Whats the latest on Garmin Astro's?

[sgc]

Have they come out with beagle collars yet? Is everyone still happy with their Astro's?

[Chippewa01]

I love mine. Granite its the only tracker i have used so i dont have much to compare it too. But I love it. Use it on my Beagles and Llewellin. I would like a little smaller version for the beagles but I'm happy with it overall. Got two collars right now and plan on buying another one here soon.

[PREACHERS,KENNEL]

if you need them smaller than the dc 30's you must be running minatures lol!mines only 13-14 inch dogs i put them in the last hole and its tight enuff!

[PLATEAUBEAGLER]

best i ever owned bar none. I have 3 and plan on buying 7 more hopefully before the year is up.
the only thing i do not like about them is how the charger hooks up to the collars. if running in mud, water,and thick stuff you have to clean them every time you use them otherwise your chargers does not push all the way down and will not charge your collars.
Other than that there great.

Does anyone know if they are allowing them to be used in LP yet?

[stavemillbeagles]

i love mine i use em everytime i run the dogs i have 3 collars now and plan on buying another 3 as soon as i can

[Chip E]

Steve do you want me to bring one or more too the World Hunt.
Chip

[PREACHERS,KENNEL]

yes you can use them in lp!

[stavemillbeagles]

hey chip bring me one to the world

thanks, chris wells

[Chief Long Hair]

We love them so far. They are a little big for beagles but the last hole seems to work well. We always attach them to our shock collars with a chain link that way if either collar falls off we don't lose it.

We have 3 Astros with 9 collars. The only problem we've had so far is that one of the collars won't charge. I called Garmin's 800 number and talked to support right away. They had me open the battery pack to make sure the battery was hooked up. It wasn't so I called them again. They gave me a repair # and instructions on where to ship it to. The shipping will be on me but since this collar is within the 1 year warranty they'll pay to fix it. I also just found out where the collar's serial # was. It's on the front edge of the box that it comes in and also betweent eh battery pack and the collar. I suggest to every one that they document this number and register it on the garmin website. I did the Astros but not the collars. I'll be doing it soon.

Another problem is the battery's life in the hand held. I can't seem to shut it off while running. I just love the info you get and I just can't put it down. We have it set to refresh every 5 seconds and the battery only last about 16 hours of running time.

Another feature I like is that once you "marry" the hand held and collar together, you can still find your dog even it you shut the hand held unit off or if a running partner who is coming to join you. He can come later, turn his hand held and get within about 2 1/2 to 3 miles and find the dog as well. The trick is all hand helds have to be "married" once before this can happen.

Da Chief

[Bryan]

Chief,
I use rechargeable batteries in the handheld, takes 15 min to charge. Plus carry an extra set in the truck, but have never had to change them in the field.

[Chief Long Hair]

The instruction manual claims that the rechargables don't last as long. I might try them though.

Also, PREACHERS,KENNEL, we're currently using them at LP hunts with out any complaints. As a matter of fact we're using them today at a hunt in KY.

Da, Chief

[RABBITBUTCHER]

BEST THING EVER INVENTED FOR HUNTING DOGS.
I LOVE MINE,YOU WON'T CATCH ME WITH ONE OF THE OLD TYPE TRACKING COLLARS AGAIN.

[JRupert]

I was wondering if anybody has purchased the topograghical maps and if they were worth the purchase? Do the show road ways or rivers? I would love to buy one but still waitng to hear all the pros and cons. Hopefully by next year I'll have one.

[PLATEAUBEAGLER]

Chief does the handlers have to leave the receiver in the vehicles or can they carry them during the cast?

[steve w]

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID ... pvID=29597 JRupart this link will let you look at the Topo USA map from Garmin, click on view map.Then you can navigate to your particular area's and see for yourself.Garmin offers preloaded maps on SD cards that would be simular to this for the region of your choice that you would use in the Astro. Unfortunatly they are only in 1/100000 format so they are not as detailed as you would see on a USGS topo map but usefull anyways.