Thoughts on 320 vs 220 or waiting for new systems

[Dads dogboy]

Folks,
I posted this over on Speeddogs.net in reply to a thread over there. I hope some of you all will correct me on any issues of witch I may have mis spoke, and add any insight that you all may have on any of these Systems either existing or up and coming!

from Speedogs:
Mr. Chris Murray and Mr. Buzz Morris are sure giving some good info on what Garmin has coming out.

I too am hearing that the Aug. 1st date may be accurate for the Garmin 320.

Now as to the DC 30 being better than the DC 40, I have agreed with this up to the last Garmin update on the 40s...now our 40s and 30s are about the same with only slight loss of GPS signal on the 40s when the Hound is in water or extra heavy cover.

The 320's Birds eye Sat feature is going to be nice but not for everybody. You will not be able to put a large amount of Imagery on the Unit, for us it looks like only two Florida Clubs at a time(about 200,000 acres). Downloading this info is a bit cumbersome and time consuming as well. You will also have to "Reset" the Hound tracking much more frequently as the space to store data is taken up with the Imagery data! You will need to keep the Topo Micro chip in the Unit to have coverage should your Hound leave the Sat. Imagery area.

While info is scarce on the Wildelife and Marshall systems coming out, I hear that both are going to be more like what Garmin is working on for the next generation systems.

The Channel Lock isolation features that Chris M. is describing for the DC40s will be a major improvement on the Garmin 320 and will probably be included and improved on in the two new systems coming out.

Battery Life is being addressed in both of the new systems we hear, as well as being combo Telem/GPS systems.

Wildelife has been building Telem/GPS systems for wildlife research programs for years. They have had to figure out how to downsize for our Hounds....sounds like they are about there.

Range is the same bugaboo for all the companies….physic’s does not change for any Company….7 mile line of sight is as good as it will get without either the collar or the receiver being higher up..or so we understand.

We hear that the Price points for both will be higher than the Garmins but may well be worth it!

Was me I would not rush out and get a Garmin 320 unless I needed a new Unit...then I would probably go with the 220 for less money and wait till later this fall when a better "MouseTrap" may be available!

Just my thoughts and a glimpse at the very slight info that I have received from informed sources.

C. John Clay
_________________
Good Running to All!

C. John Clay
Arkansas and North Florida
diamondctv@aol.com
870-223-2063

[tman308]

Dads dogboy,

As far as the collar lock pin that is active on the 40 and will protect you from someone else changing your collar ID.

I have been recommending to friends to buy the 320 and 40 combo when it is available. For one that combo will be the focus when updating software and for two I really have no complaints about the 320. I currently don't have any DC-40 as I purchased so many 30's when they first came out so I can't comment on them.

Hope that helps some.

[Dads dogboy]

Tman308

I have been playing with a 320 for the last two days, one of the testers came for a visit.

What I found that I did not like (probably because I am not a Computer hand) is that loading the Imagery was combersome having to load it to the computer then to the Unit!

Using the SD chip that I have which has every Pig trail from the Atlantic to the Pacific, in the US, South of US highway 50; I have space enough to load the Imagery from only part of the country in Florida that we hunt. I am sure that we had the detail set on Highest...that may have had an impact?

Now the Tester might not know what he was doing however he darn sure seemed to. He thought that the Detail and all the extra roads, and features(wetlands, lakes, canals, open cutover terrian, mature forests, etc) were what was using up the memory with the Sat. Imagery?

I don't know!

I do know that after having HANDS on for a couple of days and a short field test, I do not want one......for now.

I also DID NOT think that the Imagery gave me that much benefit over the detailed TOPO chip that we use. 30$ per year is affordable for now; but where will it land in a couple of years...it will probably be like your TV Cable or Sat. TV start low then go up.

I just canceled my order for a 320 and ordered another 220 for an extra and will wait to see what fall brings.

Wildelife's system really has me intrigued! They have kept their program queit as all get out till the last week or so.

Thanks for responding!

CJC

[timothy]

Tman308
Using the SD chip that I have which has every Pig trail from the Atlantic to the Pacific, in the US, South of US highway 50; I have space enough to load the Imagery from only part of the country in Florida that we hunt. I am sure that we had the detail set on Highest...that may have had an impact?

Now the Tester might not know what he was doing however he darn sure seemed to. He thought that the Detail and all the extra roads, and features(wetlands, lakes, canals, open cutover terrian, mature forests, etc) were what was using up the memory with the Sat. Imagery?

----

I just canceled my order for a 320 and ordered another 220 for an extra and will wait to see what fall brings.
CJC

It does sound like it is a memory issue that you dont like. Detailed information like that would reqiure ALOT of memory. So loading alot would reqiure a huge amount of memory, and probably alot more to be able to read it quickly without having too much lag time scrolling around on the map.

Is that the only thing you did not like about it? How detailed is the satellite imagery?

[Dads dogboy]

timothy,

From the little that I got to play with it the detail on the Imagery is very detailed and up to date.

It showed several Clearcuts that have been made in the last 4 months. All roads, houses, creeks, all features that are there. Way better than Google Earth!

The other features that make the 320 different from the 220 just do not strike me as being enough better to spend the extra money to upgrade. The fact that the Unit comes on quicker and that pages certainly scroll quicker is nice; however the 220 is certainly not slow if you keep the collars reset regularly.

