# tracking collars



## overunder (Mar 9, 2009)

I'm looking for a tracking collar for my new beagle. I hear too many terrible stories about guys losing their hounds. It seems worth the investment. However, the info is so blurry. Some for $900 and some for $150. Is the only difference that the expensive ones track multiple hounds and have a tree switch. What gives? Thanks to whoever pointed me in the right direction of Early Autumn Kennels. Chuck's been great and I should be getting my patch bred real soon.


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## Jumpshootin' (Jul 6, 2000)

I bought a Wildlife Materiels TRX-3 (The Beagler), three dog system 16 years ago and still use it. It's rather primitive compared to what is on the market today, but can still track them out to 10 miles here in Iowa. 
Back in Michigan it's range was anywhere from 2-5 miles.


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## steve w (Feb 15, 2004)

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=209&pID=8576#mapTab If I did not have a tracking system this is what I would buy. It is just so practicle, it finds your dog then gets you back to your truck. It has all the features of a better GPS.Check out the video under the BUZZ on the link above.You'll need to click on the dog after it loads


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## predatordave (Feb 24, 2003)

Oh man, those patch guys will get you addicted. They got me. Congrats on your new addition. Anyways to your question. I think the collars out there are pretty comparable for range and durability. I own a marshall collar a wildlife collar and use a tracker receiver. I like the marshall collar since it is light weight and fits the beagle good and it uses aa batteries which I can change myself and can find anywhere. But the aa batteries don't have the life I wish they had. I go through a lot a year. My wildlife collar is a little big for a beagle but it also has a changeble battery. It uses some odd size that sometimes radioshack will carry or you can get from the dog suppliers but they last for app. 2000 hours. I like that. Wildlife materials makes a smaller beagle collar I am going to check out. 
I feel tracker, wildlife materials, marshall are pretty good receivers as I have used them all. All I know is do not buy the innotek system I have heard nothing good about them. They are cheap for a reason. If you have a buddy you are going to run with who has a tracking system I would suggest you get collars that fit his frequency but not the same exact decimal numbers. 
The gps systems seem great but they won't replace my telemtry yet. 
Check out some of the manufacturers websites. You can't go wrong with anything wildlife materials. And keep your eyes open for used deals as I have noticed some guys selling stuff to but gps. Don't buy used unless you see it work. 

Later, dave


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## overunder (Mar 9, 2009)

Does any one have the the Garmin Astro?


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## steve w (Feb 15, 2004)

I just read predotordave's post and realized I did a pretty good job of selling Garmin and a not so good job of answering overunder's question.The big spread in price can be attributed to one thing,convienance.As you say they all do pretty good job of pointing you in the right direction but it's what you have to do before that happens is the key. Is the unit so bulky it's back in the truck when you need it? That is going to be anything with a yagi antennea.The TRACKER is the most portable and almost the most expensive, I believe Marshall beats it. Next question would be how do you tune in your collar? Digitally or turn the nob till you find it,the latter being subject to user error when you'll need it the most.The next thing I'd look at is as already mentioned battery type, do you want to service the unit as needed or send it in for a battery? if you choose the DIY route you'll lose battery life, if you go with the manufactures and rechargables you should gain. Now this applies to the collars but not always the recievers. A user replacable dead reciever battery does not have to mean a lost dog as it is in your hands unlike a collar that is on the dog.And last is going to be size bigger collar bigger battery bigger signal, sounds great huh? Problem is you strap it on and like above feel it's to big and in some cases could be.One other thing that will effect price is how many collars will you want to track at the same time, you running a pack of 10 or 1? How about the future? I use a TRACKER MAXIMA 10/1000 with Johnson Ultra Lite collars,the 2000hr ones. I have the 4000hr too, but there big on a smaller dog, as is TRACKERS strike collar. I still stand buy what I have said above, I feel the Garmin offers to much at the price to not consider it. The accuracy is perfect the learning curve nill about the biggest drawback is range and battery life but both can be worked with. Thier collars are on the large size also,I would not hesitate to strap them on my beagles though.One other thing comes to mind, there is a lot of good reading on tracking systems at www.gundogsupply.com


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## steve w (Feb 15, 2004)

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/showthread.php?t=275541&highlight=astro&page=1 There is more than this, use the search function in the upland forum.


