How Far can you count on when tracking with the Garmin

[ferjr]

My Garmin will track just as far as the telemetry boxes. If the dogs go over the ridge, you loose both types of tracking. I have not seen one time where it would be better to track with telemetry than GPS. Telemetry is a thing of the past, like records, 8 track or cassettes. The battery life is a bummer, but I have not had a problem finding my dogs within 17 hours. Every one keeps hashing this out over and over again. The bottom line is if any one thinks they can track better with telemetry they haven't figured out how to get all the advantages from the GPS. Like I said, with real life in the field comparison I haven't seen where the telemetry had any advantages other than battery life. I have not had a problem with frying the Astro. For the price of a good telemetry box you can buy an Astro and a spare. I have had the long range antenna for the Astro for about a year and haven't used it at all. I just use the factory little rubber antenna. The month before I bought the GPS I had dogs lost over night 3 times. That was almost 2 years ago and my dogs have made it home every day since. Best piece of equipment available today.

+1

[ferjr]

come down here and hunt in the winter time and you will be praying for telemetry. I bought my first garmin when they weren't even on the market yet so I feel like I know what there is to know about them. I have the maps and long range antenna, charge the collars every time I use them, make sure they are fully charged when I start, got them set on 30 sec etc. I don't use radios much at all, and I'm lucky if I get 8 - 10 hrs out of these old and new collars. not to mention burning two double a batteries in the hand held for every 8 hrs you have it on. sometimes less in cold night conditions. even my new collars are coming appart(poorly built). screen always scratched on the handheld. The only time I end up leaving dogs on the mountain is when I put gps only on them. Don't get me wrong I would hate to hunt without the gps, but they have a long ways to go to be bulletproof.

i have on several occasions forgot to charge my collars and have used them two days straight without them going dead, they still showed they had plenty of life according to the garmin, and i dont have them set on 30 second intervals, so houndnem, i dont know what is wrong with yours, nobodys i know goes dead that quick and we all have ours set on 5 second intervals. as far as aa batteries for the unit itself, spend a little extra money and buy the energizer ultimate lithium, i have used one set for four to five days of being on all day, they are well worth the extra money, no other batteries even come close. if that telemetry was so good why are there so many for sale in the hound hunting classifieds? i didnt see any garmins for sale! hmmmmm., makes you wonder.

[houndnem]

ferjr I'm looking forward to you coming down for a snow hunt about late jan. -25 temps and hunting three or four days in a row. when the dogs top the first hill and start down the other side and garmin reception goes bye bye I will accept your appology. It seems you hunt mostly bears on the dirt am I correct? I have had huge success with my garmin bear hunting or lion hunting on dry ground. lots of roads, drive to a high point pick em up and go to them. but you put three feet of snow in the mix added to the fact that the forest service has closed all roads you'll see.it sometimes takes 2 or 3 hours to hike up and over the first mountain the dogs went over. by then they can be miles away. I have lost dogs with just a garmin on them and after that collar dies the only thing you can do is set by the phone and pray. so I think it just comes down to the terrain and conditions you hunt. I don't doubt one bit that the garmins work as good as you and george say they do(where your at) but I'm out houndin with mine and It has some holes where I hunt. I'll say it again, I would hate to hunt without my garmin, but I will never depend on it.