Setting up a Tablet to track off your Garmin Alpha or Astro

Matt_Potter · Post by **Matt_Potter** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 1:18 pm

Dell Venue Pro 8 (120.00 ebay)
Hard Case for the tablet (49.99 Dell)
Converter to connect Garmin to Tablet (10.00 Dell)
Car mount for Tablet (60.00 Ram)
Xmaps GPS map (Optional) (109.00)

First thing you need is a tablet that will run full Basecamp/Base station not the mobile version of basestation. Most tablets don't have the software to do this so do your research.

Windows® Requirements

IBM-compatible computer running Windows Vista Service Pack 2 or later
Microsoft® .NET framework 4.5.1; a current version of .NET will be installed if needed
A video card that supports OpenGL version 1.3 or later to view 3-D terrain

Mac® Requirements

Intel-based Mac running OS 10.8 or higher
1024 MB RAM (2048 MB recommended)

This is what I ended up setting up

I found the Dell Venue Pro 8 to be the best deal and it runs on windows 8 - Best prices I found were on Ebay for refurbished ones.

http://www.dell.com/us/p/dell-venue-8-pro/pd

I had issues with connecting the two devices at first as your are connect a mini USB to a Micro USB - get the Dell converter and attach it to a garmin USB cable

http://accessories.dell.com/sna/product ... u=470-aarr

Bouncing around in the rig is tough on computers- best case I found was the

Targus SafePort Rugged Max Pro

http://accessories.dell.com/sna/product ... u=A7250101

For the Car mount I went with the Ram X-grip mount – not cheap but bomber. It says 7" tablet but it holds the 8" in the case no problem on a nasty road. Nice thing about the Ram mount is you can pick what works for as far as a base to connect it to the car. I run a jeep so I went with the short window mount but truck guys might want the long window mount or the dash mount.

http://www.rammount.com/part/RAM-HOL-UN8BU

That’s all the hardware you need

I highly recommend the Xmaps Land Ownership maps but, you don’t have to have them.

http://www.huntinggpsmaps.com/

Total cost with the Xmaps, Case and Car Mount- $350.00

But you could get it done for under 200.00 easy.

Here is all you need to do to activate it.

http://www.garmin.com/en-US/shop/downloads/basecamp

Load base camp on your tablet and if you want to run the Xmaps you need to load that onto the tablet version basecamp as well.

Update BaseCamp on the tablet and do a general update on your Garmin before utilizing BaseStation:

To use BaseStation with your Alpha/Astro

Turn on the device (Alpha or Astro)
On the Alpha , select Setup > System > BaseCamp BaseStation > Prompted
Connect the Alpha to the Tablet
Alpha will prompt you with “USB cable detected enable basestation?” select yes to enable BaseCamp BaseStation mode
In BaseCamp, on your tablet wait for device to appear below the Devices heading
Under the device name, Tap the BaseStation folder
This will start tracking of your handheld and any dogs on our dogs list that you have collars turned on for.

*Tablets meeting the system requirements for BaseCamp can be used to run BaseStation mode. Tablets that do not meet these system requirements cannot be used. Windows RT is unsupported.

For you guys that guide and outfit this would be great for clients. For me I hunt in wolf country and anything that gets my fat but to the tree faster is a good thing.

I'm not a computer guy and I'm not looking to make any money off this gig - I'll try and answer your questions but, I'm just a hound guy like you.

Matt

bowtech36 · Post by **bowtech36** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 3:55 pm

Hey thanks Matt, that's pretty slick

johnadamhunter · Post by **johnadamhunter** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 4:01 pm

Can the two units be powered by auxiliary power while being used?

Matt_Potter · Post by **Matt_Potter** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 5:43 pm

Yes I believe Dell makes a split USB cable where you could have one plugged into your car charger and one into the Alpha. The Alpha charges off the tablet when they are connected so all you would need to do is get the tablet charging.

Matt

J.R. · Post by **J.R.** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 7:22 pm

That is a pretty nice set-up....

leifalweapon · Post by **leifalweapon** » Wed Jan 13, 2016 8:51 pm

I've been wanting to do that, thanks for the info!!!

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Justin8 · Post by **Justin8** » Thu Feb 18, 2016 11:47 pm

Can I had topo maps or birds eye Thanks

NewMexHunter · Post by **NewMexHunter** » Thu Feb 25, 2016 3:29 am

So let's say you did this setup. Could a guy be on foot chasing dogs and another guy be driving around to a next ridge while both are seeing the dogs on screen? Or does the alpha need to be hooked up to the tablet?

FullCryHounds · Post by **FullCryHounds** » Thu Feb 25, 2016 8:53 am

You would need two alphas. As long as both were linked up to the same collars, they will show the same info.

NewMexHunter · Post by **NewMexHunter** » Thu Feb 25, 2016 8:34 pm

Ah there we go. I got how it works now. Pretty neat

bearpaw · Post by **bearpaw** » Tue Aug 02, 2016 11:52 pm

anyone know how to get the topo lines on the tablet

johnadamhunter · Post by **johnadamhunter** » Wed Aug 03, 2016 10:58 am

Have you downloaded the topo map on the tablet? You should have the same map on both units.

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lyndsayb77 · Post by **lyndsayb77** » Tue Dec 20, 2016 4:17 pm

So do you need to go through the process of "turning on the astro and going to setup, etc" each time you want to plug your alpha into the tablet? Say if the dogs are running, and you're driving to the other side of the hunt - can you just plug it into your tablet to bring up what you're tracking on a the bigger screen? and you get to where you want to be but you want to take your garmin with you into the woods? can you just detach it and attach it back like that?

Clyde Lawson · Post by **Clyde Lawson** » Sun Dec 25, 2016 6:54 pm

lynfdsyn77 your answer is yes. If the Alpha is on with your dogs collars entered, they will show on the delta. If your hunting partners hounds have not been entered on your handheld, then just add them in your dog list. Then they will be on the screen with your entered hounds(up to 20 hounds total).

What is great is that both of you can listen to the race and watch what each hound is doing on the screen(good and bad).

You can even set delta where it auto adjusts size where all hounds are on the screen, in and out. So you never have a lost hound, or if he is leaving the pack you will know it. Great training device.

Cannot say enough good things about the Alpha and Delta combination. With them and 2-3 broke strike and check hounds that will rig and road, it sure takes a lot of problems out of training young hounds!
Think of all the positive training on a young hound instead of negative/shocking all the time for off game.
I will say that if you show them 7-8 good cat tracks/races, they do not offer to run that deer, coyote, fox, etc.. & know what your after.

elknr · Post by **elknr** » Wed Jan 04, 2017 7:57 pm

I have the dell venue 5000 . And I keep having problems trying to get .net framework 4.6 it starts installing and freezes after I've downloaded basecamp it says the .net needs updated so I do it. And it just freezes. I've tried loading the . Net first and still does same thing