 Astro 220 with the DC-30 collar for our K9 Search and Rescue team. These units are invaluable when the dogs are working in difficult terrain out of sight of their handlers. They are particularly important for safety; if a dog is injured while searching we may only be able to find him with the Astro. We are also able to download the dog's track onto a computer with a detailed mapping program so we can see exactly where the dog has been and whether there are any gaps in his search. The Astro has many features and therefore it is fairly complicated and it takes some time to learn to use. Don't expect to be able to go out the first day and have it work to its full capability for you. Even if you are familiar with using GPS, the Astro takes some time and effort to get used to. The Astro was designed for use with hunting dogs so it has some features that are specific to hunting that are not applicable to our purpose. Fortunately, you can turn these features off (once you figure out the menus). So far, the units have proven to be reliable and the 220 has an excellent antenna that gets a good signal even in heavy brush and trees. All in all it's a good product that makes our search team safer and more efficient.
... Read more |