Tman 308 originally posted how much memory he had left after loading everthing that he had loaded. He advised that he had used the second most detailed setting while we were using the Most Detailed setting.

If a person does not have a Unit and Collars, the 320 and the DC 40s are the best thing out there right now....if you have DC 30s and just need a Unit I would recomend what I am doing....buy another 220.

Hope this helps someone!

CJC

[zachvu]

Good info and reading...thanks!! Are there any rumors of dates on the other two or are they still "by the end of the year"

[mofo21]

how did the compass work? i like the fact that you can hold it at any angle and still read right compared to the 220 that has to be level

[Dads dogboy]

mofo21

Our 220 Units are always mounted upright in a Window Unit, we have never had a Compass reading issue! We are always able to follow compass dirtections.

Did not see any difference with the 320, but were really looking at other features!

The 320 will do more that we would not use that may make it more valuable to other users...but for just tracking Hounds the way that we do it is not appreciably better than the 220. JMO

CJC

PS If I had had the training that Garmin gave the Testers maybe I would like it more. However very few of us who are going to be buying these things will spend the time to study the manuals and watch any tutorial CD that they send. Also the testers were able to get help much faster than the public will when issues arose. I bet that I speak for most Hound Hunters who operate on the "If all else fails read the Instructions" method of operation.

[Bearkiller]

Sheesh, where was I when the testers got the training? Mine was pretty much "here's the unit, let us know if there are issues". I would wait and buy the 320 if I was in the market for another. It's a better unit and does more with less in terms of communication. I don't personally like the birdseye view as much as i wanted to like it. I find myself using the topomap while the dogs are out. Don't underestimate the newer compass. I think it's far easier to use. I have never had to "do math" to see where the dogs were like I do with the 220. Also, why didn't you just add a bigger sd card for all of your info?

[Dads dogboy]

Bearkiller,

I must be missing something with this "Compass" issue.

When we hit the Dog button there is a Compass at the top of the page...the arrows point in the direction the Hounds are....the distance from the unit is stated in yards up to 999 then in tenths of a mile. Where does the math come in.

The Gentleman who let me see and play with the Garmin said that there were several times that Garmin personel held meetings and conference calls in support of the Units being tested. I am presuming that you are/were a Tester? Was this true or not?

As to a bigger SD card all that I had was my 2GB micro card with my TOPO info on it. This was not a planned trial by any means, this friend who was testing was on his way to Dallas and called as he was going to be passing by on I 30. He thought that I might like to see the new Unit and try it, we talked him into spending the night so that he and Dad could talk and I could play a little longer.

I too wanted to like the Birdseye feature, but after viewing not so much!

As to does more with less in the communication department, please explain this. Our 220s when updated and equiped with an antennae without a break in the Co-Ax cable comunicates with updated (even DC40s) functioning collars who have unbroken antennae in a timely manner and range consistant with the type of antennae used.

Again the 320s will undoubtably do more than the 220s, but most of this is stuff that I and most of the Hunters that I know of will never use and probably cause us confusion and dismay!

Lots of folks bragged on the DC 40s when they were about to hit the market...then OOPS.....I sure do not want to see Folks caught up in this with the 320.

CJC

[mofo21]

ddb do you calibrate your compass before every use? if i dont hold mine level its not even close to being accurate.. and some times its a pita to get it level (when the hold level disappears)

[Dads dogboy]

No sir I only Calibrate the compass every once in a while. Not even when going from AR to FL and back. It has never been an issue with how we use our systems.

We just do not seem to have the trouble with the compass that some of you all are having.

Very seldom is ours ever level either in the windshield holder or while being hand held. It always shows the direction the Hound either is or was the last time the Unit and the collar talked!

Again we probably do not use features that the System has that requires this(cause me ain't smart enough!), for just knowing where the 10 Hounds that are out are, and know what they appear to be doing, our 220 (and we have had several) works fine.

CJC

[Bearkiller]

DDB, I am a tester and never was on any conference calls. Maybe he is more special than me. :LOL: I guess the "compass issue" refers more to the map for me because I don't use the compass screen at all. I frequently, with the 220, would have to look at the map and think to myself something like "ok, I am on this side of the river and so are the dogs. So they are this way" Anyway, not a huge issue but one step eliminated can be the difference between a dog getting hit by a car or not. I personally wouldn't trade a 220 for a 320 given the cost difference but if I was in the market I'd wait for the 320. If that makes sense.

[mondomuttruner]

I don't get it. Why use the compass when a topo screen tells you where the dogs are and where you are. I use the north up feature so look at the screen and see if their north, south or whichever direction.

[Dads dogboy]

Bearkiller,

We are on the same track! I however for the money difference would stay with the 220.

Over on some of the Running Dog Sites (and I post my thoughts there as well as on here) there are Testers (mostly sellers) of the system saying that the 320 is the next thing to "Pockets on a Shirt".

They are trying to get folks to pre order and spend bucks before the Jury comes in on JUST HOW much BETTER the 320 is over the 220.

Once burned with the DC40s is enough for me!

Mondomutrunner - We are dffinitely on the same page, why use the compus when you can see the Hounds on the Map screen. I do use it occasionally whe driving to find a Hound who is out of pocket and have never had any trouble!

CJC