Customer Reviews

Garmin Astro 220 + 2 DC30 Dog Tracking Collars Bundle

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I waited to post my review until now so I can tell you how good this unit is AFTER a full year of using it 18 hours every day.

I have two pyr pups on our hilly farm. They are livestock guardian dogs and I need to know where they are on property, and if they leave the property as pyrs often figure out how to exit the fenced pastures. If they are chasing a predator off, they will leave the property. There are many places they can go on the farm where I cannot see them and need to know where they are. Pyrs are too big to wear the collars as they come from Garmin, so I went to my local pet store and purchased a 2nd collar that was black and the same width and thickness as the collar the DC-30 is installed on. Attaching the 2nd collar works fine and lengthens the collar size to fit the large breed dogs just fine.

I already had DeLorme Mapping software (SA 2009+ and Topo) and both these programs accept track and waypoint information from Garmin gps units, so I didn't purchase Garmin's mapping or ariel photography since I already have it.

Tracking dogs in hilly country, the radios can have times when they cannot communicate, so I have to pay attention to the Astro 220 on a regular basis. If they are more than .12 mile from the house, I download the track to learn where the dog is on the map. If they are too close to the property line, I can go outside and call them home or if they have left the farm property, I can get into my pickup with the Astro 220 and know where to drive to pick them up.

We are VERY PLEASED with the functionality of the unit for tracking a dog and not losing it. We don't use it for hunting.

One flaw I found is that I CANNOT receive the radio signal as far as Garmin claims. I believe they claim 7 miles, but I lose the signal at 2 miles or less.

If someone steals a dog, the dog will be out of range too fast for you to know where the dog has gone. I take my dogs in the car at times, and leave their collars on to see how far it tracks me, and the dog's signal is lost roughly about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 miles from home. When I do this, I leave the Astro 220 on at home attached to my computer and I go off with the dog.

I highly recommend this unit for people who need to prevent loss of their dogs from their property. You can see their track if they go out into the street, and know WHERE they are to go get them. If you don't have the collar and they go off property, you don't know where to go looking. Having the collars means I don't worry near as much about my dogs. I know when they are in the pastures and out of sight. I know when they're off property and where to go get them. This relieves a LOT of worry.

I think this would help people who show their dogs and might have prevented the loss of the dog who disappeared at the airport a year or so ago after winning best of breed at Westminster.

There's new software to download that makes the power use of the DC-30's much more conservative and so the collars last longer.

If you don't have mapping software already, I recommend getting the ariel photography for your Astro 220 or else a Garmin mapping program for your computer, especially with ariel photography. I use Delorme Street Atlas Plus and DeLorme Topo software, and it talks to my new gps just fine.

Before we got this unit, we researched ALL the gps dog trackers on the market, and this one costs more, but gives considerably more information and we felt the others were not worth the money. We still feel that way a full year later. In fact, I just ordered a third collar for one of our adult dogs who moves around the property a LOT.

My dogs have been missing since January 3rd! Apparently when the unit sits on a shelf for a long time and then gets sold, you need to get online for software updates. No one told us this and the first week my husband had them he lost the dogs. Not happy with Garmin at all! No help from there tech support either!

I purchased this device after seeing it used by a friend while out pig hunting in New Zealand.
By far superior to other dog tracking gear I have used or seen used by other hunters.It shows where your dogs are at all times seldom loosing its signal even in heavy cover.
I intend buying another couple of DC30 collars so I can keep track of all my dogs at any one time.
Great product.