Customer Reviews

GARMIN 010-11049-00 Astro DC 30 Wirelesss Collar Transmitter

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The original astro came packaged with a small rechargable orange transmitter and a velcro harness to put it on your dog. Anyone mixing velcro and dog hair knows what happens next. There was also a plastic clip you could use to screw the transmitter onto your dog's existing collar, but my dog broke 2 of those clips giving chase.

When the DC30 came out it was a major improvement. Garmin realized that the heavy transmitter would sag down where the dog tags hang, so they put it there intentionally instead of trying to force it on top.

The passive antenna in the original unit was replaced with an active amplified gps antenna sewn into the collar facing the sky. A small thin cable is hidden in the collar to carry the gps signal down to the transmitter below.

Finally, the transmit antenna was redesigned for vhf frequencies and realizes 1dB more gain over the previous transmitter - not alot but still an improvement.

In short, the DC 30 makes the astro a real dog tracker. I bought the collar separately and was immediately impressed. No longer did I have to scrape dog hair from the velcro on their earlier design!

Really like these collars over the older DC 20 models have been using the Garmin system from the very beginning and when its working its one of if not the greatest advancement in Dog Tracking Technology to date. There are some cons about this product and they are low battery life, Structural Integrity, water proofness and all together ruggedness as compared to the older Radio Telemetry Collars. They are taking steps in the right direction though and hopefully they continue to better thier already great design. I use them in the dense forest of Hawaii and they work great in some locations and ok in others it varies but it does well when used with a long range antenna.

Aloha!

With the initial purchase of the Astro system more than one year ago,I have purchased two more, old design DC-10s, and all three broke the antennas or lost the sleeve after the first or second hunting. They are definitely not properly design to hunt in difficult dense bushes . The antenna in the old DC-10 is terrible and get damaged when the dog has to cross a barbed wire line and the neoprene harness tends to deteriorate quickly. Recently I bought one of the new DC-30 and am very satisfied. It is a totally new concept. Rugged, easy to clean after the hunt and always stays in the proper position in the neck of the dog thanks to a very balanced weight design. The new antenna which is much more flexible and thinner stays at the side of the neck and never moves from the upwards position. Really Garmin had made his homework with the DC-30! Have used it in several hunting trips and the collar is like new.I am buying more to replace the old ones.

This was an addition to a system of gps tracking collars. The money spent prevents loss of dogs and less gas consumption. Great system. Love it!

I have one DC30 and am ordering another. This entire system (the Astro 220 plus DC30 collar) is unbelievably awesome. It instantly points out the location of my dog with the simple press of a button and it does much more that I haven't taken advantage of yet. This remarkable tracking device is going to provide some piece of mind when I'm hunting my dogs in new territory (or old territory) and I'm worried about losing them. And it's eliminated the need to use beepers and really loud bells to keep track of them, which provides for a much more esoteric hunting experience. A DC30 and a little bell, or no bell at all is just the ticket when hunting wary and skittish upland game with your dog. I would definitely recommend this to all of my dog-hunting friends.

I have tried several times to purchase the DC30 from Amazon. It lists one lower price (in this case $163) on the first hit from Google. Then you go to the Amazon website and it rings it up at $195. We used to call that deceptive advertising. Maybe it is called creative marketing now.

If you have ever hunted with bird dogs you know that you can see them one minute & they are no where to be seen the next. I have looked for hours trying to find them, had to leave one over night & go back the next day to find her. The Garmin dc 30 is the best way to keep up with your dogs. You always know where they are. It takes guess work out of finding your dogs. It will tell you if your dog is moving are on point, it will point you to the direction of your dog, & tell you just how far away it is. It saves you a lot of walking, & wasted time. would not hunt without my Garmin.
Byrd

Outsatanding product. Gives you real peace of mind when you are out in the woods whether hiking, hunting or just walking with your dog. You know where you four legged friend is every second, if he is tracking something you can always find him at the end of the day. The manual says not to use the collar at below 4°, the manual is correct, the battery just won't function at that temp. I have a hard time funtioning at that temp. I have found the Garmin Customer Service people to be fantastic, they are very responsive and there is no BS, they are very helpful. Very durable product. I have a beagle so the collar is always in contact with something and the collar never fails to work. Just a suggestion, put the collar on so that the charging slot faces the dogs body this keeps mud and other debris out of there.

We bougth it for the hunting with ouer dogs. It is exelendt and a lot of my friends will buy the product soon.

Greatings from Germany

KJS

I have tried to purchase this multiple times to have it canceled on me. They claim that it was previously purchased. This is frustrating. The product is an excellent product, I am trying to purchase an additional collar. Problem always seems to buy with the seller antonline.