Garmin Truck Antenna Problems

[doghunter]

I like your idea with the mini repeater but the Motorola’s for example operate on the exact frec, as the Garmin channels (MURS). So you could not filter them out but if the signal was reduced via the repeater to a safe level (2 Watts) it would not stop any interference but would stop the damage to the unit.
The interference would be a minor problem because you would only have to set the collar id to a different id away from the frec someone was talking on.
So in theory it would fix the frying problem. Now all we have to do is build one and test it to see what we did not think about.

you would also have to make sure no other signal could enter the unit past the point of the repeater.

[Caincando1]

First of all murs band is legal to use period. I do have a radio I that uses 2 watts but the people running car mounted Motorola radios pushing 15 watts have a license to use them with their peanut farm and when they get close and key their mic it’s the end of your unit. Nothing you can do. Or how about when you are parked at the Wal-Mart and a local EMS is talking on their MURS radio next to your car while you are shopping. I am not talking Marine radios. I am talking MURS one of the frec I am aware of is 151.595

Yes you are exactly right, MURS is legal to use period as long as you don't use more than 2 watts. Here are the MURS channels.

151.820 MHz
151.880 MHz
151.940 MHz
154.570 MHz
154.600 MHz

If it's not one of these then it's not MURS and not legal to use any time.

The peanut farmers are licensed to use a business band frequency which again is perfectly legal.

Yes it does happen, as I stated earlier, that legal radio use will interfere with Astro's because of bleed over. It's not from directly using the exact same frequency because that would illegal unless you are only using 2 watts which would not harm the Astro. So the problem really is bleed over and not the choice of frequencies.

[Caincando1]

I like your idea with the mini repeater but the Motorola’s for example operate on the exact frec, as the Garmin channels (MURS). So you could not filter them out but if the signal was reduced via the repeater to a safe level (2 Watts) it would not stop any interference but would stop the damage to the unit.
The interference would be a minor problem because you would only have to set the collar id to a different id away from the frec someone was talking on.
So in theory it would fix the frying problem. Now all we have to do is build one and test it to see what we did not think about.

you would also have to make sure no other signal could enter the unit past the point of the repeater.

I'm not sure how Garmin works but usually with a set up like the Astro the information that is transmitted at a specific frequency has a code that is transmitted too. The code is only deciphered by the receiving processor so that only the information containing the code is used. That would mean that other information being received by the Astro that doesn’t have the code won’t be used and hence would not interfere with it operation. Therefore the other devised using the same MURS channels wouldn’t bother the Astro as long as they were only at 2 watts. BUT I have no idea if this is true for the Garmin Astro or not. Maybe Steve knows the answer to that.

Instead of building one, lets find one that is already built and manufactured and use that one.

[Mr.pacojack]

I push alot more than 2 watts thru mine and It is leagal. It was issued to me by the Federal government, so I know it is legal. What say you now?

[Caincando1]

I push alot more than 2 watts thru mine and It is leagal. It was issued to me by the Federal government, so I know it is legal. What say you now?

What is it that is legal and what does that have to do with finding an aftermarket solution?

[Mr.pacojack]

You and steve wanted to argue the fact that it is our fault that garmin Screwed up and wanted to blame us saying we use Illegal products that ruin the garmin.
Still waiting for a answer from you. I do not use a Illegal product with and while using the garmin but if I use the radio that I use everyday it will ruin my garmin.
You garmin groupies just tap dance all the time don't you?

[Caincando1]

You and steve wanted to argue the fact that it is our fault that garmin Screwed up and wanted to blame us saying we use Illegal products that ruin the garmin.
Still waiting for a answer from you. I do not use a Illegal product with and while using the garmin but if I use the radio that I use everyday it will ruin my garmin.
You garmin groupies just tap dance all the time don't you?

I never said that everyone single person was using radio's illegally. In fact if you actually read my posts, I stated that more than once. There are times when it’s is legal to use a VHR radio on a frequency that is near a MURS frequency and transmit more than 2 watts. If you are using one legally then my all means share your information and help others find legal ways to do so also.