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## predatordave (Feb 24, 2003)

steve good info. What kind of range are you getting with your garmin. That is the only thing keeping me from grabbing one up. I mean heck if you get a mile that would be fine for running cottontails. The prices are getting better on them everyday. Ebay has new ones for under 500. 
I used to have a 5 channel marshall receiver and I loved it. I think it had better pinpointing and range over the tracker maxima I now have. I just had to track more dogs. If I had the cash to buy a new tracking receiver I would buy the new marshall. But it is pricey. But I think the tracker depending on what model can be more money. 

Later, dave


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## overunder (Mar 9, 2009)

It prices out cheaper than most. I think it has three hound capibility. And it's from a reliable company. Steve you say it will stay on a beagle? That would be my only concern. It's seems that the unit acts as a standard handheld unit without the collar. Am I misunderstanding this? Would it be possible to mark treestands, fishing holes, etc. with this? Thanks for all the great info.


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## overunder (Mar 9, 2009)

I'm reading alot of past posts that claim this color is too big and heavy for a beagle. Would it fit with a ecollar too?


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## predatordave (Feb 24, 2003)

there is no reason to not buy a garmin. I have been kicking around getting one. I have talked to a few guys who use them on beagles and size has not come up. Your pup should get to be a big beagle so the size might not be a big deal.if anything you use a 3/4 inch regular collar to save room. I have yet to see the garmin collars in person. And yes the handheld acts as a regular personal gps too. The handheld is the piece that communicates with the satellite not the collars. The collars send signals back to the handheld. and I think it can track up to 10 different collars. 

Later, dave


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## steve w (Feb 15, 2004)

First off I do not own the Astro, yet. Range claims are subjective but from what I am geting from various reports is that for running beagles I feel it would be OK.Anywhere from 1000 yds to 2 to 3 miles. I have lost signal with my TRACKER as well as the Johnson Merlin that I have. It uses a yagi, the solution is to get in the truck and drive till you get a signal, does not happen often but has.Concerning size I read a lot of guy's saying there to big but after looking at the DC30 at Gander Mountian I see them being fine on my 25lb to 35lb beagles. From what understand you will have to trim the collar some but it does not hurt it.And I still see them able to handle the Dogtra 1800 collar I use or the Tri-Tronics which are smaller. I put a ID tag on the E-collar so I don't need a third collar.Finally yes you can mark fishing holes treestands your truck camps etc. just like a regular GPS. You really need to watch that video under The Buzz in the link above.


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## eino (Jun 19, 2003)

I have had a Tracker Maxima and still have (but never use anymore) an Innoteck. I has alot of trouble locating dogs with either. Even if I could get an approxamate direction, I still could not find a dog that was moving. I left a dog overnight once using the Tracker. If you can figure out how to use it properly it might not be a bad purchase. It's small size is what lead me to that purchase.
Prior to that I was using the Innoteck. I personally found that to be a little easier to locate a dog but still I only had a general direction and no idea how far away the dog was. Anywhere near powerlines it would lie and signal the dog was everywhere within a 360 degree radius. Because of it's size I mostly stayed in the truck. If I felt the dog was lost I'd go back to the truck and start looking.
I have the garmin astro now and would not even consider going back to the telemetry systems. Though it does have a few gliches from time to time I still find it way more reliable and accurate than the other two systems I was using. 
Dislikes about the Astro are:
The DC20 collars are junk compared to the new DC30 collar. I bought mine with the 20's and then bought a couple 30's
The DC20 is a box that will fit most any collar and is connected with a backing plate. I strongly advise anyone do not but the DC20 even if it has the antannea conversion.
The DC30 is a much better collar, but it permanetly attached to the GPS and VHF reciever on it. You can trim the excess off but if the collar gets chewed up you could be in trouble as it has a wire running through some or the collar.
I have lost a signal for a short period of time even with the DC30 but it is not often and doesn't stay lost long. Some people are unsatisfies with the battewry life on the collar. At worst it is 17 hours per charge. You need to make sure you charge it. If you do your part there is no reason why most us us would loose a dog. I sometimes only get a mile or slightly more range with mine. No my dogs don't go that far but I have tested it. If the dog did go out of it's range you can go to the truck drive to the next road close to where you lost the dog signal and you will pick it back up.
What I Like about the system is you can carry it with you. The Astro works just as ant other hand held would. Mark locations, bread crumb trail, even moon phases. Plus it records data from the collar. Avarage speed of the dog. Current speed. Distance. And much more. It will fit most any dog. I have a small beagle. Around 12 inches and 23 pounds and it fits her fine.
It might not be the rite system for everyone but most anyone hunting squirrel, ****, rabbit, birds, Even some coyote hunters are using them.
I hope you don't mind reading the long post but I thought I'd try and tell you what I know of my experience.
Good luck choosing.

