GPS with tracking system

[Steve White]

Skytten- There are actually 5 channels to be used in the MURS band in the US. This also restricts the power usage. Since the unit is set up to be used with 151 that reduces the legal channels to 3. With the legal deviation allowed there is little room to add any more without interference.

I have not had an R2 in my hands. Have had an R1 though. The antennas on them are supposed to be the same. Which are very much like the antenna on the Garmin portable long range antenna. Which many guys have broken them already.

I have not tried to contact them since our deer season opened. Until then had not been able to make contact. At this point have no reason to even pursue the matter further. I see no need to go back to old beep beep stuff. Even if combined with GPS. Since the GPS is not integrated with mapping software it about makes the thing useless in the field. Sure I could carry a map then plot the position on the map. WHo has time for that on a hunt. Perhaps the coffee clutchers, but not the bulk of the hunters.

Again as for the distance thing. All radio transmissions are guided by the basic laws of physics. Sure there are some variables form one situation to the next that will affect things. In the end though a feather still falls just as fast as a rock!!

[Skytten]

I don’t understand the obsession with the topo map on the receiver of Garmin. What good is a topo map if the unit loses signal after 1-2 miles? I can still hear my dogs barking at that distance. The Garmin unit is a joke. If it was not, then there would not be any one writing about other units and asking for a better option.

Steve you say that there are only 3 channels available at 151. Well I am using 4+the European ones. Yes they are not legal but they work and using the tinyloc system makes it really easy.

Laws of physics...put a parachute on that rock you are talking about and it will not fall as fast...

Steve White, would I be wrong if I said that you probably are a reseller for garmin?

//Skytten


//

[Steve White]

I would not call it an obsession for the topo map. yet it is an extremely useful tool. Very rarely can I hear my dogs over a mile out. Even if I can I only know the general direction they are. Can't tell if they are heading to that black top road or at me all the time. With the topo map I can see my dogs are going to be in trouble real fast, and can get there to protect them. It also gives you the ability to get to them a lot faster than just by hearing. If you have hunted enough more than likely you have walked into a tree where you can hear them dogs so well they have to be real close. only to walk a mile through some real crap to them. Then find out they are only 20yds off a trail. Could have been under that tree in 15mins by truck, but instead 1.5hrs later I get there soaking wet walking through a swamp. More oppurtunity's for dogs as well come from it. By seeing where the dogs are headed and getting to a cut off point faster. Thus being able to turn dogs in with the pack, pull dogs out,etc. I can go on about the benifits of this. I have never owned a tracking box that got 20 miles. Best I have seen is maybe 5 miles. Then only knew they were to the north. Not where to the north. SO be the time you get there they are somewhere else. Constantly playing the stop, look, and listen. Not drive right up to the closest point.

As for the murs band

MURS comprises the following five frequencies:
Frequency Authorized bandwidth
151.820 MHz 11.25 kHz
151.880 MHz 11.25 kHz
151.940 MHz 11.25 kHz
154.570 MHz 20.00 kHz
154.600 MHz 20.00 kHz

Operating outside this can cause problems depending on your area. In mine 154.650 is the local sheriff. Some of the county crew operate in the 151 bands as well.

Your parachute is a variable change on the laws of physics. Since you are quoting a variable. Try using one on the garmin, by using a bigger antenna. Much like some do on the maxima when they hook up a yagi. Strange how the signal range increases. Try hooking up a 6" stubby antenna on your current tracking box. Let us know how great of range you get then.

Yes, you can say I am a Garmin dealer. So what. I am also a dealer of all the rest of the tracking boxes out there. I am simply stating the pros, and cons(in the right threads) of the unit. Yes, I prefer the the Garmin for it's abilities. I also am aware of how radio signals work. Therefore am able to make the most of any radio equipment. Heck, make it simple. Is that new flat screen HD TV you got worth a damm if it has no antenna hooked up. What if it has just a little set of rabbit ears. Is it then a better tv? Hook it up to an antenna on the roof and you get a bunch of channels. Is it a better tv at that point, or did you just hook up a better antenna? The closest FM tv station to me is 30 miles. Without roof antenna I get nothing. Now that they all went digital the antenna needs to be higher. amazing how that works. Same as how the range on our cell phones dropped when they went from analog to digital signals.

Some guys don't like the maxima units because the range is not there as compared to say a quick trac box. Yet, if you hook up a yagi to the maxima. All of a suddne the range is very comparable. Then the sensitivity of the receiver will come into play, but that is a whole different discussion.

[Nolte]

I don’t understand the obsession with the topo map on the receiver of Garmin. What good is a topo map if the unit loses signal after 1-2 miles? I can still hear my dogs barking at that distance. The Garmin unit is a joke. If it was not, then there would not be any one writing about other units and asking for a better option.

Sorry but I'm going to have to disagree with you on this one. In our area, this garmin unit is the slickest deal to come out in a long time. It still has it's downfalls, but it has really made keeping up with the hunt much easier. In fact it's not even close. I still use the beep collars as back up, but rarely have to use them. I don't hunt in a big country with bad terrain, though. Like you said, I will probably lose signal after 1-2 but all I have to do is get closer and pick them back up. Or have a buddy already over in the direction they were moving and combined you will never lose reception during a hunt. Even if they do get out of pocket, you still have the last place where you had communication to get closer. I have at times picked them up at 3, 4 or 5 miles but only briefly. But that was enough to know precisely their location without having to triangulate readings. Knowing a dog is 1.5 miles south is not nearly as usefull as seeing it is exactly 200 yards west of the creek on the south.