I still don’t see why Garmin should be expected to build a product tailored to you. You are one person and it’s not in a business’s best interest to build a product just for one person. I’m sure there are other guys that are in your situation and are completely legal, but that is still a small amount of people.

It’s obvious that you are going to blame Garmin no matter what and that’s your right. One of the downfalls of being in business is knowing that you will never make everyone happy. It’s lesson number one in business 101. Businesses like Garmin know that and take calculated risks to try and please as many people as possible. There are so many factors that go into the decision to build a product, most of which have not been addresses in this thread and really don’t need to be. Most people on here have no clue what it takes for a corporation like Garmin to make this happen. To blame them because they didn’t make small number of people (those who are using radios legally) happy is absurd. You can hang onto your beliefs all you want. That’s not going to make Garmin bow down to you though.

Have you called and told Garmin your feeling about the Astro?

[Mr.pacojack]

Keep tap dancing

[Machias]

Maybe if Garmin had taken this approach there wouldn't be so many problems, I dunno??

Marshall GPS Tracking System Update

"Is Marshall Radio coming out with a GPS Combo Tracking System? If so, when?"

Here's the latest update from Dave Marshall:

"As the head of product development at Marshall Radio Telemetry, I can honestly say we are proud to be able to serve the men and women who hunt with Hounds. If you’re one who trains and runs dogs outdoors I want you to know that Marshall is completely committed to the hound market for the long term.

As you know, GPS technology is an important part of finding dogs now and in the future. So I want to confirm here and now that we are working on tracking products that will use GPS. And we are working on other technologies as well.

So when will these be available? I hope that you will understand that for competitive and technological reasons we cannot give you a precise answer to that question. Nor can we tell you details about what it will be like. In fact, I can’t even confirm whether certain rumors going around are correct or not, because that would also inform our competitors.

What I can tell you is that if you have enjoyed Marshall products in the past, then you will not be disappointed by what we are doing. We are not interested in making an average product. A mediocre tracker can be designed quickly, but a great one truly takes a good, long while. I wish I could easily explain why it’s so hard to push the bar higher in electronics. It took us years and years to figure out how to outdo the old style tracking products of our competitors – they have some good engineers – but eventually we did. We have put so much effort into the very physics of tracking that the most discriminating buyers of all, the US military and even NASA, have come to Marshall to buy the same products that we designed for Houndsmen.

But they’re not our real customers, you are. We understand if you need to use one of our competitor’s products now instead of ours, and we congratulate our competitor for doing a good job. But as I said, we are in this market for the long haul and a few years of lost sales are a small thing to us – compared to doing the right thing for our fans and customers. No matter how much pressure we’re feeling here in the product development kitchen, we’re just not going to take the bread out of the oven too soon. We’ll announce it in its due time, just a bit before it’s steaming hot and covered with melting butter and honey on the table . . .

So I hope you’ll hang in there with us, if not now, at least down the road. We hope we might have earned your trust in the past. We hope you consider us partner in the search for the very best in long range, reliable Hound tracking equipment. And we truly appreciate your business, as well as your faith in us going forward. Thank you...

- David L. Marshall

[cat and bear]

Nothing againist you Fred,but if that isnt the most well done, politically correct letter I've read in a while. Talk about buying time, to make a product. I dont buy into it either, there is other reasons?. Pattens or something. The technologizes are there, hell you can buy a gps unit, for a hundred bucks that gets you out of the woods, and tracking collars are as good as their going to get, so to combine them, cant be rocket science, for a group of engineer's. Add UHF which is in the 400 range frequencies, instead of murs like garmin and you got a product, good grief. Marshall has a good tracking collar, just in time when most people quit using them Their cumbersome tracking unit, i wouldnt own, so instead of patting themselves on the back, they better get back in the business. I was e mailing a guy which worked for marshall, that tests the unit, and nine months later of still not seeing it to test, I bought a garmin. He still hasnt seen it to test, to my knowledge. So how can they unvail something the field tester hasnt even seen, other then a picture, which i can get sourdough to draw one up We will be taking deposits soon, of our version

