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GARMIN 010-00596-00 Astro Dog Tracking System Combination UnitUser Review: - Two thumbs upI purchased the astro primarily for hiking with my dog in the wooded dunes of West Michigan. It surpassed my expectations. My dog will be chasing something 200 yards away, well out of sight and hearing range, and it works great. All of the stress and worry of not knowing where the dog is is gone. Because my dog doesn't stray for more than 200-300 yards, I haven't had a chance to test the full range, but within those yards and in very hilly terrain it's tracked flawlessly. User Review: - Garmin Astro GPSFantastic! I'm not a hunter, but I use the Garmin on my dogs when we go hiking. I've found the product to be very accurate. The construction of the product is very rugged. I'm glad I elected to use the shorter antenna because my dogs like to rough house. I'd be afraid they would damage the longer antena when rolling around. The piece of mind I have knowing that I can locate my dog should he chase after a rabit or deer is worth every penny to me. User Review:  - If you hunt with dogs you want this.I had a hard time convincing myself to try this because I already had a traditional dog tracking system. Trust me it would be like comparing apples to oranges. I've been using this system for two months now. I will never go `coon hunting again without it. It works exactly as advertised. I feel a little guilty because it takes most of the guesswork out of hunting. You will know exactly where your dogs are and where they've been, and you will know when they've stopped moving. My gripe list: The dog unit isn't nearly durable enough. The antenna has been lost. The replacement antenna has now been damaged. The clip that holds the unit to a collar has broken. The battery only lasts for twenty hours. The topo maps should be preloaded. It should be compatible with the RINO series, from a layman's perspective it looks like the same technology. If you buy this unit go ahead and buy: The mag mount antenna, you pick up some serious distance with it. Extra pack of antennas, they come two to a package. I lost one right away and I check them for tightness now. They will get damaged, especially if you use the vest instead of the collar attachment. Extra collar attachment, it might break if your dog decides to go in a hole chasing something. Extra DC20 for each dog you hunt. I knew exactly what dog #1 was doing and I hated not knowing what exactly what dog #2 was doing. User Review:  - Garmin Astro 220I am a little disappointed with this product. Technically it works well, but the human/canine usability factors are not well thought out. On the plus side, the vendor shipped quickly, and the units were easy to set up and use. The main unit works well as a GPS, and locates the tracker unit within at least half a mile if there is reasonable line of sight. Going over a ridge loses the signal, but at least the tracking function lets you know where it was lost. (This was tested by leaving the tracker unit inside a vehicle. The signal might be stronger outside.) On the negative side, the provided carrier harness is worse than useless. Perhaps it works better on short-coated hunting dogs than my rough-coated border collie mix. Every time we tried it, the transmitter would wind up underneath her within a minute or two. Now it goes in a pocket of her backpack. Another negative is the lack of topo maps. As shipped, it just has major highways & lakes. The supplied PC map software is worthless - it only works on Windows, which I do not use - so it appears that the only option is to fork over more money for maps on SD chips. A minor irritation is the fact that the manual and menus refer to all the dog-related functions in hunting terms - and bird hunting in particular. That seems oddly restrictive. To summarize, it is a good product, and with a little tinkering should do what I want - keep track of a dog who likes to take off on her own - but with a little extra thought, it could have been much better. User Review:  - Great concept--poor antenna and harnessFirst my compliments to both Amazon and Garmin, for great customer service and warrenty. The Astro GPS Dog Tracking system worked great in EZ going terrain, however in much of California, we have low hanging trees, thick brush and fence lines. First time I used it, my dogs bayed up a nice boar "151 yards to the north east". The next time I used it, in about two hours of hunting in brushy terrain, my three dogs broke three antenas and destroyed two harnesses. The sending unit with antena, is held by the harness directly above and on top of the dogs shoulders, getting hit (and destroyed) when going through or under these obstacles. The optional way of mounting the sending unit (to the dog's collar) does not work very well either. Garmin was great and willingly sent free replacement parts yet I sent the entire unit back and received a credit. Discussed with Garmin Tecs and they said they are working on another design. They should also come up with a better battery pac system. I anxiously awaiting new design and will reorder if and when available. The current harness/antena system probably works fine for grassland bird hunting yet not for tough cover where dogs are going all out to catch a pig. Hurry up Garmin and get it fixed! Perhaps if they don't come up with another design a competitor will come up with a dog GPS system that will stand up to the test. |
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