[blackpaws]

not to mention the amount of times this thing has saved a dog's lif around here. with the wolves and traffic it's nice to know exactly where your dogs are at all times. when they decide to head to a road you are there to pick them up instead of them running down the road for 2 miles and dodge all the traffic. Like Nolte said, best invention for around these parts hands down.

[swampposh]

If you are in Big Country running long races from your truck I suggest that you invest in a large external truck mount Broadband Antenna that is maximized for the entire 2 meter (VFH) frequency. Shakespere makes a 6' broadband that can be used for any drequency from 144-220mhz. Its about $400 but what is it worth if you have valuable dogs? I have one for my Garmin and it helps much especially here in Florida where the marsh goes below sea level which means you have to get higher to get a line of sight into the depressed area. Rig it up on your swamp buggy, truck, or airboat and see your range improve dramatically. The antenna is everything with a Garmin, just the same with any other tracker. Just remember any Very High Frequency (which MURS and the standard wildlife tracking frqs are both considered) is limited by line of site if something is in the way blocking the signal you wont hear it.

The hand held external for Garmin works good, but the antenna breaks very easily if you aren't careful. I broke one and my friend broke my relplacement. I need to find an antenna to replace. If I do I will post it.

Also I might give this truck antena a try:
http://www.dpdproductions.com/page_murs.html
Also remember if you have a quality receiver form ICOM, Yaesu, or Kenwood you can listen to your Garmin collars with a Yagi and get a direction on them if the signal is faint.

[Al Vallejo]

Haven't heard much talk on the battery side of things, seems the tinyloc has much more batter life. Has this been an issue with you guys using Garmins?

[Steve White]

Al, you got to read the fine print. The 7 day battery life is with the beep beep only. Not the continual use of the GPS mode.

[Skytten]

Al, you got to read the fine print. The 7 day battery life is with the beep beep only. Not the continual use of the GPS mode.

wrong my missinformed garmin retail salesman friend. The 7 days battery life includes gps use in unidirectional mode. That means that when the unit is in the mode where it automatically sends a gps signal without you calling for it yourself (bi-directional mode) the battery life will last for 7 days when combined with radio tracking.

Hey Steve, there is a Love garmin group on Facebook you might want to join. I suggest you check it out!!

[Doogie]

I was hunting for black bear in the forests of Montana and there are some smaller mountains and hills here and there....

anyone else see something wrong with this sentance? and Im the one giving houndsmen a bad name

[Jeff Shaw NM]

OK, I don't do facebook & I don't live in MT so I'll let those be, but I do run both Garmin and tinyloc at the same time. I'm not fully satisfied with either system.

What I know (not much)
1) tinyloc does give a gps and beep signal for atleast 5 days. (haven't ran one completely dead yet)
2) Garmin does NOT last longer than 36 hours and anyone who uses one as a stand alone will eventually lose dogs, but (it does have a couple of games on it which come in handy while you waiste a week of season). ALWAYS USE A BEEPER with it!!!

Bottom line: tinyloc gets better range and longer battery life, but I miss the realtime map on the Garmin and if these two units were combined in one... I'd Be Settin Rite!!!

Later, Jeff

[Steve White]

Sky- That is funny!

The reason the tinyloc battery lasts longer is that is not transmitting the GPS signal all the time. Only when you ask for it. This is why some of the wildlife gps collars also last a long time they are only sending a signal at most every 7 hours. Most of the time every 24.

[Skytten]

Well the tinyloc unit sends a gps signal every 10 sec and not every 24 hours. This is of course in unidirectional mode (about 7 days battery life). When in bidirectional you might have 4 days battery life.

[Steve White]

Yes, every 10 seconds once you activate, or call for it. Otherwise it does not send the signal. The 24 I mentioned was for the wildlife tracking collars like the ones used on wolves. Was not implying that is what the tinyloc did. So if you do not use the GPS function you will get the 7 days out of the battery.

Here is a link to the travels of Brutus the Wolf. All satellite based tracking. This signal is sent every 12 hours.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/12/wolfs-north-pole-treks/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Index+3+%28Top+Stories+2%29%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher

[J HUNT]

I like the Garmin Astro when it is working that is............in less than a year I have sent 3 receivers back for problems, although Garmin has treated me good with the returns it puts me in a bind, the last one screwed up the 1st day of bear season this year, I sent it back and the one I got in the mail for return was a refurbished system. I got it out of the bubble wrap - programmed my collars and in a couple minutes it started losing communication w/the collars. Now I know it is not the collars because I borrowed a system from my buddy and had it on also, it picked the collars up just fine. I had to send this system back also, I owned it for about an hr before calling Garmin again. Now that my warranty will be over in a few days I'm not sure if I will keep the system or not, I'm a little concerned with not having a warranty on it, It would have cost me a lot of money in repairs over the last year if not under warranty.

I also agree that you better not use the Garmin collar alone, there was several instances this year when my buddies using Wildlife picked up collars up when I could not get a signal and this was with using the long range antenna which is a joke for stability, I broke one of those also and had to replace it.

I think the Garmin is a good idea, but needs a lot of bugs worked out, no system is peferect but it would be nice to have one you can rely on.

When it is working right I have got as much as 2.5 miles range and this is in the mountains of WV. It can put you in the right place at the right time also.

I know people say when you lose signal go toward the dogs, but in reality this is not always possible, just depends on where you hunt, you may have to take a road trip to get to the other side, then once you get there dogs can be another 2.5 miles back in another direction.

I lost signal on my best dog this year, lucky I had a johnson collar on her also, my buddies located her a couple hollows over from where I lost communication, found out her antenna got messed up by a bear and collar was not putting out much signal. I would not trash the old systems just yet!!! Oh, by the way, bear was in the tree