The garmin is far from perfect, I wish it done a lot of things, it doesnt, with that being said, its all we got. Most of our guys have icom radio's, lock them on low which is five watts, and no problems, a 150 dollar solution. Garmin, may or may not change to our needs, but we need to adapt, if we want to use their product. We have the choice to use the beep beep system instead of bashing the only player out there. Before you throw your garmin out the window, send it to me Its really simple, either adapt, or go beep, beep again, its your choice's. I know wildlife was talking with garmin a few years back of teaming up with them, its business, maybe will never happen, but i know there were talks, competition is great, But to have a product, use and better it to the high standards marshall is talking about, you first better be making and testing it, in the hands of people using them,instead of politically correct letters, buying time LOL

I'm flustrated of Marshall , its around the corner, I've been hearing that for two years, this letter bought them another five Perhaps the last food for thought, as most of us have roof mount antenna's, dash mounts, and the rest of the gear, we use with the garmins, including maps, waypoints, roads drawn in, etc, are they going to transfer or be used with garmins software, or like my lowrance, which i had everything in, useless for the garmin maping, I'm not sure I want to start over for the third time. Consider your buddies that hunt with you and have garmin tracking. Is it fair to them or can they afford to switch over to a marshall version, even if you do? You may be the only one that can track your dogs. Looks like several years of future headace's to all of us hunters. My hat is off to garmin, to have the gutts,to put it out there, being used, and tested, and I"m sure cost them a ton of money, in warranties, in this learning curve. I think marshall is the one lacking to see the big picture here. Food for thought

[Machias]

I don't have a dog in this fight...yet, it just seems like there are some unhappy customers and maybe they tossed something out in the market and the hound guys are the so called test crash dummies...maybe not. But it seems like there is a big enough market that they would want to make houndsmen happy as well as the bird dog world. I am just doing research. I have been out of hounds and dogs for the past two years. I was all set to buy a new Garmin, but now I'm really conflicted. Do I get a good telemetry system and wait for all the kinks to be worked out or do I jump in with both feet and get me a new Garmin...and if I do, do I get a 30 or 40. Decisions decisions!!

[cat and bear]

Fred I'm with you, decisions. The gps tracking system is the best thing in my opinion, that has happened since the tracking collar were invented. I've got the dc30's. Cheaper and less drop at this point, a better value. I use 3 of them, on my lead dogs, the rest of them, have the beep system. Seems to work good. If I had to choose, the beep vs Garmin, the glitches, hands down, gps all the way. So many good things about it, recovering dogs, highways, seeing what style and compare dogs on a screen, its priceless to me, really cuts corners. Far from perfect, a few headaches, but going to the beep, is stepping back in time, instead of the future. LOL

[Machias]

Fred I'm with you, decisions. The gps tracking system is the best thing in my opinion, that has happened since the tracking collar were invented. I've got the dc30's. Cheaper and less drop at this point, a better value. I use 3 of them, on my lead dogs, the rest of them, have the beep system. Seems to work good. If I had to choose, the beep vs Garmin, the glitches, hands down, gps all the way. So many good things about it, recovering dogs, highways, seeing what style and compare dogs on a screen, its priceless to me, really cuts corners. Far from perfect, a few headaches, but going to the beep, is stepping back in time, instead of the future. LOL

Thanks for your thoughts!!

[Smiley]

Well waiting on Marshel my garmin has paid for itself well over. In time and Most importantly the Nag factor ( getting off the mountain so much faster and being able to get out another day.
That being said I would never turn out a dog with only a Garmin but would with a beep beep. It is a tool like all others would be nice to not have limitations but there are wish we knew of them when they came out but now we know.

[Machias]

Well waiting on Marshel my garmin has paid for itself well over. In time and Most importantly the Nag factor ( getting off the mountain so much faster and being able to get out another day.
That being said I would never turn out a dog with only a Garmin but would with a beep beep. It is a tool like all others would be nice to not have limitations but there are wish we knew of them when they came out but now we know.

Sorry to hi-jack this thread even further, but smiley, how many times have you turned a dog loose with both collars? And how many times has the beep beep saved a dog for you? How many times has the Garmin failed you? Thanks