› Forums › Geocaching in Wisconsin › General › Garmin "Astro" – right reorge !

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  • 01/18/2007 at 9:01 pm #1724132
    GrouseTales

      One of my dog training buddies was suprised to hear I didn’t know about the new Garmin “Astro 220” that is scheduled to be released this summer.

      For hunters with dogs, it sort of combines the GPS, Rino, and beeper collar. The unit has a GPS Receiver that is worn on the dog, which sends out it’s position by VHF radio. The Receiving GPS displays the dog’s plotter trail, current location, and it will even tell you if the dog is on “point”.

      It seems like a way to replace the radio collars that some hunters have been using for years.

      Here is a link to the website.

      (ps, I wonder how these would work on our children 🙂 )

      01/18/2007 at 9:12 pm #1768633
      Gusty Winds

        @GrouseTales wrote:

        ps, I wonder how these would work on our children 🙂

        Or my wife at the shopping mall?

        01/18/2007 at 9:22 pm #1768634
        kbraband

          @Gusty Winds wrote:

          @GrouseTales wrote:

          ps, I wonder how these would work on our children 🙂

          Or my wife at the shopping mall?

          Or on me? The one on my ankle is starting to rub.

          01/19/2007 at 3:12 pm #1768635
          OuttaHand

            Sure looks like a cool idea!
            But how many bird hunters are letting their dogs hunt so far away that they need a GPS to follow them?? Most bird hunters I’ve hunted with like to keep the dog within a couple hundred feet or so. Some of them use beeper collars, some just attach a bell to the dog’s collar.
            I suppose if you were starting fresh and didn’t have a beeper collar, this would make a neat high-tech alternative, but is it needed ?
            Don’t get me wrong here — I’m not going to criticize anyone for wanting one whether they need it or not! I’m the last guy to point fingers on needing high-tech devices (I have 3 FRS radios, 7 PC’s, 2 GPSr’s, 2 PDA’s, 2 digital cameras, etc. etc.) So if someone can afford it, great — go for it!
            One thing would be very interesting on it would be to check the track log after a day’s hunt. I’d like to see exactly how far a dog travels in a day of bird hunting. I’ll guarantee it’s 3 or 4 (or more) times the distance the hunter walks.

            01/19/2007 at 5:21 pm #1768636
            GrouseTales

              Dog range depends on the Breed.

              Flushers and retrievers are close working dogs. They flush the bird so you need to be within gun range when the bird goes up.

              Pointers typically work “Big”. They can be out there hundreds of yards in open terraine. It doesnt matter how far they range, because they stop and “point” the bird until the hunter arrives to flush the bird.

              When we hunt in South Dakota, our pointers may run huge. The can easily disappear over a hill or in some thick cover. If they are out of beeper range, you don’t know where the dog is.

              Bells and beepers tend to spook birds, especially early season Grouse. A bird may flush when it hears the dog approaching.

              Hunters who use hounds to hunt bear may be miles away from the dogs. They typically use radio collars so they can locate their dogs if they get too far away to hear.

              This could come in pretty handy for many hunters who use dogs. For me, I’d have to see it work before I forked out any money for one. I’m really curious about the GPS features, besides the dog tracking usage. Will it do auto-routing?

              01/19/2007 at 5:44 pm #1768637
              Jeremy

                @GrouseTales wrote:

                I’m really curious about the GPS features, besides the dog tracking usage. Will it do auto-routing?

                Per other reviews, the “core” of this unit is the GPS60CSx, so you’ve got a color screen, autorouting, SD card slot for expansion, and the electronic compass and barometer.

                01/20/2007 at 5:36 am #1768638
                Team Margaritaville

                  Or to find your dogs after the wolves get a hold of them…. 😡

                  01/20/2007 at 2:48 pm #1768639
                  GrouseTales

                    @Team Margaritaville wrote:

                    Or to find your dogs after the wolves get a hold of them…. 😡

                    There ya go. What if radio collared wolves showed up on your gps? Then you could avoid them to save you dog’s life. Maybe the DNR should be sticking these things on the Canis Lupus 🙂

                    01/22/2007 at 7:46 pm #1768640
                    OuttaHand

                      I sent the link to my bird-hunter friend and he thought it looked great for HIM.

                      He’s deaf in one ear. With only one ear he has no ability to judge the direction from which sound is coming. So when his dog’s beeper collar starts beeping and he can’t see the dog, this would be handy. That was one area I hadn’t thought of when I posted earlier.

                      01/24/2007 at 6:17 pm #1768641
                      GrouseTales

                        Ah, very nice application. I supposed it could also be used to locate dogs with hearing impairments also, or those with selective hearing 🙂

                        I remember being away for a weekend game farm hunt. We did a lot of shooting, and I developed a hearing loss in my left ear. I think the exposure to gunfire was causing my hearing to be effected at certain frequencies.

                        This one time, my dog was on “point” somewhere. I was standing with a group of people at the time and It sounded like the beeper collar was coming from my “right” side. Everyone started walking to the “left”. I kept trying to correct them, “no, the dog is over here on the right”. They said he was on the left. I turned my body 180 degrees, and sure enough, the dog was to the left. I discovered the exposure to gunfire gave me some tone deafness in my left ear. It always sounded like the dogs were to my right 🙂

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