Ed


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## LarryA (Jun 16, 2004)

Fisrt of all, I don't have a Garmin. I have TRX-3 Wildlife system. The thing I wanted to mention is no one has said anything about the download maps.

A Garmin can show you where your dog has went and where it is at in relation to woods, creeks, and roads. Most **** hunters who have purchased the latest models say they would never go back to a regular tracking system.

I will keep my system until it dies, but I am keeping an eye on the Garmins.


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## overunder (Mar 9, 2009)

Good infor on the 20 vs. the 30. Every post I read really points me to the Garmin. Thanks for all the info.


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## bjw (Dec 20, 2007)

I had a F&L MN-10. I'm getting a Garmin. My old tracker worked good and saved me a couple of times. I always knew the general direction my dogs were but with a Garmin you can tell what direction and distance (within a few yards). My friend has one and he can watch it to see if his dogs start to come in when he calls them. With my F&L it was kind of a pain to carry it around all day and have to fold out the antenna eveytime I wanted to use it. The garmin fits right in your pocket. The nice thing about the beep-beep systems is tha you can find used ones real cheap right now because alot of guys are switching over to Garmins.


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## cat-hunter (Mar 31, 2009)

I personally have the a garmin and it's like night and day to to the old style trackers. You can hunt up to a dozen hounds on one unit. tells were your dog is and what he's doin all the time even when you can't hear them.I like it mainley because if your dog is heading torwad a road or a hwy you can beat him there before he gets hit.The signal is pretty decent on the collors i had them as far out as 6 miles and never went out once. The only time they Go out of signal is if they are in a vehicle or big hills or mountains. The garmin is definatley the way to go, but i hear there is a new gps one yet still in the works.


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## eino (Jun 19, 2003)

Tracker is developing one. Hard to make a fair assesment when I know almost nothing of it but I did see where they were going to make it so your cell phone is the hand reciever. I'm not sure I'd like that as you would need to hunt where you can get a cell signal. I pretty sure that there was something about a monthly fee. Don't take my word for it though.
I do think that with the experience Tracker has they are capable of a superior product but from what I seen I didn't like it.

Ed


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## eino (Jun 19, 2003)

Well that was easy enough to find.
http://www.trackerradio.com/news/080215-GPS-dog-tracking.asp


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## slicktree (May 12, 2008)

I have had a Garmin for over a year. I will never use the beep beep again. even if you lose signal you can walk or drive to where you had a signal last and pick them back up. use it with the truck antenna and it gets even more range. if you arent sure what side of the river your dog is on, look at the map. save them from roads. the best investment i ever made. worked good in the hills of kentucky works good down in the flat landers areas and it works good in northern michigan. Dont buy it from ebay, go to f&t furharvestors web site


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## overunder (Mar 9, 2009)

Really unbelievable how much I've learned from this post. Thanks to everyone that responded. I will keep the questions coming since my pup will be here soon. Some very knowledgeable sportsman on this site. I'm sure I will get great advice on training the pup, too.


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