The American Beagler Forum

Got my new collar today, switched to a smaller collar and tried it out. Well, Garmin needs to kidnap someone from wildlife materials or tracker collars and learn to build a smaller collar. The DC 40 box is bigger than the old DC 30 box, which was to big for some beagles. Then the new collar lost signal after about 2 hours and would not pick up again until I caught the dog and turned everything off and back on again. We all need to tell Garmin customer service to build a smaller housing unit for beagles. I will try the collar out again in the morning and see what happens. I guess I am glad I still have my wildlife collars that I could not sell.

I just got my new DC40 collar as well. It's definetly lighter than the 30's, but it's hard to believe that for $200-$250 /collar that Garmin couldn't come up with something better than a zip tie to hold the antenna close to the collar. Also you need to go to the Garmin website and update your hand held with the latest software which has some updates that pertain to the DC40.

well i just placed and order and my is being shipped out tomarrow.. u guys like the 30's better??

Ran again today and dog lost signal again and did not pick up for at least 2 hours. Talked to Garmin about it, the issue seems to be when the dogs swim across the creek. Last night it was 1 trip across, today it was the 2nd time across, then it started working again a few hours later. Garmin says that the dogs swimming the creek is causing it to lose signal. We will try again in the morning.

Bush, my suggestion to you would to set the collar on a table and stare it down and threaten to do a roundhouse kick on it. I guarantee if Bryan Bush did this the collar would cower down and shrink in size as well.

WWBD?

Blair,
I wish you would of told me sooner, I decided to make it smaller by running over it with my truck.
Blair For President!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

just got my system yesterday with two dc,30's man they are big i cut mine down to size for beagles. I just ordered 3 more dc30's did'nt want to go with the 40's b/c they havent been out long enough yet, and just like anything new there is sure to be bugs! If there is anyone out there that can put the garmin tracking collars (dc 30's) onto a nylon strap it would be great to know who he/she is and send mine to them! Love the system so far i ran the dogs from the house saw they were heading for the road toned them with the trashbreaker and turned them around lol all from the couch! now that was a first!!!! The shock collar and tracker plus normal collar is all too much for a beagle though, they did'nt seem to mind too much, but still don't like it. Never ran dogs from the comfort of my couch before!! haha i don't plan to make it a habit but just wanted to do it to say i've done it!!

I ordered my replacement collars for the DC 30 units from this guy on the UKC board and it wasn't too difficult to swap them out. Here's the link (asked for the beagle sized):

http://forums.ukcdogs.com/showthread.ph ... genumber=1

Thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaank You! That is a must!!

Guys TRACKER! Garmin is on thier 3rd design pay as you go public testing DC20,DC30,DC40 wonder what happen to DC1-DC19. My friend had a dog drown under the ICE and found him with the Tracker. Has far as room on the hounds neck I had Jimmy Stinnett make me up collars with name tags both the tracking unit & any G2 or G3 mounts to the same collar. you could slip the Tri-Tronics on and off if you like. I went to 1 collar because of hang ups in thick cover.

Last night was the 2nd time i've used my new DC40 collar. Lost communication w/ the collar for 10-15 seconds probably 1/2 dozen times in the 1st hour of using it with the dog less than 150yds away. Then I lost signal all togethor for the last hour of running and screen showed "?" but yardage seemed accurate like it was still tracking the dog? Had a DC30 on my other dog and didn't have any issues at all, so I know the thick cover wasn't to blame. Think I will be calling Garmin........

birmi1nr wrote:Last night was the 2nd time i've used my new DC40 collar. Lost communication w/ the collar for 10-15 seconds probably 1/2 dozen times in the 1st hour of using it with the dog less than 150yds away. Then I lost signal all togethor for the last hour of running and screen showed "?" but yardage seemed accurate like it was still tracking the dog? Had a DC30 on my other dog and didn't have any issues at all, so I know the thick cover wasn't to blame. Think I will be calling Garmin........

I just got off the phone with Bryan and he had the exact same issue yesterday as you are having ("?" on the dog but no history track lines and losing communication).....I belive he will be roundhouse kicking somebody from Garmin in the near future if this does not get resolved SOON. He also mentioned that there is a guy on the PKC board having the same issues as well.....I think I will stick with my beat up Johnson and Wildlife collars for a bit longer.

What sucks is that the technology and size we are looking for is out there. Hell, I can buy a tracking device small enough to be un-noticiable to anyone to stick on semi trailers that will track anywhere in the United States for $250 but yet they can't come up with something better than a shoebox to stick their technology in and then it can't track effectively for over 150 yards at times....Interesting.

I have 3 DC-30 and they work great! (All but 1)
It will lose communication alot but always reconnects pretty quick.

I am also experiencing the lost signal w/ the "?" sign. If or when anyone figures it out please post on board. I can vouch that the scare tactic and the round house kick did not work out for me.