BigGameHoundsmen.com

alphaknl wrote:Can anyone say if the durability issues with the 220 have been corrected?

Will the 320 maintain sensitivity and range or "burn up" like the 220 is prone to?

So I've been getting quite a few questions about if the the New astro 320 was beefed up. I decided to try and ask Garmin directly to see if I could get a response. Below is the response I recieved.

First I want to say that I know I have been hard with Garmin in my reviews and statements especially the DC40, and I'll continue to be Honest with my opinions about products since many appreciate it, however with that said, I also like to be extremely Fair and when Praise is due, I want to be the type of guy that stands up and gives Praise as well.

I'm very pleased with the attempt and work that Garmin has made to address and work with Houndsmen with this new 320 product release. We've seen several folks on this site as well as other websites who were asked to test out the 320. Every single field tester that I've talked to has had nothing but praise conserning how Garmin treated, listened and considered their opinions.

My personal opinion, Garmin might be hitting Second Gear, While everyone else is still in Neutral. If they continue to work this closely with Houndsmen, I think All the other players that want to enter the GPS market will be in trouble to gain traction.

Anyways I think this was a good time for me to Give Credit where Credit was Due..

Here is the response I recieved.

Buddy, we did not find out about the high powered radios causing damage to the Astro 220 until after we had been producing them for several months (We found out about the coax issue around the same time). Once we discovered the issue, we made several changes to prevent these issues from happening. We changed the rear case to protect the coax connector better, and we added some diodes to prevent high powered signals from damaging the radio as easily. Unfortunately, once we have sold the products to dealers, we don’t know how long it will take for those units to make it to customers. So a problem that was addressed with a change in 2009 may still show up on a unit in 2011. All of the Astro 320s will have these same changes implemented, so we should not see these problems on any Astro 320s. Ultimately though, nothing will give users a blank check to transmit at as high of power as they want very close to the device (even if you wear earplugs, you will still go deaf if you sit close enough to a jet engine long enough). We do our best to make the product as robust as possible, but ultimately users are responsible for their devices (and obeying FCC regulations, which don’t allow using these high powered radios in most cases). I hope this helps clear things up

how can I tell if my coaxe is broken on my 220? I change from my stock antenna to a long range frequently. Last week my power went way down. I can only read dogs a couple hundred yards away and cank even get a signal at all on some of my collars.

Normally the dead give away is the connector will be loose. With the antenna off simply try to wiggle it. If it moves it may be broken. Always a good idea to check, and tigheten the nut before it becomes a problem. Antenna's only need to go on 2 finger tight. Just make good contact.

Sudden drop in range on all collars normally something is broke. Could even be as simple as the antenna itself. Given other antennas have been tested. Everything is updated. Then the unit would be the problem. If the connector did break you can and will still receive from some distance. If any contact is being made the range will be a bit longer. If no contact at all. Range will be very short.